- Lowood circuit
Motorsport venue
Name = Lowood Airfield Circuit
Nicknames = Lowood Circuit
Location = Lowood,Queensland
Events =Australian Grand Prix ,Australian Touring Car Championship , 4 Hour races
Length_km = 4.54
Length_mi = 2.82
Turns = 7The Lowood circuit was a motor racing venue in
Queensland ,Australia which was used from 1946 to 1966. It was located at a former wartime airfield site located at Mount Tarampa, near Lowood, 72 km west of the state capitalBrisbane . The circuit utilised the airfield’s runway for its 1.6 km long 200 metre wide main straight and also used various taxiways and tarmac from the old hanger area. The Maquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 283] Lap distance was 4.54 km (2.82 miles). [Graham Howard & Stewart Wilson, Australian Touring Car Championship - 30 fabulous years, 1989, page 30]The circuit was first used in June 1946 for the running of the Queensland Grand Prix, however it hosted only occasional meetings between then and 1956. In that year the Queensland Racing Drivers’ Club took over the site, hosting their first meeting there in November and subsequently developing the circuit into Queensland’s premier motor racing venue. The circuit was closed in November 1966.
Australian Drivers Championship
Rounds of the
Australian Drivers' Championship were held at Lowood each year from 1957 to 1962. [Racing Car News, August 1972 “Guide to The Gold Star" supplement]
* 1957 Round 5 - Lex Davison – Ferrari
* 1957 Round 6 - Stan Jones –Maserato 250F
* 1958 Round 5 - Alec Mildren – Cooper Climax
* 1958 Round 6 - Alec Mildren – Cooper Climax
* 1959 Round 6 - Alec Mildren – Cooper Climax
* 1959 Round 7 - Alec Mildren – Cooper Climax
* 1960 Round 3 - Alec Mildren – Cooper Maserati
* 1960 Round 4 - Alec Mildren – Cooper Maserati
* 1961 Round 3 – Bill Patterson – Cooper Climax
* 1962 Round 3 – Greg Cusack – Cooper ClimaxAustralian Tourist Trophy
Lowood twice hosted the nation’s premier sports car race, the
Australian Tourist Trophy . [ [http://www.camsmanual.com.au/records.asp Australian Titles] Retrieved from CAMS Online Manual of Motor Sport on 29 August 2008]
* 1959 Australian Tourist Trophy - Ron Phillips – Cooper Jaguar
* 1963 Australian Tourist Trophy –Ian Geoghegan –Lotus 23 Australian Grand Prix
Lowood hosted the nation’s premier motor racing event of 1960 the
Australian Grand Prix . It was won by Alec Mildren driving a Cooper Maserati. [ [http://www.camsmanual.com.au/records.asp Australian Grand Prix Winners] Retrieved from CAMS Online Manual of Motor Sport on 29 August 2008]Australian Touring Car Championship
The Lowood circuit was the host track of the second Australian Touring Car Championship, in 1961. The race was won by
Bill Pitt , driving a Jaguar 3.4. [2004 V8 Supercars TV Guide, page 102] .Lowood 4 Hour
Three 4 Hour races for production sedans were held at the Lowood circuit during the mid sixties. Although the emphasis was on class victories, the entries credited with line honours for covering the greatest distance were:
*1964 Lowood 4 Hour - Harry Firth & John Raeburn – Ford Cortina GT Mk 1
*1965 Lowood 4 Hour – John Harvey & Brain Foley – Morris Cooper S
* 1966 Lowood 4 Hour – David McKay & Bill Orr – Volvo 122S [Racing Car News, May 1966, pages 24-25]Australian Formula 2 Championship
The inaugural Australian Formula 2 Championship was staged at the Lowood circuit in June 1964 and was won by Greg Cusack driving an Elfin Ford.
References
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