1958 Melbourne Grand Prix Explained

The 1958 Melbourne Grand Prix was a motor race for Formula Libre Racing Cars and Sports Cars by invitation.^[1] The race was staged at the Albert Park Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 30 November 1958 over 32 laps, a distance of 100 miles (161 km).^[2] It was race 8 of 9 in the 1958 Australian Drivers' Championship.^[3]

The race was won by Stirling Moss driving a Cooper T45 for RRC Walker.^[4]

Results

Position	Driver	No.^[5]	Car	Entrant	Laps
1	Stirling Moss	7	Cooper T45 Coventry Climax FPF	RRC Walker	32
2	Jack Brabham	8	Cooper T45 Coventry Climax FPF	J Brabham	32
3	Doug Whiteford	26		D Whiteford	31
4	Bib Stillwell	3		BS Stillwell	31
5	Len Lukey	5		Lukey Mufflers Pty Ltd	30
6	Bill Pitt	22	Jaguar D-Type	G Anderson	30
7	Curley Brydon	6	Ferrari Type 125 Chevrolet Corvette	AH Brydon	29
8	Glyn Scott	18	Repco Holden Special	G Scott	29
9	Bob Jane	27		New York Motors Pty Ltd	29
10	Tom Clarke^[6]	10	Ferrari 555	T Clarke	28
11	John Roxburgh	19	Cooper T41 Coventry Climax FWB	JB Roxburgh	28
DNF	Derek Jolly	29	Lotus XV Coventry Climax	D Jolly	28
DNF	Stan Jones	12		Stan Jones Motors Pty Ltd	18
DNF	Austin Miller	60	Miller Special Coventry Climax FWB	A Miller	12
DNF	Ted Gray	11	Tornado Mk.II Chevrolet Corvette	L Abrahams	4
DNF	Arnold Glass	2	Ferrari 555	Capital Motors	4
DNF	Jack Myers	17	WM Special Waggott Holden	J Myers	1
DNF^[7]	Owen Bailey	20	Talbot-Lago T26C	O Bailey	1
DNF	Alec Mildren	15	Cooper T43 Coventry Climax FPE	AG Mildren Pty Ltd	0
DNS	Bill Patterson	9	Cooper T43 Coventry Climax	Bill Patterson Motors Pty Ltd	-
DNS	Ray Gibbs	25	Cooper T23 Holden	Sabina Motors Pty. Ltd.	-
DNS	Werner Greve^[8]	30	HWM Jaguar	W Greve	-
DNS	Ray Wamsley	21	Alfa Romeo Tipo B Chevrolet Corvette	R Wamsley	-
DNS	Charlie Whatmore	28	Lotus XI Coventry Climax FPF	C Whatmore	-
DNS	John Marston	23	Cooper Mk.IV Vincent s/c	J Marston	-
DNS^[9]	Ern Seeliger	4	Maybach Mk.IV Chevrolet Corvette	E Seeliger	-

Notes:

• Winner's average speed: 98.86 mph^[10]
• Fastest lap: Stirling Moss, 1m 50s (102.27 mph), all time outright lap record^[11]

Further reading

• H. A, C. Russell, Moss wins at Melbourne, Autosport, December 12, 1958, pages 758 to 760

Notes and References

1. Final Supplementary Regulations, International Meeting, Melbourne GP and Victorian TT, 1958
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20120318165111/http://members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw/images/results/races58.htm Melbourne Grand Prix, members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw, as archived at web.archive.org
3. 1958 CAMS Gold Star, Australian Motor Sports Review, 1958-59, page 35
4. https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.oldracingcars.com/australia/results/1958/albert-park/nov/30/ Melbourne Grand Prix, Albert Park, 30 Nov 1958, Results, oldracingcars.com, as archived at web.archive.org
5. Official Programme, Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne Grand Prix and Melbourne Tourist Trophy, Second Day, 1958
6. CLARKE spelling from Official Programme
7. members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw indicates that Bailey did not start, but also that he completed 1 lap. The race report in Autosport December 12, 1958 indicates that "Bailey's Talbot sat lifeless on the grid but was soon away."
8. GREVE spelling from Official Programme
9. Melbourne Grand Prix and Victorian Tourist Trophy, Australian Motor Sport, pages 548 to 551 and pages 559 to 561
10. David McKay, Quick money for Moss, Modern Motor, February 1959, page 35
11. Barry Green, Glory Days - Albert Park 1953-58, page 123