The 1961 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n motor racing title for drivers of

Appendix J Touring Cars Appendix J Touring Cars was an Australian motor racing category for modified, production based sedans. It was the premier form of Touring car racing in Australia from 1960 to 1964. The category was introduced by the Confederation of Australian Mot ...

.''National Titles'', 1961 CAMS Manual Of Motor Sport, page 53 The championship, which was contested over a single, 50 mile (82 km) race at the

Lowood Airfield Circuit The Lowood Airfield Circuit was a motor racing venue in Queensland, Australia. The circuit, which was used from 1946 to 1966, was located at a former wartime airfield site at Tarampa, Queensland, Mount Tarampa, near Lowood, Queensland, Lowood, ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

on 3 September 1961, was the second

Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...

. The race, which was promoted by the Queensland Racing Drivers' Club, was won by Bill Pitt, driving a Jaguar Mark 1 3.4.

Race overview

As in 1960, the event was dominated by Jaguar drivers.

Ian Geoghegan Ian "Pete" Geoghegan, (26 April 1939 – 15 November 2003) was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Sometimes referred to as "Pete" Geoghegan, he was one of the iconic characters of the 1960s and 197 ...

took pole position ahead of Bill Pitt and Ron Hodgson, while Bob Jane and Bill Burns completed a top five lockout for Jaguar.

Bob Holden Robert Lee Holden Jr. (born August 24, 1949) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 53rd Governor of Missouri from 2001 to 2005. Previously, he served as the State Treasurer of Missouri from 1993 to 2001 ...

was fastest of the non-Jaguar drivers in practice, more than eleven seconds slower than Burns. Jane made a good start and was alongside Geoghegan heading into the first corner, but Geoghegan held on and led Hodgson, Pitt and Jane around for the first lap. Pitt attempted to pass Hodgson in the back section of the circuit but was unable to complete the move. Geoghegan led by 2.5 seconds at the end of the first lap, with Hodgson holding a similar margin back to Pitt in third. Jane and Burns were further back, while Holden and Cecil Keid led the battle for sixth ahead of Barry Gibson, Muir Daniel, Ken Brigden, Noel Trees, Des West, Roy Sawyer and Viv Eddy. Jane retired on lap 2 after a rear spring mount broke. Geoghegan continued to build his lead over Hodgson, extending it to around six seconds by the end of lap 3 and setting a new lap record of 2:04.7 on lap 2, before Hodgson went off at the first corner, allowing Pitt into second place. Pitt quickly closed in on Geoghegan, setting another lap record of 2:03.7, before passing him for the lead on lap 5. Geoghegan began suffering from clutch slip and dropped back, as did Hodgson who had both overdrive and brake problems. Sawyer retired on lap 7 with brake dramas and Gibson went out of the race as well on the following lap. West and Trees then went out on consecutive laps. By this stage, Pitt had a lead of more than 40 seconds and went on to an easy victory over Geoghegan and Hodgson. Burns completed a Jaguar top four while Holden was the first non-Jaguar in fifth. Keid had been running sixth until dropping back on the second last lap to seventh, allowing Daniel into sixth place. The top ten was rounded out by Brigden, Eddy and J.D. Sherman. Geoghegan would go on to win five Australian Touring Car Championships during the 1960s, while Hodgson would achieve success as a team owner when Bob Morris won the 1979 title.

Race results

Statistics

* Pole position: Ian Geoghegan, 2:03.1 * Fastest lap: Bill Pitt, 2:03.7 (new lap record) * Race distance: 18 laps, 81.72 km * Average speed: 127.87 km/h

References

External links

''Touring Cars 1961'', autopics.com.au

{{Australian Touring Car Racing Australian Touring Car Championship seasons

Touring Cars Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States. While the cars do not mo ...