1962 Australian Grand Prix
The 1962 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race for Formula Libre cars, held at the Caversham circuit in Western Australia, Australia on 18 November 1962. It was the twenty seventh Australian Grand Prix and the sixth and final race in the 1962 Australian Drivers' Championship. The Grand Prix meeting was organised by the Western Australian Sporting Car Club Inc.
| 1962 Australian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 6 in 1962 Australian Drivers' Championship | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 18 November 1962 | ||
| Location | Caversham, Western Australia | ||
| Course | Airfield circuit | ||
| Course length | 3.621 km (2.25 miles) | ||
| Distance | 60 laps, 198.78 km (123.54 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Cooper-Climax | ||
| Time | 1'19.6 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Jack Brabham | Repco Brabham-Climax | |
| Time | 1'20.0 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Cooper-Climax | ||
| Second | Cooper-Climax | ||
| Third | Cooper-Climax | ||
Held at the former United States Navy air base in still remote Western Australia, the race had just ten starters, seven of which had made the long journey across the Nullarbor Plain from the eastern states, and three of which were local entries. It was the third of only four Australian Grands Prix to be contested in Western Australia with the next held in 1979.
Bruce McLaren won his first Australian Grand Prix, beginning a new era for the race in which the results would be dominated by professional drivers and teams rather than the gentleman amateurs who had won most of the post-war AGP races. It also began an AGP rivalry between the two senior drivers from the region, McLaren and Jack Brabham who were already long-time rivals in Formula One racing.