Australia
Round Five: WARWICK FARM
Tasman 100
Date: 13th February 1966
45 Laps of 3.621km (162.945km)
After the last round in New Zealand, there was an extra weeks break before the Australian rounds commenced at Warwick Farm on 13th February. At this stage Stewart had 24 points in the championship, Attwood 15, Palmer 12, Hill 9 and Clark and Gardner each 6.
At the Farm, the Mildren team tried out their new toy, a Brabham fitted with a 2.5 litre V12 Maserati engine, but although it made all the right noises it was packed away after practice and Gardner returned to his Brabham-Climax. Clark won 75 bottles of champagne and pole position in practice.
In the race, Clark leapt off the line as though shot, with Hill, Stewart and Gardner close up. On lap 2 Stewart clipped the fence on the causeway, ripping chunks out of his right rear wheel, and rejoined the race in ninth place, feeling physically ill and with his handling all wrong. By lap 7 Clark had 3.0 seconds on Hill, who led Gardner by 8.2 seconds. Geoghegan was leading the 1.5 litre class, with Harvey gradually working his way through the others. The gap between Clark and Hill stayed fairly constant, but Gardner lost a second a lap. Stewart hounded Martin and Palmer for eight laps, finally passing them on laps 32 and 34. However, he could not close the gap to Gardner.
Grid: (* denotes pole)
Frank Gardner
Graham Hill
Jim Clark*
Greg Cusack
Jackie Stewart
Spencer Martin
Jim Palmer
Leo Geoghegan
John McDonald
Kevin Bartlett
Glyn Scott
Dennis Marwood
Bob Jane
Mel McEwin
Les Howard
Peter Williamson
Don O'Sullivan
Roly Levis
John Harvey
| Result | Driver | Nat | Car | Laps |
Time |
| 1 | Jim Clark | Scot | Lotus 39 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 45 | 1hr 11m 03.6s |
| 2 | Graham Hill | UK | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 45 | 1hr 11m 24.5s |
| 3 | Frank Gardner | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 45 | 1hr 12m 02.8s |
| 4 | Jackie Stewart | Scot | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 45 | 1hr 12m 18.4s |
| 5 | Spencer Martin | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 45 | 1hr 12m 23.1s |
| 6 | Jim Palmer | NZ | Lotus 32B / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 45 | 1hr 12m 28.0s |
| 7 | Leo Geoghegan | Aust | Lotus 32 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 44 | |
| 8 | John Harvey | Aust | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 43 | |
| 9 | Bob Jane | Aust | Elfin Mono / Ford 1500cc 4cyl | 43 | |
| 10 | Dennis Marwood | NZ | Cooper T66 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 43 | |
| Ret | Glyn Scott | Aust | Lotus 27 / Ford 1495cc 4cyl | 29 | Steering |
| Ret | Kevin Bartlett | Aust | Brabham / BRM 1495cc 4cyl | 25 | Quill Shaft |
| Ret | Mel McEwin | Aust | Elfin Mono / Ford 1500cc 4cyl | 24 | Engine |
| Ret | Greg Cusack | Aust | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 18 | Gear Selector |
| Ret | Roly Levis | NZ | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 10 | Accident |
| Ret | Don O'Sullivan | Aust | Cooper T66 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 7 | Accident |
| Ret | John McDonald | Aust | Cooper T70 / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 0 | Accident |
| DNS | Paul Bolton | Aust | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | ||
| DNS | Les Howard | Aust | Lotus 27 / Ford 1495cc 4cyl | ||
| DNS | Peter Williamson | Aust | Elfin Imp 950 | ||
| DNS | Andy Buchanan | NZ | Brabham BT7A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | Engine |
Fastest Lap: Jim Clark 1m 34.0s
Round Six: LAKESIDE 31st Australian Grand Prix
Date: 20th February 1966
66 Laps of 2.414km (159.324km)
From Sydney, the party was trailered the 1000 plus kilometers north to Lakeside, the very fast 2.4 kilometer circuit on the outskirts of Brisbane. Here was to be staged the 31st Australian Grand Prix.
Clark was to have continual carburetion trouble throughout the weekend. Stewart gained pole with 55.4s, Hill returned 55.6s, Gardner 55.8s, and Clark 57.0s. The field was cut to 15 from the original 20, on the demand of the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, so that good 1.5 litre drivers like Levis and Howard were balloted out.
Everybody went like the first lap was the last, with the order first time around Stewart, Hill, Clark, Gardner, Martin, Palmer, Geoghegan, Cusack, Bartlett, Marwood, Harvey, Buchanan, McDonald, Scott and McEwin. Cusack got by Geoghegan on lap 5, and Hill was tied to Stewart as though on a string. The race developed into three incredibly tough fights between Stewart and Hill up front, then Clark just ahead of Gardner, then a flying wedge of Palmer, Cusack and Geoghegan.
