1972 Rounds 5-8
Australia

                        Fastest Lap: F Gardner 1 min 24.0 sec       (Record)

Adelaide International Raceway was an unknown quantity, a new circuit, but there was one driver who liked it - race-winner David Hobbs, who was second fastest qualifier, being 0.7 sec slower than Matich and 0.2 sec faster than McRae. Matich made fastest race lap, 51.2 sec, and it was not much slower than his pole qualifying time of 50,8 sec. McRae led the starters on a scorching hot race day and he held his lead into lap 14, when Matich, who had been pressing hard, finally got by and started to go away. Behind McRae, Hobbs and Hailwood were mixing it wheel-to-wheel, as they did right to the finish. McRae went out with a blown engine and Matich sailed on until his gearbox locked up. He tried to make the pits, but struck an oil patch and spun out, leaving Hobbs in front. Then Hobbs struck the patch that had undone Matich and lost his lead to Hailwood. It looked as though it could be all over bar the shouting and that the remarkably consistent Hailwood was going to turn the trick. But the Surtees threw a rear wheel tread in front of the pits and spun up. The crew made a quick wheel-change, but not quick enough to prevent Hobbs (who was suffering a one minute penalty for allegedly jumping the start) from taking an unassailable lead. Gary Campbell, running the ex-Gardner Lola T300 in third spot, some 40 sec behind Hailwood, lost his chance when he ran over the wheel of Johnnie Walker's Elfin MR5. Walker made fourth, ahead of similarly mounted John McCormack and Campbell. Pilette, who had lost two laps about half-way through the race, because of a puncture, profited from the misfortunes of others, and drove in to third place behind happy Hobbs and not-so-happy Hailwood.

Teddy Pilette (McLaren M10B) took 3rd place at Adelaide.

Adelaide was certainly a turn-up for the books and climaxed an Australian section that proved much better than anyone anticipated.