Birrana was the name of two motor racing organisations, both associated with South Australian racing driver and engineer Malcolm Ramsay. From 1971 to 1978 Birrana constructed a series of successful open-wheel racing cars as well as a Holden V8 touring car. Ramsay brought the Birrana name back to motor racing in the 1990s running a series of

Reynard Motorsport Reynard Motorsport was the world's largest racing car manufacturer in the 1980s. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vau ...

built

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

chassis in the

Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor ...

. Birrana came to dominate the championship winning titles with Jason Bright,

Paul Stokell Paul Stokell (born 8 March 1968 in Tasmania) is an Australian racing driver. Highly decorated in every category he has competed, Stokell has been a race and multiple championship winning driver in open wheel, sportscar racing and tarmac rallyin ...

Rick Kelly Rick Kelly (born 17 January 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver who previously competed in the Supercars Championship. He last drove the No. 15 Ford Mustang GT for Kelly Racing. Previously, he drove for the HSV Dealer Team with w ...

and Simon Wills as well as giving Mark Webber his first racing experience of wings and slicks open-wheeler racing. As Formula Holden started to wither, Birrana moved into V8 Supercar with Wills. Ramsay reduced his involvement as the team morphed into

Team Dynamik Team Dynamik was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian V8 Supercar racing between 2001 and 2005. History Owned by Kieran Wills, Adelaide based Team Dynamik debuted in the 2001 with Simon Wills racing an ex Gibson Motorsp ...

. Today Ramsay continues the Birrana name as a mechanical engineering firm servicing the mining industry. Birrana 274 of Malcolm Miller

Racing cars

Early designs

Birrana Formula Ford

The first Birrana was a

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

built by Tony Alcock in 1971 for John Goss.Pedr Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 46 Alcock was a designer builder who had previously worked for

Elfin Sports Cars Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd (formerly known as Elfin Sports Cars) is an Australian car manufacturer company that was founded by Garrie Cooper. It has been an Australian manufacturer of sports cars and motor racing cars since 1959. Elfin Sports C ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and for Brabham, Cosworth, McLaren and

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

. "Birrana" is an Australian aboriginal word meaning "throwing stick".Barry Frost, Austin 7 Club SA 50 Years, Chapter 5
Retrieved from www.austin7clubsa.com.au on 10 April 2011

Birrana 272

The Birrana 272 was a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

Australian Formula 2 Australian Formula 2, sometimes abbreviated to AF2 or ANF2, is a "wings and slicks" formula racing category in Australia. The category is one of Australia's oldest, dating back to 1964. The current format of AF2 was introduced in 1978. Brian Shea ...

car, constructed by Alcock in

for

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

racing driver Malcolm Ramsay. The 272 won the

class on its debut at the

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...

round of the

1972 Australian Drivers' Championship The 1972 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 racing cars.Conditions for Australian Titles, 1972 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 86 & 87 I ...

in April. It was later sold to

Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, a ...

, and subsequently won the opening round of the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship in the hands of

Leo Geoghegan Leo Geoghegan (16 May 1936 - 2 March 2015) was an Australian former racing driver. He was the elder of two sons of former New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, both of whom become dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s. Whi ...

.Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, pages 78-97

Birrana Racing Cars Pty Ltd

Birrana Racing Cars Pty Ltd was formed later in 1972 by Alcock and Ramsay and construction of racing cars was undertaken in a former service station in suburban

. The company would go on to sell a total of 16 cars.

Birrana F72

The first car sold by Birrana Racing Cars was a

, the F72 produced in 1972 for Steven Drewhurst of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Birrana 273

The 273 was an

car.

used a factory team 273 to win the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship from Enno Busselman in a 273 entered by Bob & Marj Brown. Graeme Crawford also drove a 273 to win the

1976 Australian Formula 2 Championship The 1976 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 2 racing cars.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1976, pages 81 & 82 The title was contested over a four round series: * Round 1, Cal ...

also drove an ex-Leo Geoghegan Birrana 273 during the 1973 Australian F2 Championship, finishing second at Oran Park and sixth at Amaroo, while also winning a number of non-championship races. Brock ran the Birrana under the "Team Brock" banner and the car used a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

engine, and later a

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile Wo ...

engine. Brock's

Holden Dealer Team The Holden Dealer Team (HDT) was Holden's semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1986, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and Sports Sedan races during the 1970s. From 1980 the Holden Dealer T ...

boss

Harry Firth Henry Leslie Firth (18 April 1918 – 27 April 2014) was an Australian racing driver and team manager. Firth was a leading race and rally driver during the 1950s and 1960s and continued as an influential team manager with first the Ford works ...

claimed that he let Brock race the Birrana to get formula cars out of his system.

Birrana F73

The F73 was a

design. Richard Carter drove an F73 to victory in the 1976 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series.Australian Competition Yearbook, 1977 Edition, pages 128-131

Birrana 274

The 274 was the company's new

car for 1974 with Malcolm Ramsay announcing plans to build an initial batch of six cars. A 274 was used by

to win the

1974 Australian Formula 2 Championship The 1974 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 2 racing cars.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1974, pages 84-85 It was the eighth Australian Formula 2 Championship to be awarded by ...

from Bob Muir in a 273.Australian Competition Yearbook, 1975 Edition, pages 84-101

Geoff Brabham __NOTOC__ Geoff Brabham (born 20 March 1952) is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States. Racing career CART He raced successfully in CART early in his career, finishing 8th in 1982, 19 ...

took a 274 to victory in the

1975 Australian Formula 2 Championship The 1975 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Racing Cars complying with Australian Formula 2 regulations.Conditions for Australian Titles, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1975, pages 84 to 86 ...

Birrana 374

The 374 was an

Australian Formula 3 Australian Formula 3 has been the name applied to two distinctly different motor racing categories, separated by over twenty years. The original Australian Formula 3 was introduced in 1964 based on the FIA Formula 3 of the period and intended ...

car.Birrana 374 at www.motorsportarchive.com
Retrieved 9 April 2010 Birrana Racing Cars Pty Ltd was closed in 1974. Bob and Marj Brown took two Birrana 273s and Tony AlcockJohn Player (British) Formula Atlantic Series Race - Mallory Park
{dead link, date=November 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Retrieved from www.oldracingcars.com on 10 April 2011 to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to compete in the 1975

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...

series. Later, Tony Alcock joined Graham Hill's

Embassy Racing Embassy Racing was a British auto racing team founded by Jonathan France in 2003. Initially created as a conjunction with Xero Competition in the British GT Championship, the team expanded to become an independent team and began to win races ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team. Later that year he was killed in a plane crash which also took the lives of Hill and four other Embassy Racing team members. There were three 374’s made by the team all that were very successful on track

Birrana S74

The S74 was a speedcar built to run at the Adelaide International Raceway half-mile bitumen oval. It utilised a mid-engined configuration.

Birrana A78

The Birrana A78 was built by Malcolm Ramsay using 273 and 274 components for Ramsay to contest Rothmans Series events in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in 1978. Ramsay finished second in the Penang Grand Prix and the

Selangor Grand Prix Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembil ...

and third in

Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...

and was leading the series when it was cancelled. The A78, which was the last model to carry the Birrana name, was later sold to John Holmes of Queensland as were all Birrana patterns, jigs and dies.

References

External links

Birrana 272 image at www.autopics.com.au
Australian racecar constructors