FP No. Driver Entrant Chassis Engine Class Time Best Lap Grid Qual. Time Reason Chassis Points Total Points Total
1965 Gold Star Round 1 V Warwick Farm International - Warwick Farm 45 laps (100 miles) February 14th 1965. Standing Record 1:37.4 Frank Matich    
1 9 Jim Clark Team Lotus Lotus 32B Climax FPF ANF1 71:06.8 01:33.7 3 01:34.5   32-FL-8        
2 4 Jack Brabham Ecurie Vitesse Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 72:08.1 01:34.3 4 01:34.6   IC-5-64 9   9  
3 3 Frank Matich Team Total Brabham BT7A Climax FPF ANF1 72:13.5   1 01:34.4   IC-1-63 6   6  
4 6 Bib Stillwell B.S. Stillwell Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 72:44.1   7 01:36.1   IC-2-64 4   4  
5 1 Graham Hill Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 72:55.6   2 01:34.4   IC-4-64        
6 5 Jim Palmer George Palmer Brabham BT7A Climax FPF ANF1 44 laps   9 01:37.0   IC-2-63        
7 21 Roly Levis Roly Levis Brabham BT6 Ford TC ANF1.5 43 laps   12 01:38.2   FJ-9-63        
8 16 Leo Geoghegan Total Team Lotus 32 Ford TC ANF1.5 43 laps   14 01:41.6   32-FL-7 3   3  
9 12 Rocky Tresise Ecurie Australie Cooper T62 Climax FPF ANF1 42 laps   15 01:42.1   CTA/BM/2 2   2  
10 18 Greg Cusack Greg Cusack Brabham BT10 Ford TC ANF1.5 42 laps   11 01:38.2   IC-6-64 1   1  
11 20 David Walker Kurt Keller Motors Brabham BT2 Ford 1500 ANF1.5 41 laps   17 01:43.8   FJ-12-62        
12 17 Glyn Scott Glyn Scott Motors Lotus 27 Ford TC ANF1.5 41 laps   18 01:43.9   27-JM-18        
DNF 7 Frank Gardner Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 25 laps   6 01:36.1 Engine IC-3-64        
DNF 22 Barry Collerson Hunter & Delbridge Brabham BT2 Ford TC ANF1.5 20 laps   19 01:44.0 Engine FJ-8-62        
DNF 2 Kerry Grant Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT4 Climax FPF ANF1 13 laps   13 01:40.0 Valve Spring IC-1-62        
DNF 10 Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Cooper T79 Climax FPF ANF1 10 laps   5 01:35.6 Piston FL/1/65        
DNF 19 Geoff McLelland Geoff McLelland Brabham BT2 Ford TC ANF1.5 9 laps   16 01:43.1 Overheating FJ-3-62        
DNF 11 Phil Hill Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Cooper T70 Climax FPF ANF1 8 laps   10 01:37.4 Rear axle FL/1/64        
DNF 8 Lex Davison Ecurie Australie Brabham BT4 Climax FPF ANF1 3 laps   8 01:36.7 Steering wheel IC-2-62        
1965 Gold Star Round 2 XXX Australian Grand Prix - Longford 26 laps (114.4 miles) March 1st 1965. Standing Record 2:21.5 Jack Brabham.        
