Narrogin to celebrate 1951 Australian Grand Prix

Syd Sunter-Smith looks at Past ... Present... Future "Round the Houses" events in WA

In November the Vintage Sports Car Club of WA (Inc.) and the town of Narrogin in the Great Southern Wheatbelt will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Jubilee Australian Grand Prix held in the town in 1951. This was WA's first AGP and the only "round-the-houses" AGP in this State.

"Round-the houses events are a re-enactment of the style of motor racing conducted in towns throughout Australia before race circuits became a pre-requisite for motor racing. Until the 1950s there were few race circuits so that even National grands prix were held as "round the houses" events.

One of the most memorable of these events in WA was the "Great Southern Flying 50', which was originally held in Pingelly until the Second World War, after which it resumed at Narrogin. In 1951 Narrogin won the right to host the Australian Grand Prix, the Nation's premier race for single-seater race cars.

As a result of the disastrous Le Mans crash in 1955 in which over 80 people were killed and many more injured, round-the-houses racing was abandoned. In 1981 the concept was resurrected by the proprietors of the York Motor Museum, Peter Briggs and James Harwood. They had launched the museum in 1980 and wanted an event held in York to promote and complement the venture. The museum's main theme is classic sports, racing and touring cars so the concept of re-enacting the round-the-houses resulted in the 'York Flying Fifty'.

These round-the-houses events are not races ... they are regularity trials. A regularity trial requires drivers establishing a time for completing the circuit This time is established during the pre-event practice, their objective during the event is to circulate as close to their nominated time as possible; the winner being the driver who finished closest to his/her nominated time. Without doubt this concept has been enormously successful and has lead to a major resurgence in the restoration of classic sports and racing cars where competitor and spectator interest is considerable.

The Vintage Sports Car Club was formed specifically to run the York Flying 5Os. Western Australia is the only state where round-the-houses regularity trials are conducted.

Narrogin ... 1951 was the year of the Commonwealth Jubilee and the Australian Grand Prix was titled the Jubilee Grand Prix.

The race was held in Narrogin which held an annual motor race meeting, the feature race being the Great Southern Flying Fifty. Therefore the locals had experience of race organization but not on the scale of the AGP.

The WA Sporting Car Club was called upon to assist with the organization. The town council spent considerable funds preparing for the Grand Prix, most of it on sealing the roads to be used. In 1951 most roads outside the Perth Metropolitan area were unsealed and such expenditures roused some opposition in the town, but the general mood was favorable. Narrogin's usual racecourse was 3.5km around the centre of town, but for the Grand Prix the track was extended to a total of 7.1km.

Most Australian Grands Prix were handicap events and Narrogin's was no exception, the cars being sent on their way by the starter according to their handicap. The driver credited with winning the race, Wannrick Pratley (Ford V8 Special, NSW), set the fastest time but actually crossed the line third. First across the line was handicap winner Steve Tillet in his MG TC, which placed third on scratch times. Prize money for fastest time and first on handicap was equal but place money - down to eighth place - was paid to handicap placings only. First outright and first on handicap were awarded £450 each.

A highlight of the event was the performance of Eldred Norman's fantastic Double V8 Mercury Special. Legend has it that this car was constructed from a war surplus Bren gun carrier, but in fact it was built up from an assortment of war surplus truck parts by Norman, an ingenious engineer. It featured two hotted up Mercury V8 engines bolted end to end, 16 stub exhausts that belched flame whenever the throttle was released, water cooled front brakes, fan cooled rear inboard brakes. An incredible noise and phenomenal wheelspin. It didn't win but the crowd loved it!

The Grand Prix, over 24 laps (105 miles) started with Colin Uphill's stripped Morgan 4/4 leaving 30 seconds ahead of Ron Kennedy's MG TC and Claude Lamotte's little special ... the Fidget, based on a Ford 10 engine in a Fiat Topolini chassis. Four seconds covered the three leaders after six laps, with the Double V8 followed by two single engined V8s specials ... George Reed in the Monoskate and Wannrick Pratley in the two-seater Skate. A broken link in the Double V8's front suspension put Norman out on the seventh lap, but Pratley and Reed continued to duel for the scratch lead until Reed's V8 stopped with no spark, leaving Pratley to win the AGP. Dick Bland in his Delahaye came second and Tillet a worthy third.

