The 1951 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Libre

Formula Libre

Formula Libre is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the opportunity for some compelling driving performances against superior machinery...

 motor race held at a street circuit in Narrogin

Narrogin, Western Australia

Narrogin is a large town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Pingelly and Wagin...

, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 on 5 March 1951. The race was held over 24 laps of the 7.1 kilometre circuit for a race distance of 170 kilometres.

It was the sixteenth Australian Grand Prix

Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...

 and the last to feature a handicap start which saw the slower cars starting ahead of the faster cars according to handicap allowance. The first car over the line was the MG TC special of South Australian Steve Tillett. The Australian Grand Prix title was however to be awarded to the driver setting the fastest outright time, regardless of handicap. The scratch race was won by Warwick Pratley driving a George Reed built Flathead Ford V8

Ford Flathead engine

The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...

 powered racing car. It would be the last Australian Grand Prix victory by an Australian built car until Frank Matich

Frank Matich

Frank Matich, born 1935, was an Australian racing car driver. A highly successful motor racing competitor in the 1960s and 70s, Matich built his own range of Matich sports cars and open wheel cars, mainly to support his own career, but some cars found success with other drivers...

 won the 1971 race

1971 Australian Grand Prix

The 1971 Australian Grand Prix was a race held at Warwick Farm Raceway on November 21, 1971.It was the thirty sixth running of the Australian Grand Prix. Frank Matich won his second straight AGP and like 1970, started the race on pole and also drove the fastest race lap.- Classification :Results...

 at the wheel of a Matich A50. Pratley started the race ten minutes and thirty seconds behind the first car to start the race, the Morgan of Colin Uphill. Pratley won the race by 96 seconds over the Delahaye

Delahaye

Delahaye automobile manufacturing company was started by Emile Delahaye in 1894, in Tours, France. His first cars were belt-driven, with single- or twin-cylinder engines. In 1900, Delahaye left the company.-History:...

 of Dick Bland. Both Tillett and Pratley were awarded Commonwealth Jubilee Trophies for their victories in what was effectively two races in one.

Classification

Results as follows.

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	Laps	Time	H'cap Pos
1	18	Warwick Pratley	George Reed Special / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  4.0L	24	1h 39m 15s	3
2	9	Dick Bland	Delahaye Delahaye Delahaye automobile manufacturing company was started by Emile Delahaye in 1894, in Tours, France. His first cars were belt-driven, with single- or twin-cylinder engines. In 1900, Delahaye left the company.-History:...  135 / Delahaye Delahaye Delahaye automobile manufacturing company was started by Emile Delahaye in 1894, in Tours, France. His first cars were belt-driven, with single- or twin-cylinder engines. In 1900, Delahaye left the company.-History:...  3.6L	24	1h 40m 41s	8
3	34	Steve Tillett	MG TC / MG 1.3L	24	1h 43m 30s	1
4	15	Barry Ranford	Chrysler Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....  6 Special / Chrysler Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....  2.9L	24	1h 47m 03s	7
5	37	Bill Hayes	MG TC / MG 1.3L	24	1h 47m 36s	2
6	33	Sid Taylor	TS Dodge Special / Dodge Dodge Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....  3.6L	24	1h 49m 18s	5
7	41	Ron Kennedy	MG TC / MG 1.3L	24	1h 50m 21s	4
8	30	Peter McKenna	BMW 328 BMW 328 The BMW 328 is a sports car made by BMW between 1936 and 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski, who became BMW chief of design after World War II ....  / BMW BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...  2.0L	24	1h 51m 05s	9
9	44	Colin Uphill	Morgan 4/4 Morgan 4/4 Morgan 4/4 was the Morgan Motor Company's first car with four wheels. It appeared in 1936. Its model designation "4-4" stood for four wheels and four cylinders. Earlier Morgans had been three-wheelers, only, typically with V-twin engines...  / Coventry Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...  1.2L	24	1h 55m 48s	6
10	17	Syd Negus	Plymouth Plymouth (automobile) Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...  6 Special / Plymouth Plymouth (automobile) Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...  3.3L	24	2h 03m 6s	10
Ret	32	Jack Nelson	Ford 10 Ford Model C Ten The Ford Model C Ten was a car from Ford built in the United Kingdom between 1934 and 1937. The car was also assembled in Spain between 1934 and 1936...  Special / Ford s/c 1.2L	23
Ret	16	George Reed	George Reed Monoskate / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  4.0L	22
Ret	1	Colin Murray	Maserati 6C Maserati 6CM Maserati 6CM were 29 Italian single-seater racing cars made by Maserati of Modena.It was built on the Maserati 4CM frame, and front suspension as on Maserati V8RI.The first version had*1493.2 cc inline-6*two OHV mounted 90 degree...  / Maserati Maserati Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...  1.5L	19
Ret	19	Harold Smith	Smith Special /	14
Ret	12	Vin Maloney	MG TC / MG 1.3L	11
Ret	24	Ron Denney	Targa Florio Ballot / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  3.6L	9
Ret	10	Eldred Norman	Double Ford V8 Special / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  7.8L	7
Ret		Andy Brown	MG TC / MG s/c 1.3L	6
Ret	26	D. Page	Ranford Chrysler 6 Special / Chrysler Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....	5
Ret	7	Keith Martin	Cooper Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...  Mk.IV / JAP 1.0L	5
Ret	25	Bob Brown	Alfa Romeo Tipo B Alfa Romeo P3 The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 was first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and Alfa Romeo's second monoposto after Tipo A monoposto . It was based on the earlier successful Alfa Romeo P2...  / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  4.0L	3
Ret	4	John Crouch	Cooper Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...  Mk.V / JAP 1.1L	3
Ret	38	Noel Aldous	MG TC / MG 1.3L	2
Ret	42	Claude LaMotte	Fidget Fiat 500 Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....  / Ford Ford Model C Ten The Ford Model C Ten was a car from Ford built in the United Kingdom between 1934 and 1937. The car was also assembled in Spain between 1934 and 1936...  1.2L	2
Ret	27	John Cummins	Ballot Ballot (automobile) Ballot was a French automobile manufacturer who made cars between 1921 and 1932.The Ballot brothers, Edouard and Maurice, founded their company in 1905. Before World War I they manufactured automobile and marine engines. The company was re-founded as Etablissements Ballot SA in 1910.Edouard...  / Oldsmobile Oldsmobile Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...  3.9L	2
Ret	40	A. Dry	MG TC / MG 1.3L	1
Ret	36	Bob Brown	MG TC / MG 1.3L	1
Ret	20	Dennis Curran	Ford V8 Special / Ford Ford Flathead engine The Ford flathead V8 was a V8 engine of the flathead type, designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees...  4.0L	1

Further reading

• Narrogin Observer 9 March 1951, p. 1