1956 Australian Tourist Trophy Explained

The 1956 Australian Tourist Trophy was a 100-mile motor race for sports cars,^[1] staged at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 25 November 1956.^[2] It was the first in a sequence of annual Australian Tourist Trophy races, each of these being recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the Australian Championship for sports cars.^[3] The race was won by Stirling Moss driving a Maserati 300S.^[4]

Class Structure

Cars competed in five classes based on engine capacity:^[1]

• Open^[1]
• 2701 - 3000cc^[1]
• 1501 - 2700cc^[1]
• 1101 - 1500cc^[1]
• Up to 1100cc^[1]

Class awards were restricted to Australian residents only.^[5]

Results

Position^[6]	Driver^[7]	No.	Car^[8]	Entrant	Class	Class pos.^[9]	Laps^[10]
1	Stirling Moss	7	Maserati 300S	Officine Alfieri Maserati	2701 - 3000cc	N/A	32
2	Jean Behra	6	Maserati 300S	Officine Alfieri Maserati	2701 - 3000cc	N/A	32
3	Ken Wharton	10	Ferrari 750 Monza	K Wharton	2701 - 3000cc	N/A	31
4	Bill Pitt	2	Jaguar D-Type	Mrs G Anderson	Open	1	31
5	Bib Stillwell	5	Jaguar D-Type	BS Stillwell	Open	2	31
6	Peter Whitehead	8	Ferrari 750 Monza	PN Whitehead	2701 - 3000cc	N/A	31
7	Lex Davison	3	HWM Jaguar	Ecurie Australie	Open	3	29
8	Ross Jensen	18	Austin-Healey 100S	R Jensen	1501 - 2700cc	N/A	29
9	Tom Sulman	14	Aston Martin DB3S	T Sulman	2701 - 3000cc	1	29
10	Ron Phillips	20	Austin-Healey 100S	JK & RK Phillips	1501 - 2700cc	1	28
11	Jack Brabham	35	Cooper T39 Coventry Climax	Cooper Car Co Limited	1101 - 1500cc	1	28
12	Paul England	25	Ausca Sports	PT England	1501 - 2700cc	2	28
13	Derek Jolly	38	Decca Mk 2 Special	DE Jolly	Up to 1100cc	1	27
14	G Bailieu	26	Triumph TR2 Special	G Bailieu	1501 - 2700cc	3	27
15	Colin Miller	19	Austin-Healey 100	CW Miller	1501 - 2700cc	4	27
16	Doug Whiteford	23	Austin-Healey 100S	D Whiteford	1501 - 2700cc	5	27
17	Ray Gibbs	17	Austin-Healey 100	RG Gibbs	1501 - 2700cc	6	27
18	Keith Jones	16	Ferrari 225 S	N Sacilotto	2701 - 3000cc	2	27
19	LJ Taylor	43	Austin-Healey 100	LJ Taylor	1501 - 2700cc	7	26
20	Barry Topen	34	MG TF	BD Topen	1101 - 1500cc	2	26
21	HC Old	31	Porsche	Monaro Motors	1101 - 1500 cc	3	26
22	Sam Miller	22	Austin-Healey 100S	SN Miller	1501 - 2700cc	8	25
23	Ralph Snodgrass	4	Allard J2	RW Snodgrass	Open	4	25
24	Jim Gullan	39	MG K3 s/c	J Gullan	Up to 1100cc	2	24
25	AC Newman	33	MG	AC Newman	1101 - 1500 cc	4	21
DNF	Doug Chivas	37	Lotus Mk.6 Coventry Climax	DG Chivas	Up to 1100cc		24
DNF	John Aldis^[11]	1	Cooper T33 Jaguar	JA Aldis	Open		19
DNF	Stan Coffey	9	Ferrari 750A	Dowidat Spanner Distributors	2701 - 3000cc		20
DNF	Bill Coad	24	Vauxhall Special	WF Coad	1501 - 2700cc		16
DNF	WJ Clemens	41	Austin-Healey 100	WJ Clemens	1501 - 2700cc		8
DNF	NF Price	42	Austin-Healey 100	NF Price	1501 - 2700cc		7
DNF	AS Baker	27	Triumph TR2	AS Baker	1501 - 2700cc		7
DNF	Otto Stone	30	Porsche	N McK. Hamilton	1101 - 1500 cc		1
DNF	Bill Patterson	36	Cooper Type 39 Coventry Climax	Bill Patterson Motors P/L	1101 - 1500cc		1

Notes

• Race distance: 32 laps - 100 miles^[1]
• Starters: 34^[7]
• Winner's race time: 1h 3m 24.2s (94.6 mph)^[9]
• Fastest lap: Stirling Moss - 1:55.8 (97.15 mph) Sports car lap record^[9]
• First Australian driver: Bill Pitt^[5]
• Joseph Lucas Trophy (for driver of the first British car): Bill Pitt^[9]

Notes & references

1. Australian Tourist Trophy (Entry list), First Day Programme, Australian Tourist Trophy (1956), page 47
2. News: RACE FANS SEE DRIVER HURT IN CRASH . . Victoria, Australia . 26 November 1956 . 22 May 2017 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
3. National Titles, 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 53
4. Athol Yeomans, Moss in walkover win, Behra second, Wheels (magazine), January 1957, pages 60 & 61.
5. First Day's Race Results, Second Day Programme, Australian Grand Prix (1956), page 11
6. Results - 1956 Australian Tourist Trophy, ("Reproduced from the actual lap charts of the 1956 Albert Park event: Competitors are listed in finishing order"), Commemorative Programme, Historic Demonstration, Fosters Australian Grand Prix 2006, page 13
7. Barry Green, Glory Days - Albert Park 1953-58, pages 68 to 74
8. John B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979
9. Australian Tourist Trophy, Australian Motor Sports, January 1957, pages 18 to 20
10. Book: Australian Tourist Trophy 1956 Official Results . 1956.
11. Aldis is listed in the Official Programme, the Commemorative Programme and in Green's Glory Days. The Wheels magazine report says the car was driver by John Grey and Blanden says Alan Gray

External links

• Image of Stirling Moss (Maserati 300S) at the 1956 Australian Tourist Trophy, www.motorsportarchive.com