1933 Australian Grand Prix
The 1933 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 20 March 1933.[1] Organised by the Light Car of Australia, it was the sixth Australian Grand Prix and the sixth to be held at Phillip Island.[1] The race, which was the most important annual car competition in Australia,[2] was open to cars of up to 2300cc engine capacity,[1] the 2000cc limit of previous years having been increased for 1933.[1]
The Grand Prix was won by Bill Thompson driving a Riley Brooklands.[1] Thompson's win was his third Australian Grand Prix victory.[2]
Race format
The Grand Prix was staged as a handicap race with the first car, the Austin of Ken McKinney, scheduled to start 35 minutes before the last car, the Bugatti of Bill Williamson.[1] McKinney was subsequently re-handicapped to 32 minutes.[1] As Williamson's car was withdrawn prior to the race, the Bugatti of Arthur Terdich (off six minutes) was the last car to start.[1]
Race classification
| Position[3] | Driver[3] | No.[3] | Car[3] | Entrant[1] | Handicap (minutes)[1] |
Laps[3] |
| 1 | Bill Thompson | 5 | Riley Brooklands | W Thompson | 8 | 31 |
| 2 | Harold Drake-Richmond | 12 | Bugatti Type 37 | H Drake-Richmond | 16 | 31 |
| 3 | Les Jennings | 19 | MG Magna | L Jennings | 24 | 31 |
| 4 | Clarrie May | 16 | Austin 7 | Austin Distributors P/L | 19 | 31 |
| 5 | Ken McKinney[4] | 20 | Austin 7 | K McKinney | 32[1] | 31 |
| 6 | Bill Lowe | 14 | Lombard | WH Lowe | 16 | 31 |
| FO | Norman Putt & Jack Clements (relief driver)[3] |
10 | Bugatti Type 37 | Britannia Motors P/L | 14 | 31[5] |
| DNF | Neil Gullifer | 6 | Ballot | Britannia Motors P/L | 10 | 24 |
| DNF | Carl Junker | 7 | Bugatti Type 39 | EG McKay | 12 | 24 |
| DNF | Merton Wreford | 8 | Bugatti Type 39 | M Wreford | 12 | 20 |
| DNF[1][6][4] | Geoff Disher | 17 | Salmson | G Disher | 21 | 9[1][6] |
| DNF | Jack McGrath | 11 | Bugatti Type 37 | J McGrath | 14 | 6[6] |
| DNF | Cec Warren | 9 | Bugatti Type 37 | Britannia Motors P/L | 12 | 4 |
| DNF | Arthur Terdich | 2[1] | Bugatti Type 37A | AJ Terdich | 6 | 1 |
| DNF | Wally Mullett | 15 | Lea-Francis | Britannia Motors P/L | 16 | 1 |
| DNS | Bill Williamson | 1 | Bugatti Type 43 | LG Jackson | Scratch | - |
| DNS | Doug Shepherd | 3 | Frazer Nash | DF Shepherd | 7 | - |
| DNS | Jack Clements | 4 | Bugatti Type 38[1] | J Clements | 8 | - |
| DNS | Alan Chamberlain | 18 | Chamberlain | A Chamberlain | 23 | - |
Key
- FO: Flagged off.[3] (completed the full race distance but not within the allocated time limit)[5]
- DNF: Did not finish
- DNS: Did not start
Notes
- Race distance: 324.280 km (31 laps x 10.478 km)[3]
- Winner's race time: 3h 9m 05s (102.90 km/h)[3]
- Only six cars completed the course within the allotted time limit.[2]
- Fastest Time: Bill Thompson, 2h 45m 51s[4]
- Fastest lap: Merton Wreford[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p John Blanden, 1933 Australian Grand Prix, A History Of Australian Grand Prix 1928-1939, pages 91 to 100
- ^ a b c Australian Grand Prix - Mr. W. B. Thompson's Success, Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday March 23 1933, page 5, trove.nla.gov.au Retrieved on 4 March 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h i 1933 Grands Prix, www.teamdan.com, as archived at web.archive.org
- ^ a b c 1933 - Bill Thompson, Riley Brooklands, The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, pages 60 to 65
- ^ a b The Official History of the Australian Grand Prix - 80 Races, Chevron, ISBN 9780958846400, page 61
- ^ a b c Kent Patrick, Bill Thompson - Australian motor racing champion, 2011, page 193
External links
- Australian Grand Prix, Sunday Times, Sunday, 12 March 1933, Page 8, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
- Grand Prix. Won by a Riley. The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday, 21 Mar 1933, Page 9, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
- Motor Racing at Cowes, The Argus, Tuesday 21 March 1933, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
- Thompson wins his third Grand Prix, The Referee, Wednesday, 22 March 1933, Page 1, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
- Australian Grand Prix is on Again: Bill Thompson wins 200 miles handicap on Philip Island course (video), www.gettyimages.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org