The 1956 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Albert Park Street Circuit

Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit

The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit is a street circuit around Albert Park Lake, only a few kilometres south of central Melbourne. It is used annually as a racetrack for the Australian Grand Prix and associated support races.-Design:...

, Victoria on December 2, 1956. The race had 22 starters. The race was held over 80 laps of the five kilometre circuit, the longest of all the Australian Grands Prix at 402 kilomtres.

It was the twenty first 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 second to be held on a street circuit situated around the Albert Park Lake, home of the present day Australian Grand Prix. The race was moved to the end of the year, and the rotational system which shifted the race from state to state was suspended to allow the AGP to capitalise on the publicity generated about the 1956 Olympic Games

1956 Summer Olympics

The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...

 which were being held in Melbourne. This 'Olympic Grand Prix' quickly built up and for the first time since 1938

1938 Australian Grand Prix

The 1938 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Mount Panorama Circuit on 18 April 1938. The race had 30 starters. The race was held over 40 laps of the six kilometre circuit for at 241 kilometres....

 European based entrants arrived. With the presence of the works 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...

 racing team, bringing with them Stirling Moss

Stirling Moss

Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...

, Jean Behra

Jean Behra

Jean Marie Behra was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams.-Appearance and personality:...

 and a fleet of 250F

Maserati 250F

The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.-Mechanical details:...

 and 300S

Maserati 300S

The Maserati 300S was a racing car produced by Maserati of Italy between 1955-58, which competed in the FIA's World Sportscar Championship. Twenty eight examples were produced....

 racing cars, and with them fellow European based racers Ken Wharton

Ken Wharton

Kenneth Wharton was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points...

, Peter Whitehead and Reg Parnell

Reg Parnell

Reginald Harold Haslam Parnell was a racing driver and team manager from England. He participated in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of 9 championship points.-Driving career:Before World War II Parnell was a very successful racing...

 the race became the most important motor racing event held in Australia's history to that point.

Moss and Behra secured a 1-2 result for Maserati, dominating the two week festival which began the previous weekend with the Australian Tourist Trophy

Australian Tourist Trophy

The Australian Tourist Trophy is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for sports car drivers. The title was awarded for the first time in 1956 and then annually from 1958 until the introduction by CAMS of an Australian Sports Car Championship for 1969...

 sports car race where the duo raced the 300S sports cars. In the Grand Prix, the two were a class apart but Moss was a separate class to Behra, coming close to lapping his team mate. The two Ferraris, the overweight 555s by now superseded in Europe by Ferrari's purchase of the Lancia D50 race team, were not a serious threat but they did have the measure of the local drivers with 1938 Grand Prix winner Whitehead finishing two laps clear of the first of the Australians, Maserati racer Reg Hunt. Parnell finished sixth, behind another domestic Maserati driven by Stan Jones

Stan Jones (racing driver)

Stanley Jones was an Australian racing driver.Today better known as father of 1980 World Drivers' Champion Alan Jones, Stan was a prominent racing driver himself, racing mainly in the 1950s. He is one of eleven drivers to have won the Australian and New Zealand Grands Prix...

, both on the same lap as Hunt, while Lex Davison

Lex Davison

Alexander Nicholas Davison was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 and 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1957...

's older sports car engined Ferrari was another two laps distant. Doug Whiteford

Doug Whiteford

Doug Whiteford was an Australian racing driver.Whiteford was best known as a competitor in the Australian Grand Prix which he won three times in four years. He was fondly remember for his Talbot-Lago T26 Formula One car which he used to win his second and third Grands Prix. His third win was at the...

 was the first non-Italian car home in his Grand Prix Lago-Talbot. With defending champion Jack Brabham

Jack Brabham

Sir John Arthur "Jack" Brabham, AO, OBE is an Australian former racing driver who was Formula One champion in , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name....

 absent the best of the Cooper sourced machinery was Len Lukey's already much modified Cooper-Bristol in ninth. Wharton's European Maserati failed to make the finish.

Classification

Results as follows.