On lap 28 the whole face of the race changed. Stewart trundled into the pits with a wrecked gearbox, while in the Eastern Loop moments later Cusack clipped Palmer, Geoghegan clipped Cusack, Cusack spun and Geoghegan left the circuit, rejoining it 100 metres further on. Geoghegan retired on the next lap with a bent wishbone and Cusack two laps later. Gardner was still pushing Clark, and Scott in the 1.5 was hanging grimly on to Buchanan in the 2.5. With 5 laps to go Clark's engine went sour and Gardner passed him into second. On the second last corner, Scott slid the Lotus inside Buchanan to take 6th place.
Grid: (* denotes pole)
Graham Hill
Jackie Stewart*
Jim Clark
Frank Gardner
Leo Geoghegan
Spencer Martin
Greg Cusack
Jim Palmer
John McDonald
Kevin Bartlett
Andy Buchanan
John Harvey
Mel McEwin
Dennis Marwood
Glyn Scott
| Result | Driver | Nat | Car | Laps |
Time |
| 1 | Graham Hill | UK | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 66 | 62m 38.4s |
| 2 | Frank Gardner | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 66 | 62m 55.0s |
| 3 | Jim Clark | Scot | Lotus 39 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 66 | 63m 37.0s |
| 4 | Jim Palmer | NZ | Lotus 32B / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 64 | |
| 5 | Kevin Bartlett | Aust | Brabham / BRM 1495cc 4cyl | 63 | |
| 6 | Glyn Scott | Aust | Lotus 27 / Ford 1495cc 4cyl | 63 | |
| 7 | Andy Buchanan | NZ | Brabham BT7A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 62 | |
| 8 | John Harvey | Aust | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 62 | |
| Ret | Mel McEwin | Aust | Elfin / Ford 1500cc 4cyl | 62 | Accident |
| Ret | Spencer Martin | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 48 | Clutch |
| Ret | Greg Cusack | Aust | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 30 | Universal |
| Ret | Leo Geoghegan | Aust | Lotus 32 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 29 | Bent Wishbone |
| Ret | Jackie Stewart | Scot | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 28 | Gearbox |
| Ret | John McDonald | Aust | Cooper T70 / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 23 | Water Pump |
| Ret | Dennis Marwood | NZ | Cooper T66 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 8 | Oil Pressure |
| DNQ | Les Howard | Aust | Lotus 27 / Ford 1495cc 4cyl | ||
| DNQ | Roly Levis | NZ | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl |
Fastest Lap: Jackie Stewart 55.5s
Round Seven: SANDOWN
Sandown Park International 100
Date: 27th February 1966
52 Laps of 3.103kms (161.356kms)
Sandown Park on February 27th was the next race. This was to be the first appearance in Australia of Brabham and the new Repco 2.5 litre V8, and a huge crowd of 55,000, the best of the entire 8-race series, was directly attributable to the appearance of the very popular Australian. The car went very poorly on the first two practice days, but few people took any notice of that, knowing the wily Jack.
In the Friday unofficial practice Stewart staggered everybody with a 1m 7.7s, well under the lap record. Gardner tried the Maserati again, but the engine had done so many miles in chassis testing it needed a rebuild, so he went back to the Climax car. Overnight, Repco engineers got another 30bhp on the dynamometer, and in official practice, Stewart notched 1m 8.0s, Clark 1m 8.2s and Hill and Brabham 1m 8.4s. Grid positions were determined by two heats on the Sunday of which Stewart won one and Geoghegan the other, Branham setting the new record of 1m 7.6s in finishing third to Stewart.
The start was atrocious. With the Governor-General Lord Casey dropping the flag, Brabham burst away as Stewart hesitated. Stewart passed Brabham on lap 2, with Hill and Clark right behind Brabham. An enormous fight started between the 1.5 litre cars of Geoghegan, Bartlett, Cusack and Howard, with Harvey following until he retired on lap 7. On lap 6 Brabham stopped around the back of the circuit and Stewart widened the gap between him and Hill.
With the 1.5 cars ducking in and out of the pits with all sorts of troubles, Clark started to push Hill hard, slipstreaming him down the main straight to duck out under brakes at Shell Corner, only to get back in again. Hill's clutch was starting to slip badly, but try as he might, Clark could not get past, with Stewart getting further away. On lap 31 Clark made it at Shell and immediately posted a big gap between the Lotus and Hill. Gardner was behind Palmer, making no impression at all on the New Zealander. The order stayed that way until the end.
