1956 Argus Trophy

The 1956 Argus Trophy was a Formula Libre motor race held at the Albert Park Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 18 March 1956.Official Programme, 18 March 1956, Second Day, The Argus Moomba Motor Races, Albert Park Circuit

The race was contested over 48 laps, a total distance of 150 miles.

It was staged by the Light Car Club of Australia as the feature event on the second Sunday of the two-day "Moomba Meeting", which was held with the co-operation of the Moomba Festival organisers.JR Horman, Albert Park, Australian Motor Sports, April 1956, pages 136 to 143

The race was won by Reg Hunt driving a Maserati 250F.

Results

File:Maserati 250F.jpg, similar to the car driven to victory in the 1956 Argus Trophy by Reg Hunt]]

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style="font-weight:bold"

| height="14" align="center" | Position

| Driver

| align="center" | No.

| Car

| Entrant

| align="center" | Laps

height="14" align="center" | 1

| Reg Hunt

| align="center" | 2

| Maserati 250F

| R. H. Hunt & Co. Pty. Ltd.

| align="center" | 48

height="14" align="center" | 2

| Lex Davison

| align="center" | 4

| Ferrari Type 500John B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 146

| Ecurie AustralieMaserati versus Ferrari at Moomba, Australian Motor Manual, April 1956, pages 58 & 59

| align="center" | 48

height="14" align="center" | 3

| Kevin Neal

| align="center" | 3

| Maserati A6GCMJohn B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 221

| R. H. Hunt & Co. Pty. Ltd.Car 3 is listed in the Official Programme with RH Hunt & Co Pty Ltd as the entrant and no nominated driver. Car 6 is listed in the Official Programme with RH Hunt & Co Pty Ltd as the entrant and KP Neal as the nominated driver. The "Albert Park Lap Times" chart for the Argus Trophy as published in Australian Motor Sports, April 1956, page 140, indicates that Neal drove car 3 and that car 6 did not contest that race.

| align="center" | 47

height="14" align="center" | 4

| Tom Hawkes

| align="center" | 7

| Cooper Type 23 Repco HoldenJohn B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 98

| T. V. Hawkes

| align="center" | 45

height="14" align="center" | 5

| Bib Stillwell

| align="center" | 44

| Jaguar D-Type

| B. S. Stillwell

| align="center" | 45

height="14" align="center" | 6

| Arthur Griffiths

| align="center" | 5

| HWM Jaguar

| align="center" | 45

height="14" align="center" | 7

| Ken Wylie

| align="center" | 26

| Cooper Mark V Norton

| K. Wylie

| align="center" | 39

height="14" align="center" | 8

| E. Milthorpe

| align="center" | 16

| Ford V8 Special

| E. C. Milthorpe

| align="center" | 39

height="14" align="center" | 9

| Alex Strachan

| align="center" | 80

| Lotus Mark VI Coventry Climax

| A. W. Strachan

| align="center" | 38

height="14" align="center" | 10

| H. Thompson

| align="center" | 28

| HRG

| H. Thompson

| align="center" | 37

height="14" align="center" | 11

| Jock Cummins

| align="center" | 19

| Bugatti Type 37A Holden

| J. K. Cummins

| align="center" | 37

height="14" align="center" | 12

| Harry McLaughlin

| align="center" | 14Car 14 is listed in the Official Programme as a Ford with W Wilcox as the Entrant & Driver. The meeting report in Australian Motor Sport makes reference to McLaughlin driving the ex-Wilcox Ford V8.

| Ford V8 Special

| align="center" | 29

height="14" align="center" | 13

| Julian Barrett

| align="center" | 10

| BWA s/c

| J. S. Barrett

| align="center" | 28

height="14" align="center" | 14

| Bruce Walton & Ted Gray

| align="center" | 12

| Tornado

| L. J. Abrahams & L. W. Gray

| align="center" | 25

height="14" align="center" | 15

| Reg Smith

| align="center" | 8

| Cooper Type 40 BristolJohn B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 103

| R. Smith

| align="center" | 24

height="14" align="center" | 16

| Bill Craig

| align="center" | 11

| Alta Holden

| W. J. Craig

| align="center" | 21

height="14" align="center" | 17

| K. McConville

| align="center" | 17

| Austin Special

| K. H. McConville

| align="center" | 21

height="14" align="center" | 18

| Bill Wilcox

| align="center" | 9Car 9 is listed in the Official Programme as an Alta s/c with JH Scorer as the Entrant & Driver. The meeting report in Australian Motor Sport makes reference to the car being bought by Bill Wilcox and being driven by him in the Argus Trophy.

| Alta s/c

| align="center" | 18

height="14" align="center" | 19

| G. Nankervis

| align="center" | 24

| NR MG s/c

| G. Nankervis

| align="center" | 13

height="14" align="center" | 20

| E. Perkins

| align="center" | 25

| Volkswagen Special s/c

| E. B. Perkins

| align="center" | 5

height="14" align="center" | 21

| Noel Wade

| align="center" | 23

| Austin A40 Special s/c

| N. Wade

| align="center" | 2

height="14" align="center" | 22

| E. Clay

| align="center" | 21

| HRG

| E. A. Clay

| align="center" | 0

Starters: 22
Winner's race time: 1:28:32
Fastest lap: Reg Hunt, Maserati 250F, 1:59, 94.5 mph
Attendance: 70,000

Notes & references

External links

[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/6568927 Michael Armit, Only one car to pass - and his engine boiled, The Argus, Monday, 19 March 1956, page 14, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20210120033434/https://primotipo.com/2014/10/01/1956-argus-trophy-albert-park-reg-hunt-and-lex-davison-maserati-250f-and-a6gcm-ferrari-tipo-500/ 1956 ‘Argus Trophy’ Albert Park: Reg Hunt and Lex Davison: Maserati 250F and A6GCM: Ferrari Tipo 500…, primotipo.com, as archived at web.archive.org]

Argus Trophy

Category:Motorsport at Albert Park

Category:March 1956 sports events in Australia