The 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title[1] for drivers of Formula Libre cars.[2] The title was contested over a five race series[3] with the winner awarded the 1961 CAMS Gold Star.[4] It was the fifth Australian Drivers' Championship.[1]
The series was dominated by Victorian racer Bill Patterson driving a Cooper T51 Climax.[2] Patterson won three of the five races and was second and fourth in the other two. He finished the series 36 points ahead of Lex Davison (Aston Martin DBR4 & Cooper T51 Coventry Climax). Bib Stillwell (Cooper T51 Coventry Climax & Cooper T53 Coventry Climax) placed third in the points standings.
The two races not won by Patterson were Longford, won by British driver Roy Salvadori in a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax and Mallala, won by Davison, also driving a Cooper T51 Coventry Climax .
A sixth championship race was originally scheduled to be held Phillip Island on 10 December.[4] Although a "Racing Car Scratch Race" (The Isle of Wight Trophy) was held at the circuit on that date, a contemporary report in Australian Motor Sports magazine does not label this as a "Gold Star" race[7] and it is omitted from 1961 Gold Star championship summaries at "members.optusnet.com.au/dandsshaw"[3] and "www.oldracingcars.com"[8]
Championship points were awarded on a 12-7-5-3-2-1 basis for the first six places in each race.[4]Points were awarded only to drivers racing under an Australian licence.[9]Ties were determined by the relevant competitors' placings in the Australian Grand Prix.[4]
The opening race at Longford was won by Englishman Roy Salvadori who was not eligible for championship points.[9] First place points for that race were therefore awarded to the second placed driver, Bill Patterson.[9]
The championship was referred to by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in the 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport simply as "The CAMS Gold Star".[4] However historical records published by CAMS use the term "Australian Drivers’ Championship"[1] and that title has been used in this article.