1 10 Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Cooper T79 Climax FPF ANF1 61:10.9 02:18.4 1 02:20.3   FL/1/65        
2 4 Jack Brabham Ecurie Vitesse Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 61:14.2 02:18.0 2 02:20.5   IC-5-64 9 18 9 18
3 11 Phil Hill Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Cooper T70 Climax FPF ANF1 61:15.8 02:18.2 8 02:23.3   FL/1/64        
4 1 Graham Hill Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 61:18.8 02:19.7 3 02:21.4   IC-4-64        
5 8 Jim Clark Team Lotus Lotus 32B Climax FPF ANF1 61:19.3   4 02:22.2   32-FL-8        
6 6 Bib Stillwell B.S. Stillwell Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 62:25.0   7 02:22.6   IC-2-64 6 10 6 10
7 5 Jim Palmer George Palmer Brabham BT7A Climax FPF ANF1 25 laps   9 02:26.9   IC-2-63        
8 7 Frank Gardner Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 23 laps   5 02:22.4   IC-3-64        
9 17 Glyn Scott Glyn Scott Motors Lotus 27 Ford TC ANF1.5 23 laps   18 02:51.5   27-JM-18 4 4 4 4
10 21 Roly Levis Roly Levis Brabham BT6 Ford TC ANF1.5 23 laps 02:38.5 14 02:41.9 Accident FJ-9-63        
11 26 John McDonald Bill Patterson Motors Cooper T53 Climax FPF ANF1 21 laps   11 02:31.4   F1/5/61 3 3 3 3
12 15 Jack Hobden Louise Hobden Cooper T51 Climax FPF ANF1 21 laps   12 02:39.3   F2/9/60 2 2 2 2
13 18 Mel McEwin Mel McEwin Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 18 laps   15 02:43.8   623 1 1 1 1
DNF 3 Frank Matich Team Total Brabham BT7A Climax FPF ANF1 14 laps   6 02:22.5 Suspension IC-1-63   6   6
DNF 23 Bob Jane Bob Jane Autoland Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford TC ANF1.5 4 laps   13 02:39.6 Transmission M6444        
DNF 20 Lyn Archer Lyn Archer Motors Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 4 laps   16 02:48.0 Engine 6312        
DNF 2 Kerry Grant Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT4 Climax FPF ANF1 3 laps   17 02:50.0 Engine IC-1-62        
DNF 12 Rocky Tresise Ecurie Australie Cooper T62 Climax FPF ANF1 1 lap   10 02:29.6 Fatal Accident CTA/BM/2   2   2
DNS 9 Bill Patterson Bill Patterson Motors Cooper T51 Climax FPF ANF1           F2/2/57        
DNS 19 Geoff McLelland Geoff McLelland Brabham BT2 Ford TC ANF1.5           FJ-3-62        
DNS 22 Barry Collerson Hunter & Delbridge Brabham BT2 Ford TC ANF1.5           FJ-8-62        
DNS 25 Les Howard Howard & Sons Lotus 27 Ford TC ANF1.5           27-JM-11        
DNS 40 David Hallam David Hallam Elfin Catalina Ford 1100 ANF2           624        
DNA 16 Andy Brown Clisby Industries Elfin Mono Mk1 Clisby V6 ANF1           M6548        
DNA 14 Lex Davison Ecurie Australie Brabham BT4 Climax FPF ANF1           IC-2-62        
1965 Gold Star Round 3 Victorian Road Racing Championship - Sandown 52 laps (102 miles) April 11th 1965. Standing Record 1:08.6 Jack Brabham.        
1 6 Bib Stillwell B.S. Stillwell Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 52 laps 01:08.6 2 01:09.1   IC-2-64 9   9 19
2   Frank Matich Team Total Brabham BT7A Climax FPF ANF1 51 laps   1 01:08.6   IC-1-63     6 12
3   John McDonald Bill Patterson Motors Cooper T70 Climax FPF ANF1 51 laps   5 01:13.3   FL/1/64     4 7
4   John Ampt John Ampt Alexis Mk6 Ford TC ANF1.5 49 laps   8 01:15.6   HF601     3 3
5   Mel McEwin Mel McEwin Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 42 laps   9 01:18.6   623     2 3
6   Don Fraser Don Fraser Cooper T53 BRM 2.5 ANF1 38 laps   7 01:14.4   F1/2/61     1 1
DNF   Spencer Martin Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 40 laps   3 01:09.4 Engine IC-4-64        
DNF   Leo Geoghegan Total Team Lotus 32 Ford TC ANF1.5 37 laps 01:13.4 6 01:13.4 Clutch 32-FL-7       3
DNF   Dick Thurston Dick Thurston Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 25 laps   11 01:24.6 Oil loss 6320        
DNF   Kerry Grant Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT4 Climax FPF ANF1 16 laps   4 01:12.8 Oil pressure IC-1-62        
    John Leighton John Leighton Cooper T45 Climax FPF ANF1     10 01:24.0 Fouled plugs F2/10/58        
1965 Gold Star Round 4 Governor's Trophy - Lakeside 65 laps (97.5 miles) July 25th 1965. Standing Record 0:54.9 Jim Clark.        