Grid: (* denotes pole)
Jack Brabham*
Jackie Stewart
Jim Clark
Graham Hill
Jim Palmer
Spencer Martin
Frank Gardner John
McDonald
Kevin Bartlett
Leo Geoghegan
Les Howard
Greg Cusack
John Harvey
Mel McEwin Don Fraser
Don O'Sullivan
| Result | Driver | Nat | Car | Laps |
Time |
| 1 | Jackie Stewart | Scot | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 52 | 59m 37.1s |
| 2 | Jim Clark | Scot | Lotus 39 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 52 | 60m 00.9s |
| 3 | Graham Hill | UK | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 52 | 60m 27.2s |
| 4 | Jim Palmer | NZ | Lotus 32B / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 51 | |
| 5 | Frank Gardner | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 50 | |
| Ret | John McDonald | Aust | Cooper T70 / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 50 | |
| 6 | Les Howard | Aust | Lotus 27 / Ford 1495cc 4cyl | 47 | |
| 7 | Greg Cusack | Aust | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 45 | |
| 8 | Kevin Bartlett | Aust | Brabham / BRM 1495cc 4cyl | 40 | |
| Ret | Mel McEwin | Aust | Elfin / Ford 1500cc 4cyl | 25 | Oil Pressure |
| Ret | Don O'Sullivan | Aust | Cooper T66 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 22 | Engine |
| Ret | Spencer Martin | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 18 | Engine |
| Ret | Leo Geoghegan | Aust | Lotus 32 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 17 | Steering |
| Ret | John Harvey | Aust | Brabham BT6 / Ford 1498cc 4cyl | 7 | Overheating |
| Ret | Jack Brabham | Aust | Brabham BT19 / Repco 2493cc V8 | 6 | Oil Pump |
| Ret | Don Fraser | Aust | Cooper T66 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 2 | Accident |
Fastest Lap: Jackie Stewart 1m 08.1s
Round Eight: LONGFORD
Examiner 45 Mile Race
Date: 7th March 1966
27 Laps of 7.242kms (195.535kms)
The last race of the eight-race series is always at Longford, the delightful 4.5 mile true road circuit around and through the township of Longford, nine miles from Launceston in Tasmania. After a short trip by ocean ferry, the cars arrive on Thursday for initial practice on Friday.
Stewart again took the champagne, with a slashing 2m 16.0s after a 30 minute long war of nerves and skill with his team leader. The 1.5 litre cars had been asked to stay away from Longford, allegedly because of the speed differential, but as it turned out they would have been quite competitive. Stewart won the 45 mile preliminary race on the Saturday from Hill and Clark after Brabham had gone down an escape road after getting a bee sting on his face. The cars were topping 170 mph on the long straights, Stewart being the quickest.
So it was only a small field of 8 cars who faced the starter for the 121 mile main race, final round of the Tasman Cup. Hill made a deplorable start, with Brabham taking to the gravel on the outside to get around him. Stewart streaked away into an impossible lead. It was an extremely hot day and most drivers were watching their temperature gauges. By lap 3 Hill passed a disconsolate Brabham into third, and passed Clark under brakes into the very slow Newry corner to get second on lap 6. But Clark repassed Hill two laps later, and the two started a marvelous slipstreaming fight that held the only interest in the race. But with Brabham going back at a second a lap, Hill got Clark again on lap 11. Two laps later Clark pulled into the pits with a detached plug lead and got back into the race in last place. As Clark went out, Gardner flew in to rip off a loose panel, but was behind Martin and Palmer then. Stewart ran comfortably home to win, Hill battled clutch slip into second, and Clark was last finisher home.
Grid: (* denotes pole)
Jackie Stewart*
Graham Hill
Jim Clark
Jack Brabham
Frank Gardner
Jim Palmer
Spencer Martin John McDonald
| Result | Driver | Nat | Car | Laps |
Time |
| 1 | Jackie Stewart | Scot | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 27 | 62m 55.4s |
| 2 | Graham Hill | UK | BRM P261 / BRM 1916cc V8 | 27 | 64m 01.6s |
| 3 | Jack Brabham | Aust | Brabham BT19 / Repco 2493cc V8 | 27 | 64m 28.7s |
| 4 | Jim Palmer | NZ | Lotus 32B / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 27 | 64m 32.2s |
| 5 | Spencer Martin | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 27 | 64m 35.2s |
| 6 | Frank Gardner | Aust | Brabham BT11A / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 26 | |
| 7 | Jim Clark | Scot | Lotus 39 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl | 25 | |
| Ret | John McDonald | Aust | Cooper T70 / Climax 2499cc 4cyl | 25 |
Fastest Lap: Jackie Stewart 2m 18.5s