Australia Post - Motor Racing

Background

The world's first organised race for motor vehicles was from Paris to Rouen in 1894, less than ten years after the appearance of the first functional car. Australia's first recorded race took place in 1901 but only three-wheeled vehicles took part. In March 1904, however, a race for four-wheeled cars took place on Sandown horseracing track near Melbourne.

The Australian Grand Prix (AGP) is the world's third oldest, continuously-contested national Grand Prix. The first Australian Grand Prix was held on a dirt and gravel 6.5-mile circuit at Cowes on Phillip Island in March 1928. It was won by Captain Arthur Waite in a supercharged Austin 7. Phillip Island continued to host the Australian Grand Prix until 1935, with Bugattis winning four of the eight races there. In 1936, the AGP was held on an unsealed circuit on public roads at Victor Harbour in South Australia. Two years later, it was held at Bathurst's Mount Panorama circuit with 35,000 spectators in attendance. The running of the AGP was interrupted during World War II (1940-46) but the first post-war AGP was held at Bathurst in 1947. The Australian Grand Prix then moved to other circuits that included Melbourne's Albert Park in 1956, the year that the Olympic Games were held in Melbourne. Record crowds estimated at 125,000 watched Stirling Moss win in a Maserati 250F.

Australian drivers Jack Brabham and Alan Jones enjoyed international Formula One success, with Brabham becoming Australia's first World Formula One Drivers' Champion in 1959 (in a Cooper-Climax). He won again the following year (also in a Cooper-Climax) and again in 1966, this time using an engine developed in Australia by Repco. Brabham is still the only man to win a World Formula One Drivers' Championship driving a car built in his own factory. In 1980, Alan Jones became Australia's second World Formula One Drivers' Champion (in a Williams FW07).
It was not until 1985 that Australia hosted a round of the World Formula One Championship at the Adelaide AGP. Adelaide remained host to the race until 1995, after which the Australian Grand Prix moved to Albert Park in Melbourne. The Australian Grand Prix currently starts the international Formula One season. It attracts many thousands of spectators and enjoys a worldwide viewing audience of around 700 million.

While the Australian Grand Prix attracts considerable interest from racing aficionados, the annual Ford versus Holden clash at Bathurst, NSW, is probably Australia's most popular car race. Bathurst's Mount Panorama circuit hosted the fourth Armstrong 500 for production cars in 1963 and has been involved ever since. Over the years, the race has evolved into a round of the Touring Car Championship, culminating in the V8 Supercar 1000, as the race was called in 2001. The annual event has always featured intense Ford/Holden rivalry and many local drivers - including Peter Brock (nine Bathurst wins), Larry Perkins (six), Allan Moffat (four) and Dick Johnson (three) - have become national identities.

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