1 1 Spencer Martin Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 63:15.3 00:57.0 1 00:56.7   IC-4-64 9   9 9
2   Leo Geoghegan Total Team Lotus 32 Ford TC ANF1.5 63:32.9 00:57.6 3 00:58.7   32-FL-7 6   6 9
3 9 John McDonald Bill Patterson Motors Cooper T70 Climax FPF ANF1 62 laps   4 00:59.1   FL/1/64 4   4 11
4   John Ampt John Ampt Alexis Mk6 Ford TC ANF1.5 62 laps   6 01:00.8   HF601     3 6
5   Paul Fahey Ecurie Rothmans Cooper T66 Climax FPF ANF1 60 laps 00:58.4 8 01:02.3   F1/6/63 1      
6   John Riley Palm Court Autos Brabham BT4 Climax FPF ANF1 59 laps 00:58.4 12     IC-3-62        
7   Barry Collerson Hunter & Delbridge Brabham BT2 Ford TC ANF1.5 58 laps         FJ-8-62     2 2
DNF   Jack Hunnam Jack Hunnam Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford TC ANF1.5 48 laps   7 01:01.0 Rear rollbar M6443        
DNF   Kevin Bartlett J.P. McGuire Elfin Catalina Imp 950 ANF2 40 laps       Fuel pump 6418        
DNF   Ralph Sach Ralph Sach Brabham BT2 Ford 1100 ANF2 37 laps   10 01:05.6   FJ-12-62        
DNF   Glyn Scott Glyn Scott Motors Lotus 27 Ford TC ANF1.5 35 laps   5 01:00.5 Electrical 27-JM-18        
DNF 7 Greg Cusack Greg Cusack Brabham BT10 Ford TC ANF1.5 10 laps 00:57.1 2 00:58.2 Throttle linkage IC-6-64 3     1
DNF   Mel McEwin Mel McEwin Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 5 laps     01:04.1   623       3
DNS   Frank Matich Team Total Brabham BT7A Climax FPF ANF1       00:55.4 Injured IC-1-63       12
1965 Gold Star Round 5 Mallala 47 laps (75 miles) October 11th 1965. Standing Record 1:16.6 Bib Stillwell.        
1 6 Bib Stillwell B.S. Stillwell Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 61:16.0 01:16.5 2 01:16.4   IC-2-64 9   9 28
2 1 Spencer Martin Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 61:24.0 01:16.7 1 01:16.2   IC-4-64     6 15
3 2 Garrie Cooper Elfin Sports Cars Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford TC ANF1.5 44 laps 01:21.1       M6441     4 4
4 25 John Walker Gilbert Motor Bodies Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 41 laps 01:25.4       628     3 3
5 12 Noel Potts Noel Potts Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 41 laps 01:26.4       627     2 2
6 84 Jimmy Orr Jimmy Orr Austin 7 Special Austin   40 laps 01:30.3             1 1
7 17 Don Fraser Don Fraser Cooper T53 BRM 2.5 ANF1 40 laps 01:27.2       F1/2/61        
8 14 Dud Dansie Silverstone Speed Shop BBM 2 Mercedes 220 ANF1 39 laps 01:31.2                
DQ 16 Mel McEwin Mel McEwin Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford TC ANF1.5 34 laps 01:19.1 3 01:18.7 Push start M6446       3
DNF 20 Jack Hunnam Jack Hunnam Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford TC ANF1.5 23 laps 01:20.3       M6443        
DNF 9 John McDonald Bill Patterson Motors Cooper T70 Climax FPF ANF1 22 laps 01:18.0 4 01:18.8 Brake pedal FL/1/64       11
DNF 21 Andy Brown Clisby Industries Elfin Mono Mk1 Clisby V6 ANF1 8 laps 01:27.3       M6548        
