
The 1963 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at
Warwick Farm Raceway
Warwick Farm Raceway was a motor racing facility which was in operation from 1960 to 1973. Warwick Farm Raceway hosted numerous major events during its life such as the Australian Grand Prix and rounds of both the Australian Touring Car Champi ...
in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
on 10 February 1963. Open to
Formula Libre
Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppo ...
cars,
[Motor Sport, March 1963, page 150][The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix states that a 3-litre engine limit applied, however this is not supported by the AGP entry list in the Official Programme which includes a BRM Buick with a capacity of 3900cc] it was the opening heat of the
1963 Australian Drivers' Championship. The race, which was the twenty eighth
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...
, had 16 starters.
The race featured a strong representation of international competitors, with entries from Ecurie Vitesse for
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...
,
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing driver, automotive designer, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . McLaren was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
for himself,
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team for
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver, rower and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "Mr. Monaco", Hill won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles ...
and from the
Bowmaker Racing Team
Yeoman Credit Racing was a name used by two different Formula One motor racing teams in the early-1960s: the British Racing Partnership (1960); and Reg Parnell Racing (1961–62). The name was derived from commercial sponsorship arrangements, the ...
for
John Surtees
John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One from to . Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycl ...
,
Tony Maggs
Anthony Francis O'Connell Maggs (9 February 1937 – 2 June 2009) was a South African racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to .
Maggs participated in 27 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting at the 1961 British Grand Prix. He ...
and Jim Palmer.
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...
won the race, his second Australian Grand Prix victory, after a battle with
John Surtees
John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One from to . Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycl ...
. It was the first AGP victory by a driver in a self-developed car since
Doug Whiteford
Douglas Seymour Whiteford (1914 – 15 January 1979) was an Australian racing driver.
Whiteford raced from the mid-1930s through to 1975 with a short period of inactivity during the 1960s.Ray Bell, Vale – Doug Whiteford, Racing Car News, Febr ...
won in his "Black Bess" Ford V8 Special in
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
.
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
, who was recovering from a near-fatal crash at the
Goodwood Circuit
Goodwood Circuit is a historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The circuit is situated near Chichester, West Sussex, close to the south coast of England, on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely e ...
, was the special guest at the Grand Prix. Moss, who had driven a
Maserati 250F
The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.
Mechanical details
The 250F principally used the SSG, 220 bhp (at 7400r ...
to victory in the
1956 Australian Grand Prix at the
Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, also provided guest commentary for Australian television station the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
alongside Doug Woodward, Bill Reynolds and pit reporter
Norman May
Norman "Nugget" Alfred Vale May (14 February 1928 – 11 September 2016) was an Australian radio and television sports broadcaster. His most famous moment was calling "Gold medal, GOLD, GOLD for Australia, GOLD" during the men's Swimming at th ...
.
Classification
Results as follows.
Notes
*
Pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
: Bruce McLaren - 1'38.8
*
Fastest lap
In motorsports, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. In some racing series, like NASCAR, the fastest lap award championship points for a driver or team. In Formula One and MotoGP no point is awarded for the fastest lap.
Formula O ...
:
John Surtees
John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One from to . Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycl ...
and
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...
- 1'40.2 (80.84 m.p.h.)
[ (130.074 k.p.h.)][
* Winner's average speed: 79.57 m.p.h. (128.05 k.p.h)][
]
References
{{s-end
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
Australian Grand Prix
Motorsport at Warwick Farm
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...