1956 Argus Trophy

March 2024 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 thumb|A Maserati 250F, similar to the car driven to victory in the 1956 Argus Trophy by Reg Hunt Position Driver No. Car Entrant Laps 1 Reg Hunt 2 Maserati 250F R. H. Hunt & Co. Pty. Ltd. 48 2 Lex Davison 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 48 3 Kevin Neal 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. 47 4 Tom Hawkes 7 Cooper Type 23 Repco HoldenJohn B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 98 T. V. Hawkes 45 5 Bib Stillwell 44 Jaguar D-Type B. S. Stillwell 45 6 Arthur Griffiths 5 HWM Jaguar 45 7 Ken Wylie 26 Cooper Mark V Norton K. Wylie 39 8 E. Milthorpe 16 Ford V8 Special E. C. Milthorpe 39 9 Alex Strachan 80 Lotus Mark VI Coventry Climax A. W. Strachan 38 10 H. Thompson 28 HRG H. Thompson 37 11 Jock Cummins 19 Bugatti Type 37A Holden J. K. Cummins 37 12 Harry McLaughlin 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 29 13 Julian Barrett 10 BWA s/c J. S. Barrett 28 14 Bruce Walton & Ted Gray 12 Tornado L. J. Abrahams & L. W. Gray 25 15 Reg Smith 8 Cooper Type 40 BristolJohn B Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australia, 1979, page 103 R. Smith 24 16 Bill Craig 11 Alta Holden W. J. Craig 21 17 K. McConville 17 Austin Special K. H. McConville 21 18 Bill Wilcox 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 18 19 G. Nankervis 24 NR MG s/c G. Nankervis 13 20 E. Perkins 25 Volkswagen Special s/c E. B. Perkins 5 21 Noel Wade 23 Austin A40 Special s/c N. Wade 2 22 E. Clay 21 HRG E. A. Clay 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 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 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