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Malcolm Clarke Stewart (14 March 1935 – 19 March 1977) was an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
racing driver. He was known as the "Jolly Green Giant" for his disposition and height.
Stewart was born in
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an estimated urban population of 40,493 Estimated resident population, 3 ...
. He began his motorsport career racing motorcycles, being selected to represent Australia at the
1955 Isle of Man TT, but withdrew due to work commitments. After racing
Karts
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
and
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 ...
he moved to
open wheel
An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
ers in 1965 with much success, winning the
1967 and
1968 Australian One and a Half Litre Championships. Stewart was selected to drive for
Alec Mildren Racing
Alec Mildren (1915–1998) was active in Australian motor racing as a driver from 1938 to 1961, and subsequently as the owner of Alec Mildren Racing.
Racing career
Mildren began his racing career in an Austin Motor Company, Austin in 1938Mike K ...
, and went on to win the
1969 and
1970 Australian Formula 2 Championship
The 1970 Australian Formula 2 Championship was an Australian motor racing title for drivers of racing cars complying with Australian Formula 2 regulations. The title, which was recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the fo ...
s driving a 1.6-litre
Mildren Waggott. In 1970 he competed in a 2-litre
Mildren Waggott in which he ran strongly in the
1970 Tasman Series
The 1970 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition staged in New Zealand and Australia for cars complying with the Tasman Formula. It was the seventh Tasman Series, beginning on 3 January and ending on 22 February after seven races. The series ...
with a number of podiums, and finished second to
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...
in the
1970 JAF Grand Prix for
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 oppor ...
cars. He also won the
1971 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 1971 Australian Drivers’ Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 racing cars.Conditions for Australian Titles, 1971 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 79-83 It was the fi ...
and the
1972 Singapore Grand Prix
The 1972 Singapore Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Thomson Road Grand Prix circuit in Singapore on 2 April 1972.Eli Solomon, Snakes & Devils, A History of the Singapore Grand Prix, Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2008 The race, which was sta ...
.
Stewart later raced a
Lola T330
The Lola T330 was an open-wheel formula race car, designed, developed and built by Lola Cars, for Formula 5000
Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around ...
, winning the
1974 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 1974 Australian Drivers' Championship was a Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 racing cars with the winner awarded the 1974 CAMS ...
and the
1974 Australian Grand Prix. He then developed an initially troublesome
Lola T400
After the great success of the T332 in the 1974 Formula 5000 season (18 out of 21 top 3 finishes in the US), much was expected of the new high-tech Lola T400. Described by development driver Frank Gardner as "the most sophisticated Formula 5000 ...
, winning the
1975 Australian Grand Prix and the
1975 Toby Lee Series. He led the
1976 Australian Grand Prix from
Vern Schuppan
Vernon John Schuppan (born 19 March 1943) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.
Although he consider ...
and
John Goss until he retired a few laps from the end.
Max Stewart lost his life on 19 March 1977 in an accident while practicing at
Calder Park Raceway
Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clo ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
Max Stewart, www.orange.nsw.gov.au, as archived at web.archive.org
/ref>
Career results
References
1935 births
1977 deaths
Accidental deaths in Victoria (Australia)
Australian Formula 2 drivers
People from the Central West (New South Wales)
Racing drivers from New South Wales
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sport deaths in Australia
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