1963 Australian Grand Prix


The 1963 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Warwick Farm Raceway in New South Wales, Australia on 10 February 1963. Open to Formula Libre cars, it was the opening heat of the 1963 Australian Drivers' Championship. The race, which was the twenty eighth Australian Grand Prix, had 16 starters.
The race featured a strong representation of international competitors, with entries from Ecurie Vitesse for Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren for himself, R.R.C. Walker Racing Team for Graham Hill and from the Bowmaker Racing Team for John Surtees, Tony Maggs and Jim Palmer. Jack Brabham won the race, his second Australian Grand Prix victory, after a battle with John Surtees. It was the first AGP victory by a driver in a self-developed car since Doug Whiteford won in his "Black Bess" Ford V8 Special in 1950.
Stirling Moss, who was recovering from a near-fatal crash at the Goodwood Circuit, was the special guest at the Grand Prix. Moss, who had driven a Maserati 250F to victory in the 1956 Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, also provided guest commentary for Australian television station the ABC alongside Doug Woodward, Bill Reynolds and pit reporter Norman May.

Classification

Results as follows.
PosNo.DriverEntrantCarLapsTime / Reason
14 Jack BrabhamEcurie VitesseRepco Brabham BT4 / Climax FPF 2.7L451h 16m 34.1s
22 John SurteesBowmaker Racing TeamLola Mk.4 / Climax FPF 2.7L451h 16m 42.1s
310 Bruce McLarenB. McLarenCooper T62 / Climax FPF 2.7L451h 17m 284.1s
45 David McKayScuderia VeloceRepco Brabham BT4 / Climax FPF 2.7L451h 18m 01.1s
56 Bib StillwellB.S. StillwellRepco Brabham BT4 / Climax FPF 2.7L44
61 Graham HillR.R.C. Walker Racing TeamFerguson P99 / Climax FPF 2.5L44
716 Tony ShellyIndependent MotorsLotus 18/21 / Climax FPF 2.5L44
818 Frank MatichTotal TeamElfin Catalina / Ford 1.5L43
917 Leo GeogheganTotal TeamLotus 20B / Ford 1.5L42
1019 Bob HoldenKillara Motor GarageLynx / Peugeot 1.5L42
118 Lex DavisonEcurie AustralieCooper T53 / Climax FPF 2.7L36
Ret3 Tony MaggsBowmaker Racing TeamLola Mk.4 / Climax FPF 2.7L31Exhaustion
Ret15 John YoulJ. YoulCooper T55 / Climax FPF 2.5L25Black Flagged
Ret14 Chris AmonScuderia VeloceCooper T53 / Climax FPF 2.5L24Fuel Pump
Ret12 Jim PalmerBowmaker Racing TeamCooper T55 / Climax FPF 2.7L9Broken steering arm
Ret11 Frank GardnerAlec Mildren Pty. Ltd.Cooper T51 / Maserati 2.9L0Broken Axle