primotipo…

Stan Jones struggles to keep Maybach 3 in front of Reg Hunt’s Maser A6GCM during the first lap of the 1955 Australian Grand Prix at Port Wakefield, South Australia…

The two cars were arguably Australia’s greatest, or fastest special and production racing car at the time. Mind you the ‘special’ descriptor belies the ‘tool room’ quality of the Maybach series of cars in terms of both design and execution by Charlie Dean and his team at Repco Research in Melbourne. The Maserati A6GCM and 250F family are members of one the greatest series of production racing cars ever built. Not that either of them won this particular contest mind you!

Jack Brabham returned to Oz from his first season in Europe replete with a self-built Cooper T40 Bristol, winning the Port Wakefield race in the 2 litre, 150bhp, 1100lb, mid-engined car. Was it the first time a ‘modern era’ post-war mid-engined car won a national Grand Epreuve?

Brabham had luck that weekend in South Australia in a car which later became notorious for its unreliability- he won the race after the retirement of, or problems encountered by some of the races ‘heavy metal’ including Jones ‘works Repco’ 3.8 litre Maybach, Hunt’s Maser 250F engined Maserati A6GCM and another Melbourne motor-trader, Doug Whiteford’s 4.5 litre Talbot-Lago T26C.

Hunt and the Maser were the form combination at the time, Reg took the lead from Jones on lap 1 and led the race convincingly until the failure of a finger type cam follower forced the Maser onto 5 cylinders, Brabham was soon past into a lead he held for the races duration. Jones had clutch dramas, with Whiteford third, behind Hunt, in a car which raced too late after it’s initial arrival in Australia- devoid of some of the trick bits Doug paid for, shifty furriners!

The 80 lap, 104 mile event was the twentieth AGP and noteworthy as the first on a bespoke purpose built circuit, Port Wakefield is 100Km north of Adelaide in flattish, coastal, saltbush country.

Previous Grands’ Prix in Australia were on closed roads or airfields. Port Wakefield, 1.3 miles in length, was used from 1953 to 1961, when Mallala, built on a disused Royal Australian Air Force airfield became the main South Australian circuit.

Etcetera…

Stan Coffey, again, this time having passed the spinning John Cummins Bugatti Type 37 Holden in one of the qualifying heats- Cummo did not take the start in the GP.

Charlie Dean beaming aboard his latest creation, or rather the Repco Research teams latest- Maybach 3 with its fuel injection system dominant atop the Maybach SOHC, two valve 3.6 litre straight six.

Reg Hunt’s Maserati A6GCM above and below. This model is a 2 litre car of the 1952/3 Grand Prix formula fitted with a 250F 2.5 litre SOHC, two valve, triple Weber fed straight-six.

Hunt raced this car for little more than a year before progressing to a 250F.

Melbourne businessmen/racers/LCCA supremos Bill left, and Jim Leech admire the brand new Austin Healey 100S, chassis #3905 perhaps, in the Port Wakefield paddock.

Stephen Dalton found the very first 100S in Australia was driven from Sydney to the meeting by motor dealer and AGP winner, John Crouch.

Doug Whiteford in the midst of his crew, in profile before the off.

Credits…

State Library of Victoria, Reg Fulford Collection, G Howard and Ors ‘The 50 Year History of The Australian Grand Prix’, JA Dennison via Tony Johns

Tailpiece: ’55 AGP, 20 lap, third qualifying heat underway, Hunt and Jones on the front row…

As a cursory glance of the mix of competitors shows, the race is a Formula Libre event.

On the second row is Brabham’s streamlined, central-single seater Cooper T40 Bristol and multiple AGP winner Doug Whiteford’s Talbot-Lago T26C. Rather a neat contrast of post and pre-War technology? On the next row is the Austin Healey 100 of local South Australians Greg McEwin and Bill Wilcox’ Ford V8 Spl.

Desolate flat, saltbush country clear.

Finito…