1977 Australian Grand Prix

1977 Australian Grand Prix
1977 Australian Grand Prix
Round 1 of the 1977 Rothmans International Series
Race details
Date	6 February 1977
Official name	XLII Australian Grand Prix
Location	Oran Park Raceway, Sydney
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	2.620 km (1.628 miles)
Distance	58 laps, 151.96 km (94.424 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Warwick Brown;
Time	1'05.7
Fastest lap
Driver	Alan Jones
Time	1'06.4
Podium
First	Warwick Brown;
Second	Peter Gethin;
Third	John Goss;

The 1977 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Oran Park International Raceway^[1] in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 6 February 1977. It was the forty second Australian Grand Prix and also the first round of the 1977 Rothmans International Series. The race was open to Australian Formula 1 cars and Australian Formula 2 cars.^[2]

The race was won by Warwick Brown (Lola T430), his first and only Australian Grand Prix victory. Alan Jones (Lola T332) actually finished his 58th and final lap 40 seconds ahead of Brown, however officials penalised Jones 60 seconds for jumping the start and he was officially classified in 4th place.

Classification

Warwick Brown won the race driving this Lola T430 (pictured in 2008)

Results as follows:^[3]

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Car / engine	Qual	Gap
1	3	Warwick Brown	Lola T430 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:05.7	—
2	6	Alan Jones	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:06.0	+0.3
3	4	Peter Gethin	Chevron B24 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:06.1	+0.4
4	2	John Goss	Matich A53 / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	1:06.1	+0.4
5	16	Max Stewart	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:06.9	+1.2
6	5	Kevin Bartlett	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:07.3	+1.6
7	1	Vern Schuppan	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:07.3	+1.6
8	84	Alfredo Costanzo	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:07.7	+2.0
9	12	Garrie Cooper	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:08.0	+2.3
10	15	Terry Hook	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:09.8	+4.1
11	17	Ken Shirvington	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:10.4	+4.7
12	10	Chris Milton	Gardos OR2 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	1:10.9	+5.2
13	14	Jon Davison	Matich A51 / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	1:11.1	+5.4
14	62	Dave Powell	Matich A51 / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	1:11.3	+5.6
15	19	John Edmonds	Elfin MR5B / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	1:11.7	+6.0
16	8	Graeme Lawrence	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	DNP
17	77	John McCormack	McLaren M23 / Leyland 5.0L V8	DNP
–	7	John Leffler	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	DNP	engine^[4]

Race

Pos	No.	Driver	Car / engine	Entrant^[1]	Laps	Time
1	3	Warwick Brown	Lola T430 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Racing Team VDS	58	1h 05m 31.9s
2	4	Peter Gethin	Chevron B24 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Racing Team VDS	58	1h 05m 46.7s
3	2	John Goss	Matich A53 / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	John Goss Racing	58	1h 05m 49.2s
4	6	Alan Jones	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Theodore Racing (Hong Kong) / Bill Patterson Motors	58	1h 05m 51.9s
5	1	Vern Schuppan	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ansett Team Elfin	57
6	12	Garrie Cooper	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ansett Team Elfin	56
7	15	Terry Hook	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Terry Hook Racing	54
8	10	Chris Milton	Gardos OR2 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	C & C Racing	52
9	14	Jon Davison	Matich A51 / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	J. Davison	52
10	19	John Edmonds	Elfin MR5B / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	J. Edmonds	48
11	5	Kevin Bartlett	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Magnum Wheels	45
Ret	77	John McCormack	McLaren M23 / Leyland 5.0L V8	Budget Motor Racing Team	42	blown engine
Ret	8	Graeme Lawrence	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8		18	broken engine pushrod
Ret	62	Dave Powell	Matich A51 / Repco Holden 5.0L V8	D. Powell	17	overheating
Ret	84	Alfredo Costanzo	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Stock 84	8	broken drive shaft
DNS	16	Max Stewart	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	M. Stewart		dropped valve
DNS	17	Ken Shirvington	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	K. Shirvington		dropped valve^[5]
DNS	7	John Leffler	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Grace Bros. Racing Team	–	engine^[4]

Notes

Pole Position: Warwick Brown – 1:05.7
Fastest Lap: Alan Jones – 1:06.4
Average speed of winning car: 138.6 km/h^[6]
Alan Jones was penalised 60 seconds for jumping the start

References

^ ^a ^b Official Programme, 42nd Australian Grand Prix, Oran Park International Raceway
^ 1977 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, Conditions for Australian Titles, page 87
^ Wilson, Stewart (1986). "1977". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 408–415. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
^ ^a ^b According to The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, Leffler was unable to contest the timed qualifying sessions due to an engine failure, suffered another engine failure during an later untimed session and did not start the race.
^ Ray Bell, Beer Baron's Brown Bomber!, Racing Car News, February 1977, pages 62 to 65
^ Australian Competition Yearbook, 1978 Edition, 42nd Australian Grand Prix. pages 86 to 89

Preceded by 1976 Australian Grand Prix	Australian Grand Prix 1977	Succeeded by 1978 Australian Grand Prix

[Programme-1] Official Programme, 42nd Australian Grand Prix, Oran Park International Raceway

[CAMS-2] 1977 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, Conditions for Australian Titles, page 87

[3] Wilson, Stewart (1986). "1977". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 408–415. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.

[Leffler-4] According to The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, Leffler was unable to contest the timed qualifying sessions due to an engine failure, suffered another engine failure during an later untimed session and did not start the race.

[RCN-5] Ray Bell, Beer Baron's Brown Bomber!, Racing Car News, February 1977, pages 62 to 65

[6] Australian Competition Yearbook, 1978 Edition, 42nd Australian Grand Prix. pages 86 to 89

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