Birrana
Encyclopedia
Birrana is a make of racing car which was produced in Australia
between 1971 and 1978.
built by Tony Alcock in 1971 for John Goss. Alcock was a designer builder who had previously worked for Elfin Sports Cars in Adelaide
and for Brabham, Cosworth
, McLaren
and Cooper
. "Birrana" is an Australian aboriginal word meaning “throwing stick”.
Australian Formula 2 car, constructed by Alcock in Adelaide
for South Australian racing driver Malcolm Ramsay. The 272 won the Australian Formula 2 class on its debut at the Sandown
round of the 1972 Australian Drivers' Championship
in April. It was later sold to Peter Brock
, and subsequently won the opening round of the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship
in the hands of Leo Geoghegan
.
. The company would go on to sell a total of 16 cars.
, the F72 produced in 1972 for Steven Drewhurst of Melbourne
.
used a factory team 273 to win the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship
from Enno Busselman in a 273 entered by Bob & Marj Brown. Graeme Crawford also drove a 273 to win the 1976 Australian Formula 2 Championship
.
design. Richard Carter drove an F73 to victory in the 1976 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series
.
to win the 1974 Australian Formula 2 Championship
from Bob Muir in a 273. Geoff Brabham
took a 274 to victory in the 1975 Australian Formula 2 Championship.
car.
Birrana Racing Cars Pty Ltd was closed in 1974. Alcock then took two Birrana 273s to England
to compete in the 1975 Formula Atlantic
series before joining Graham Hill
's Embassy Racing
Formula One
team. Later that year he was killed in a plane crash which also took the lives of Hill and four other Embassy Racing team members.
and was leading the series when it was cancelled. The A78, which was the last model to carry the Birrana name, was later sold to John Holmes of Queensland as were all Birrana patterns, jigs and dies.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
between 1971 and 1978.
Birrana Formula Ford
The first Birrana was a Formula FordFormula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....
built by Tony Alcock in 1971 for John Goss. Alcock was a designer builder who had previously worked for Elfin Sports Cars in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and for Brabham, Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
, McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
and 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...
. "Birrana" is an Australian aboriginal word meaning “throwing stick”.
Birrana 272
The Birrana 272 was a monocoqueMonocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
Australian Formula 2 car, constructed by Alcock in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
for South Australian racing driver Malcolm Ramsay. The 272 won the Australian Formula 2 class on its debut at the Sandown
Sandown Raceway
Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. It is considered a power circuit with its front straight being 899m long and back straight 910m long.-History:...
round of the 1972 Australian Drivers' Championship
Australian Drivers' Championship
The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula...
in April. It was later sold to Peter Brock
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...
, and subsequently won the opening round of the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship
1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship
The 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Australian Formula 2 racing cars. It was the seventh Australian Formula 2 Championship to be awarded by CAMS....
in the hands of Leo Geoghegan
Leo Geoghegan
Leo Geoghegan is a retired Australian racing driver.Geoghegan is the elder of two sons of New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, who went on to become two of the dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s...
.
Birrana Racing Cars Pty Ltd
Birrana Racing Cars Pty Ltd was formed later in 1972 by Alcock and Ramsay and construction of racing cars was undertaken in a former service station in suburban AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. The company would go on to sell a total of 16 cars.
Birrana F72
The first car sold by Birrana Racing Cars was a Formula FordFormula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....
, the F72 produced in 1972 for Steven Drewhurst of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
Birrana 273
The 273 was an Australian Formula 2 car. Leo GeogheganLeo Geoghegan
Leo Geoghegan is a retired Australian racing driver.Geoghegan is the elder of two sons of New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, who went on to become two of the dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s...
used a factory team 273 to win the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship
1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship
The 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Australian Formula 2 racing cars. It was the seventh Australian Formula 2 Championship to be awarded by CAMS....
from Enno Busselman in a 273 entered by Bob & Marj Brown. Graeme Crawford also drove a 273 to win the 1976 Australian Formula 2 Championship
Australian Formula Ford Championship
The Australian Formula Ford Championship is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It has been held annually since 1970, originally as a national series, and later as the 'Driver-to-Europe' series...
.
Birrana F73
The F73 was a Formula FordFormula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....
design. Richard Carter drove an F73 to victory in the 1976 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series
Australian Formula Ford Championship
The Australian Formula Ford Championship is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It has been held annually since 1970, originally as a national series, and later as the 'Driver-to-Europe' series...
.
Birrana 274
The 274 was the company’s new Australian Formula 2 car for 1974 with Malcolm Ramsay accouncing plans to build an initial batch of six cars. A 274 was used by Leo GeogheganLeo Geoghegan
Leo Geoghegan is a retired Australian racing driver.Geoghegan is the elder of two sons of New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, who went on to become two of the dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s...
to win the 1974 Australian Formula 2 Championship
1974 Australian Formula 2 Championship
The 1974 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 2 racing cars. It was the eighth Australian Formula 2 Championship to be awarded by CAMS.-Calendar:...
from Bob Muir in a 273. Geoff Brabham
Geoff Brabham
Geoff Brabham is an Australian racing driver. He is the son of three-time Formula One World Champion Jack Brabham. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States. He raced successfully in CART early in his career. In ten appearances in the Indianapolis 500, with a best result...
took a 274 to victory in the 1975 Australian Formula 2 Championship.
Birrana 374
The 374 was an Australian Formula 3Australian Formula 3
The Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship is a motor racing championship for FIA Formula Three racing cars and is now the official Australian Drivers' Championship. Growing out of Australian Formula 2 racing into a series for the first time in 1999, it has grown into the premier Australian...
car.
Birrana Racing Cars Pty Ltd was closed in 1974. Alcock then took two Birrana 273s to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to compete in the 1975 Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic
Formula Atlantic is a specification of open wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club of America Formula Atlantic.-History:The history of...
series before joining Graham Hill
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to...
's Embassy Racing
Embassy Racing
Embassy Racing was a British auto racing team founded by Jonathan France in 2003. Initially created as a conjunction with Xero Competition in the British GT Championship, the team expanded to become an independent team and began to win races in British GT before the team took a sabbatical year in...
Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
team. Later that year he was killed in a plane crash which also took the lives of Hill and four other Embassy Racing team members.
Birrana A78
The Birrana A78 was built by Malcom Ramsay using 273 and 274 components for Ramsay to contest Rothmans Series events in Malaysia in 1978. Ramsay finished second in the Penang Grand Prix and the Selangor Grand Prix and third in Malaysian Grand PrixMalaysian Grand Prix
First included in the Formula One World Championship in 1999, the current Malaysian Grand Prix is held at the Sepang International Circuit at Sepang, Malaysia. FIA-sanctioned racing in Malaysia has existed since the 1960s...
and was leading the series when it was cancelled. The A78, which was the last model to carry the Birrana name, was later sold to John Holmes of Queensland as were all Birrana patterns, jigs and dies.