Narrogin ... 2001 sees an enormous effort on the part of a committee drawn from the Town of Narrogin and the Vintage Sports Car Club to conduct a re-enactment of the '51 AGP.

Entitled the Narrogin Commemorative Australian Jubilee Grand Prix, the event will end a week of festivities in the town ... named "Narrogin Raceweek"... celebrating the Centenary of Federation. Speedway, rev-heads with dyno shootouts etc., harness racing, turf club and motor cycles should set the scene for a weekend of classic, contemporary and vintage motoring.

The VSCC with 360 members and access to hundreds of classic sports and racing cars including many Australian Specials, has regularly run events on an annual basis in towns such as Albany, Northam, York and Barhagallo Raceway. Combined with a Sprint and Hillclimb series this busy club is well placed to conduct an event such as this.

These events are very costly to operate and the sponsorship by corporations and organisations such as Healthways and the Asthma Foundation are vital and gratefully acknowledged. If sufficient funding is available invitations will be extended to assist drivers and cars from interstate to attend, especially those who may have competed in the 1951 AGP.

The weekend begins with a hillclimb on Saturday run concurrently with a quarter mile sprint, both of which form part of the State Speed Event Series. This sets the stage for Sunday's "round-the-houses', with a 24-event program attracting around 130 entries. The program includes four events plus practice for several classes of cars which may include pre- and post-war Group J, K,and L sports cars, pre and post war J, K, and L touring and specials. Historic groups such as J, K, L and M racing cars, together with Historic tourers and Sports cars of the '50s and '60s. Invitations are often made to the Appendix J group and others to ensure that an interesting and exciting day's activity is enjoyed by spectators and drivers alike.

A circuit of 2.1km around town streets, has six left and two light turns on a good flat surface. To retain a nostalgic atmosphere the considerable quantity of barriers required will be hay bales and to continue the '50s theme, crowd control marshals and the professional flag marshals will wear white dust coats. Drivers and pit crew are asked to dispense with the baseball caps and jeans in favour of cloth caps, fedora and slacks. Likewise the public will be invited to enter into the spirit to enhance the occasion with judges awarding the most authentic outfit.

It is envisaged that grandstand seating will be available (a first for this type of event in WA) and local organisations will take the opportunity to raise funds via stalls with refreshments etc.

A commemorative colour program featuring driver and car profiles will be produced along with a pewter drivers memento. A tradition at these events has been the excellent coloured posters produced to promote the event, the original artwork of which is auctioned at the evening function, usually bringing thousands of dollars from spirited bidding.

Several of the cars that competed in the 1951 Grand Prix still appear regularly at Historic events and at Hillclimbs and Sprints. It is anticipated that wonderful race cars such as the TS Special, Plymouth Special, Ford 10 Special (the White Mouse), Morgan 4/4 and the Bartlett Special, MG TCs will make an appearance at Narrogin.

Hopefully many of those drivers from that great race who are still with us and have maintained an interest in the sport will accept an invitation to be guests of the VSCC and Narrogin on the day. Fans of all ages would be delighted to hear first-hand how car racing was 50 years ago. Many of these men were known and respected throughout the country and the presence of drivers like John Cummins, Arthur Collett, Colin Uphill, Noel Aldous, Wally Gibson, Bill Hayes, Steve Tillett and Clem Dwyer, who is still competing at 86 years young, would be very welcome indeed.

As usual, CAMS issues the licences, provides insurance and back-up with experienced track inspectors, safety officers, scrutineers and historic panel, not to mention helping out on the day.

This event is of great significance to the townsfolk of Narrogin, the vintage and classic motorists both past and present and to all who enjoy the cars, the noise, the smell and the camaraderie of the heady days of motor sport.

So please come along ... say g'day, walk around the pits, talk to the men and women who love to prepare these cars for all of us to enjoy.

And if you know anyone who may have been at the '51 AGP, tell them too!

The date: Sunday, 25 November, 2001

For more information and regular updates please refer to the website: www.narroginraceweekcom

Grateful acknowledgment to motoring historians Terry Walker, Bob Campbell and Howard Wilcockson.