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	Laps	Time
1	7	Stirling Moss Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...	Maserati 250F Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.-Mechanical details:...  / 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...  3.0L	80	2h 36m 15.4s
2	1	Jean Behra Jean Behra Jean Marie Behra was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams.-Appearance and personality:...	Maserati 250F Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.-Mechanical details:...  / 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...  3.0L	80	2h 38m 27.4s
3	3	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...  555 F1 / Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...  3.4L	79
4	5	Reg Hunt	Maserati 250F Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.-Mechanical details:...  / 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...  2.5L	77
5	8	Stan Jones Stan Jones (racing driver) Stanley Jones was an Australian racing driver.Today better known as father of 1980 World Drivers' Champion Alan Jones, Stan was a prominent racing driver himself, racing mainly in the 1950s. He is one of eleven drivers to have won the Australian and New Zealand Grands Prix...	Maserati 250F Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.-Mechanical details:...  / 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...  2.5L	77
6	2	Reg Parnell Reg Parnell Reginald Harold Haslam Parnell was a racing driver and team manager from England. He participated in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of 9 championship points.-Driving career:Before World War II Parnell was a very successful racing...	Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...  555 F1 / Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...  3.4L	77
7	9	Lex Davison Lex Davison Alexander Nicholas Davison was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 and 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1957...	Ferrari 625 F1 / Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...  3.0L	75
8	11	Doug Whiteford Doug Whiteford Doug Whiteford was an Australian racing driver.Whiteford was best known as a competitor in the Australian Grand Prix which he won three times in four years. He was fondly remember for his Talbot-Lago T26 Formula One car which he used to win his second and third Grands Prix. His third win was at the...	Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago...  T26C / Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago...  4.5L	72
9	25	Len Lukey	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...  T23 / Bristol Bristol Cars Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year...  2.0L	70
10	19	Julian Barrett	Alta GP-2 / Alta S/C 1.5L	70
11	18	Tom Clark	HWM Hersham and Walton Motors Hersham and Walton Motors is the world's longest established Aston Martin business and is well known as a racing car constructor. As a constructor, it is best known for its involvement in Formula Two from 1950 to 1953 and Formula One in 1954...  / Alta 2.0L	66
12	23	Jack Myers	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...  T20 / Holden Holden motor The Holden straight-six motor is a straight-six engine produced by General Motors–Holden's in Australia between 1948 and 1986. Initially dubbed the Grey motor alluding to the colour of the cylinder block, later iterations came in the form of a Red, Blue, Black and the four-cylinder Starfire engine...  2.4L	66
Ret	6	Kevin Neal	Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6GCM The Maserati A6GCM is a single seater racing car from the Italian manufacturer Maserati. Only 12 cars were built between 1951 and 1953.-Introduction:...  / 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...  2.5L	68
Ret	20	Bill Willcox	Alta / Alta 2.0L	39
Ret	26	Bill Craig	Alta / Holden Holden motor The Holden straight-six motor is a straight-six engine produced by General Motors–Holden's in Australia between 1948 and 1986. Initially dubbed the Grey motor alluding to the colour of the cylinder block, later iterations came in the form of a Red, Blue, Black and the four-cylinder Starfire engine...  2.4L	26
Ret	24	Alec Mildren	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...  T20 / Bristol Bristol Cars Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year...  2.0L	21
Ret	4	Ken Wharton Ken Wharton Kenneth Wharton was a British racing driver from England. He began competing in the new National 500cc Formula in his own special, later acquiring a Cooper. Ken participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952 and scored a total of 3 championship points...	Maserati 250F Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made.-Mechanical details:...  / 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...  2.5L	19
Ret	16	Ted Gray	Tornado II / 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...  4.5L	15
Ret	22	Reg Smith	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...  T40 / Bristol Bristol Cars Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year...  2.0L	13
Ret	28	Harry McLaughlin	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...  Special 4.3L	6
Ret	17	Tom Hawkes	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...  T23 / Holden Holden motor The Holden straight-six motor is a straight-six engine produced by General Motors–Holden's in Australia between 1948 and 1986. Initially dubbed the Grey motor alluding to the colour of the cylinder block, later iterations came in the form of a Red, Blue, Black and the four-cylinder Starfire engine...  2.3L	5
Ret	12	Owen Bailey	Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago...  T26C / Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago was a French automobile manufacturer based in Suresnes, Hauts de Seine, outside of Paris.-Origins:The Anglo-French STD combine collapsed in 1935. The French Talbot company was acquired and reorganised by a Venetian born engineer called Anthony Lago and after that, the Talbot-Lago... 4.5L	0