1965 Gold Star Round 6 Hordern Trophy - Warwick Farm 34 laps (76.5 miles) December 5th 1965.        
1 6 Bib Stillwell B.S. Stillwell Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 54:43.2 01:35.4 2 01:35.8   IC-2-64 9   9 37
2 11 Leo Geoghegan Total Team Lotus 32 Ford TC ANF1.5 55:22.5 01:36.0 4 01:36.4   32-FL-7     6 15
3 9 John McDonald Bill Patterson Motors Cooper T70 Climax FPF ANF1 56:07.7   6 01:38.8   FL/1/64     4 15
4   John Harvey R.C.Phillips Brabham BT14 Ford TC ANF1.5 33 laps   7 01:39.2   FL-1-65     3 3
5   Bob Jane Bob Jane Autoland Elfin Mono Mk1 Ford TC ANF1.5 33 laps   9 01:39.5   M6444     2 2
6   Glyn Scott Glyn Scott Motors Lotus 27 Ford TC ANF1.5 33 laps   8 01:39.5   27-JM-18     1 5
7   Peter Williamson J.P. McGuire Elfin Catalina Imp 950 ANF2 31 laps   15 01:48.2   6418        
8   Ian Fergusson Ian Fergusson Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5 31 laps   13 01:46.8   623        
9   K. Shirvington K. Shirvington Lotus 20B Ford 1100 ANF2 30 laps   14 01:47.6            
10   Max Stewart Max Stewart Motors Rennmax BN1 Ford 1100 ANF2 30 laps   10 01:42.9    'Reynolds'        
    Les Howard Howard & Sons Lotus 27 Ford TC ANF1.5 18 laps   11 01:46.1   27-JM-11        
    Mike Champion Competition Cars Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5     12 01:46.6   6310        
    Noel Potts Noel Potts Elfin Catalina Ford 1500 ANF1.5     16 01:49.6   627       2
DNF 1 Spencer Martin Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF ANF1 32 laps 01:35.1 3 01:36.2 Throttle spring IC-4-64       15
DNF 2 Frank Gardner Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT2 Ford TC ANF1.5 16 laps   5 01:36.4 Wheel bearing FJ-12-62        
DNF 7 Greg Cusack Greg Cusack Brabham BT10 Ford TC ANF1.5 9 laps   1 01:35.8 Clutch IC-6-64       1
Bib Stillwell     37
Jack Brabham     18
Spencer Martin     15
Leo Geoghegan     15
John McDonald     15
Frank Matich     12
John Ampt     6
Glyn Scott     5
Garrie Cooper     4
John Walker     3
John Harvey     3
Mel McEwin     3
Jack Hobden     2
Noel Potts     2
Bob Jane     2
Greg Cusack     1
Jimmy Orr       1
Don Fraser     1
  Source Elfin chassis numbers - Brian Lear, Elfin Register
  Primary source other chassis numbers - OldRacingCars.com
  Secondary source other chassis numbers - The Chassis History Archive - 10 Tenths Motorsport
Rnds 1&2 Primary source - Tasman-Series.com
Rnd1 Secondary source - Sports Car World, April 1965
Rnd2 Secondary source - The official 50-race history of the AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Rnd4 Primary source - Sports Car World, October 1965
Rnd 5 Primary source - Racing Car News, December 1965
Rnd6 Primary source - Racing Car News, January 1966
The 1965 Gold Star Series started as it had in the previous year, two Tasman Series races followed
by a few stand-alone races. The big difference this year was that there were 6 rounds, a number
which was to last until the end of the 2.5 formula. 
Round 1, International 100 at Warwick Farm.
      Many regard the 1965 Series as the best the Tasman Series had to offer. Longford in particular,
for the Australian Grand Prix proved to be a cracker. But it was very intense motor-racing at the
Farm too and 31,000 squeezed in there to enjoy the spectacle.
      Just to make things interesting, Brabham had entered the Tasman Series races under his 
Australian Licence, and therefore qualified for the points he may accumulate. In unofficial practice 
on Friday, Matich in last years BT7A led the way with a scorching 1:32.7 once he had fitted correct 
gearing. This was nearly 5 seconds under his official lap record, with the internationals less than 
half a second behind. These times were not to continue into official practice though, as by then the 
heat had become stifling, and lesser categories had left a veneer of oil and rubber around the course. 
      In the first session, Matich again led the way along with Graham Hill in the new Scuderia Veloce 
BT11A. Everybody was eagerly anticipating the crucial second session, but it was only 2 laps old 
when a sheepish Geoff McLelland brought his little Formula Junior Brabham into the pits with a 
haemorrhaging twin cam. If he needed to find missing parts, he only had to follow the trail back to 
the Northern Crossing. Cusack seemed rather perturbed by the amount of oil around, but this wasn't 
reflected in the 1:38.2 that he posted.
      By the end of practice, Matich was on pole with a time of 1:34.4 shared with Graham Hill. 
