The 1957 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS-sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre cars. The championship was contested over a nine race series with the winner awarded the 1957 CAMS Gold Star.[1] It was the first Australian Drivers' Championship and the first motor racing title to be decided over a series of races at Australian circuits.
Shortly after the running of the Victorian Trophy, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport announced that it had introduced an annual "Gold Star" award for the champion Australian racing driver, with the Australian Grand Prix and the Victorian Trophy being retrospectively included in the list of nominated races counting towards the inaugural championship.[14]
Points system
Championship points were awarded on an 8-5-3-2-1 basis for the first five places at each race.[1]
At the Australian Grand Prix race at Caversham Lex Davison shared the winning car with Bill Patterson and championship points were allotted in proportion to the laps driven by each.[1]
Championship name
The championship was referred to by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport at the time simply as "The CAMS Gold Star".[1] However the actual Gold Star medallion was inscribed with the words "Champion Australian Driver"[1] and historical records published by CAMS use the term "Australian Drivers' Championship".[17]
References
^ abcdefghThe CAMS Gold Star, 1958 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 48 & 50
^Racing Car News, August 1972 : Guide to the "Gold Star" Supplement, page ii
^Australian Motor Sport, April 1957, pages 137 & 138
^Victorian Trophy, Australian Motor Sport, May 1957, pages 174 to 176
^ abcTrenberth romps to SA car trophy win, The Advertiser, Tuesday, 23 April 1957, page 11
^ abcdefghSA Trophy, Australian Motor Sport, June 1957, page 226
^Davison Queensland Champion, Sports Car World, September 1957, pages 26 to 29
^Lowood Trophy Race Meeting, Australian Motor Sport, October 1957, pages 410 & 413
^Australian Motor Sport, November 1957, pages 454 & 456
^The Wakefield Trophy, Australian Motor Sport, December 1957, page 507
^Formula Libre Race – Gold Star Race, Australian Motor Sport, December 1957
^Graham Howard, Lex Davison - Larger than Life, page 117
^Race results for the South Australian Trophy were omitted from the 1957 Gold Star page at "members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw" but points have been calculated from the published race results in "SA Trophy, Australian Motor Sport, June 1957, page 226"
^Official Souvenir Programme, Port Wakefield, Monday, 22 April 1957
^Records Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
Further reading
CAMS Gold Star Award, Points score up to and including Wakefield Trophy, Australian Motor Sports, November 1957, page 445
First Gold Star, Australian Motor Sports, January 1958, page 7