William Pitt (1926–2017) was an Australian former racing driver and motor racing official. For most of his racing career Pitt was associated with Jaguars, competing with XK120 and D-Type sports cars, a Mark VIII rally car and a

Mark 1 Mark 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 45 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts conta ...

touring car with the assistance of

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 , establishe ...

's Jaguar agents Cyril and Geordie Anderson of Westco Motors. Pitt first became involved in racing as an official at the

1948 Australian Grand Prix The 1948 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Point Cook Aerodrome,Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Australia Day 26 January 1948, Point Cook Aerodrome a Royal Australian Air Force base at Point Cook, just outside Melbourne in Victo ...

, but gradually moved into competing himself. By the mid-1950s he was a front running sports car driver. Pitt co-drove a

Jaguar XK120 The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since SS 100 production ended in 1939. The XK120 is a highly desirable model. In 2016, Bonhams sold a matching numbers left-hand- ...

to a four lap victory in what for 48 years was Australia's only 24-hour motor race, the 1954 Mount Druitt 24 Hours Road Race, driving with Geordie Anderson and Charles Swinburne. In 1956 Anderson purchased a Jaguar D-Type in which Pitt placed fourth behind two factory-entered Maseratis and a Ferrari in the

Australian Tourist Trophy The Australian Tourist Trophy is a Confederation of Australian Motor Sport-sanctioned national motor racing title, contested between 1956 and 1979 by Sports Cars and, since 2007, by GT cars. The trophy is currently awarded to the outright winner ...

at Albert Park in November of that year.John Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, page 178 The car was badly damaged the following weekend, but was rebuilt and, with Pitt driving, became the dominant feature of Australian sports car racing. Frequently, because of his domination of sports car racing, Pitt raced the D-Type against Grand Prix type machinery in search of competition, finishing third in the 1957 Queensland Road Racing Championship, a race which counted towards the

1957 Australian Drivers' Championship The 1957 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS-sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre cars. The championship was contested over a nine race series with the winner awarded the 1957 CAMS Gold Star.The CAMS Go ...

.1957 Gold Star race results, dandsshaw/images
Retrieved via web.archive.org on 11 September 2013 The D-Type was sold in 1959 and Pitt and Anderson next invested in a

Jaguar Mark 1 The Jaguar Mark 1 is a British saloon car produced by Jaguar between 1955 and 1959. It was referred to in contemporary company documentation as the Jaguar 2.4 Litre and Jaguar 3.4 Litre. Its designation as Mark 1 was retroactive, following its ...

Saloon to race in the growing touring car category. After finishing second behind David McKay in the 1960 Australian Touring Car Championship, Pitt became the first

er to win the title, achieving the victory at his home circuit,

Lowood Lowood is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Lowood had a population of 4,159 people. Geography The town is on the Brisbane River, west of the ...

, in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

.Graham Howard & Stewart Wilson, The Australian Touring Car Championship, 30 Fabulous Years, 1990, pages 26-32 Pitt retired from racing in 1963 but continued in his role as a

representative of the National Control Council of the

Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport in Australia. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'A ...

until 1964.

Career results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, Bill 1926 births 2017 deaths Australian Touring Car Championship drivers Racing drivers from Brisbane Racing drivers from Queensland