Brabham was fourth with a 1:34.6, only a tenth behind McLaren on the front row. Gardner was in sixth 
in Mildren's new BT11A, Stillwell in his similar mount was next to him in the middle of the third row, 
with Lex and his older BT4 on the outside. Greg Cusack was in 11th in his Brabham twin cam, Leo 
Geoghegan behind him in 14th in his Lotus (and with suspected influenza), with Rocky Tresise beside 
him in the last of the big cars. The last 4 on the grid were all litre and a half cars, being 
McClelland in his repaired Brabham, Walker, Scott and Barry Collerson.
      Matich made a great start and led down Hume Straight for the first time, before Hill and Clark 
both made a dive under brakes and took him at Creek Corner, with Brabham behind McLaren in fifth. By 
the end of the opening lap, Brabham was past. At the end of the third lap, Davison became the first 
retirement with another broken steering wheel, reminiscent of his 1962 Australian Grand Prix at 
Caversham in the Cooper. At this stage Matich still held third, though narrowly from Brabham who was 
eager to get in amongst it. Stillwell was behind Brabham, with Gardner 7th and back in tenth was the 
first of the small capacity cars, with Cusack leading Geoghegan and Levis.
      Matich was again forced to surrender a position at Creek Corner as Brabham forced the issue on  
lap 9. On the same lap McClelland retired the little Formula Junior Brabham with overheating, no doubt 
due to the searing heat. Geoghegan was by now really pressing Cusack for 1.5 honours, and Greg was 
starting to get a bit ragged from the pressure. Six laps later the relentless pressure on Cusack told, 
and he spun the Brabham coming out of the Esses, rejoining about 10 seconds behind Levis. Before he 
could settle back into his rhythm again and regain some lost time, Cusack came around and lost it at 
Leger Corner, losing another fifteen seconds and any chance of beating Leo for the class win. By lap 
14, Brabham had started to move up on Clark, who had lost third gear very early. Clark soon responded 
and halfed the distance ahead of himself to Graham Hill, while putting 100 yards between himself and 
Jack.
      Collerson retired his Brabham BT2 on lap 20 with a crook engine, and by lap 26 and Matich was 
still fourth some 30 seconds behind Brabham, Stillwell was fifth, Gardner had retired the new BT11A 
("She was going further and further off song, - it was one of those big bangs coming on"), and Levis 
was closing on Geoghegan who was now seventh. Brabham pulled out all stops to try and reel in Clark, s
etting his best lap of the race on lap 23 with a 1:34.3, but that was still 6/10s slower than Clark's 
best. Gardner had already lost 3 laps when he came in on lap 20 for a precautionary change of plugs. 
With less than ten laps to go, Geoghegan's lack of fitness told (it turned out to be pneumonia) and 
Levis slipped through at Paddock. The drama didn't end there though, as on the penultimate corner of 
the race, and by now 6 seconds behind the leader Clark, Graham Hill spun the Brabham. Before he could 
get push started and going again, Brabham, Matich and Stillwell all got through.
      Clark had driven a brilliant race, but Brabham had hung on to get the 9 Gold Star points for 
second. Matich took a magnificent 3rd, Stillwell's smooth, consistent driving got him the 4 points and 
fourth on the road, with Geoghegan 8th and 2nd of the 1500 cars, Tresise ninth in the Cooper Climax, 
followed by Cusack, David Walker in the Brabham and last finisher was Glyn Scott.
Round 2, Australian Grand Prix at Longford.
      This race turned out to be an epic battle by the best drivers in the world, in the fastest 
road-racing cars in the world, on the fastest track that they raced on. Unfortunately, the meeting was 
also most tragic. The week before at Sandown the inimitable Lex Davison, the only man to have won the 
Australian Grand Prix four times, died in practice when he apparently had a heart attack and hit the 
horse railing. It was only after much discussion that the team continued on to Longford with his 
protege Rocky Tresise to be the sole Ecurie Australie representative in McLaren's old Cooper. The end 
of the opening lap brought further tragedy when Tresise got into the gravel on after passing the pits 
and careened into a paddock, and into photographer Robin D'Abrera. Neither stood a chance.
      As was the norm at Longford, grid positions for the big race on the Monday were decided by 
preliminary racing on the Saturday. In this installment, it was the 10 lap Examiner Scratch Race. 
After the dust had settled, McLaren had pole position and a new record of 2:20.3, under cutting Black 
Jack's old record by 1.2 seconds. Brabham was beside him, with Matich in sixth with Bib next to him. 
Then came Rocky in tenth, followed by John McDonald in Bill Patterson's Cooper, Bob Jane's Ford TC 
powered Elfin Mono leading the 1.5 brigade, Jack Hobden in an old Cooper Climax, Mel McEwin and Lyn 
Archer in slots 15 and 16 respectively in Elfin Catalinas, with Glyn Scott 18th and last on the grid 
in his Lotus 27.
      A crowd of 30,000 eagerly awaited the mid afternoon start of the 30th Australian Grand Prix. 
The track looked magnificent, having been re-surfaced and with considerable improvements including 
shaving the top off the notorious bump in Union Street. The flag went down and the stoush was on. 
There was to be no settling into this race, it was battle stations from the word go. McLaren led the 
first half dozen cars under the Viaduct in grid order. Up and out of Newry, Gardner had slowed s
lightly and Matich and Stillwell were through into 4th and 5th. By lap four, Jane had retired the 
quickest of the small engined cars with non-standard noises emanating behind him, and Brabham had put 
on a burst of speed to take McLaren and the lead at Mountford Corner. Lyn Archer was also out with a 
dodgy motor.
      Brabham held the lead for the next three tours, until McLaren regained the lead on Tannery 
Straight. On lap 8 Matich pulled into the pits briefly, resuming behind Palmer in the ex-works BT7A. 
By lap 9, Stillwell was the leading Gold Star contender in sixth, followed by Matich in eighth, 
McDonald behind him, Scott in twelfth and second in class behind Levis, then Hobden and Mel McEwin.
      Lap 12 and Brabham had picked up the pace, with a record breaking 2:19.9. Matich had kicked on 
and retaken Palmer, until he had a frightening moment braking at 165 mph for Mountford Corner when the 
front suspension collapsed, pulling it down the escape road with the front wheels splayed. Lap 14 and 
McLaren came back at Jack, lowering the record by a further half second, and retook the lead at 
Tannery. Graham Hill was not to be outdone, and having cleared away from his namesake Phil, and a 
surprisingly slow Clark, he too took Brabham.
      It was certainly not to be Our Jack's day. As he was once again starting to launch an assault on 
the leaders, he came past the outside of Levis at the end of the Flying Mile. Levis locked a brake and 
skidded into Brabham's right rear wheel as he turned in. This sent Brabham up the escape road, where 
he turned around and promptly headed for the pits for a quick visual check. There was a chunk out of 
the rim, and the weights were missing from the wheel, but overall "She'll be right, mate!"
      Brabham pulled out behind Clark and in front of Stillwell. It was now 15 laps down, and McLaren 
wasn't going to let anyone have a sniff of victory as he poured the pressure on from the front, 
recording a 2:19 neat, followed by a 2:18.8. His next lap was a 2:18.4 and nobody was going to catch 
him from there, but no-one told Jack that! Jack was driving right at the ragged edge, hanging the tail 
out as he tried to carry as much speed through Newry as physically possible. It had now become 
contagious, and on lap 19 Phil Hill started cracking the whip and he took back the third place that he 
had surrendered to Clark. By the end of the lap Brabham had also taken Clark and was trying to find a 
way around P. Hill.
      On the next tour he got past Phil at Tannery, while recording a 2:18.7. Phil responded and 
sailed past Brabham down Tannery Straight the next time around en route to establishing a new record 
of 2:18.2. The boys at Rocky's Tavern on Tannery Straight were being presented with a great show! Jack 
set things straight once and for all next time around, setting the record in stone at 2:18 even, 
passing Phil on the way. Now for Graham.
      It was now on for young and old. McLaren put in a 2:18.5 on lap 22 as the others were starting 
to lower the record, but was starting to slow with clutch trouble. Had he gone too hard too early? His 
teammate the American Hill then tore past both Brabham at Tannery, and Graham at Mountford to back up 
his team leader. The problem was though, he was bringing the others with him. Graham then set his FTD 
with a 2:19.7, but he had no answer to the Coopers. Brabham then got past Graham, and set off after 
the flying white cars in one last ditch effort and with 3 to go he got past Phil on the Flying Mile 
and had only one sick car between himself and being the first driver to win three successive 
Australian Grand Prix. Hill responded in his Cooper with a 2:18.3 lap but Brabham was still winding 
up.
      But it was not to be. At the flag fall, McLaren had won by a meagre 3.3 seconds to Brabham, 
followed by the Hills, P from G, Clark and then the next Gold Star contender, Stillwell. Bib had 
come in some 74 seconds behind the winner McLaren. In ninth was Scott's 1500 Lotus, soon followed by 
McDonald (eleventh) and Hobden (twelfth), with McEwin twelfth and last to finish.
Round 3, Victorian Road Racing Championship at Sandown Park.
      Once the internationals had all packed up and gone home, it was noticed how much the landscape 
had changed. Not in the sense of who was leading the title chase, as that was Stillwell, but he was 
the lone driver from another era. Not so long ago, it was a great Gold Star era of front-engined 
warriors that battled with Stillwell, men such as the now gone Lex Davison, playboy Stan Jones who was 
the last man to win an Australian Grand Prix in a front-engined car when he held off Len Lukey in the 
Cooper Climax at Longford. Lukey himself, the great Bill Patterson and Doug Whiteford along with a 
cast of many more. Stillwell was leading the championship, but the younger brigade were now his 
combatants and how long could he keep going?
      The Gold Star circus arrived at Sandown, they were greeted by a new look Matich Brabham now in 
full TOTAL warpaint, white with red and blue stripes down each side. The car continued to carry these 
colours even after Matich had sold the car to New Zealander Red Dawson. The new paint didn't slow 
Frank down at all, as he recorded a 1:08.6 in practice. Matich's only rival for pole seemed to be the 
obvious Stillwell, who lapped at a best of 1:09.1, but suddenly new man Spencer Martin in the Scuderia 
Veloce BT11A threatened with a 1:09.4 This time was faster than Graham Hill was able to do in the same 
car at the Tasman Round in February, just 2 months earlier.
      Stillwell got a good start, followed by Matich who as usual was rather sluggish off the line. 
Leo Geoghegan in his TC Lotus, Martin and Kerry Grant in the ex-Scuderia Veloce BT4. Spencer knew it 
was time to make his mark as a contender and slid past Geoghegan up Mobil Straight to chase the 
leaders. Stillwell and Matich went for it hammer and tongs, getting well down into practice times. On 
lap 4 Bib did a 1:09.5, but Matich still closed with a 1:09.1, then shot past for the lead on Pit 
Straight in the short run up to Peter's Corner. Stillwell was not going to be shaken so easily and 
drew alongside as the topped the rise at Lukey's. Stillwell seemed to have more speed on the 
straights, but Frank was quicker out of the corners. By lap 7 Bib had out manoeuvred Matich by coming 
down the inside of him into Shell. Matich clung on to the back of the dark green Brabham, and two laps 
later he was back in front after successfully trying the same move.
      For the next 8 laps the lead didn't change, but at about one third distance Stillwell resumed 
the pressure. Matich resisted the pressure by lapping at 1:09.0, only .4 off Brabham's record. 
Stillwell then replied by going a tenth quicker again, which Matich then equalled. Around and around 
they went, faster by the lap until Stillwell had become joint record holder. By this stage Grant had 
retired the Brabham with a lack of oil pressure, and John Leighton in the old high-line Cooper was in 
and out of the pits like a yo-yo with fouling plugs.
      The pivotal point of the battle came on lap 24 when Matich spun from the lead at Peter's. He 
lost nearly a half lap before resuming and that was that. Stillwell was already looking the likely 
champion again, and proved that not only could he win by being consistent and reliable, but that he 
could win on sheer pace as well. The pace that the two leaders had shown was too much for the new boy 
Martin, and Matich was able to recover from his spin still in second place. On lap 25 Dick Thurston 
retired the little Elfin on Mobil Straight with a lack of lubricant, and the order was now Stillwell, 
Matich, Martin, Geoghegan first of the 1500s, McDonald, Ampt having his first Gold Star race in an 
ex-works Alexis that he had driven for the factory in Europe, Don Fraser in his BRM powered Cooper and 
McEwin in his Elfin. Such was the pace shown by the leaders that the average speed for the race was up 
to 99.15mph.
      A short time later and things started to develop. Don Fraser spun the Cooper at Shell and lost a 
lap and a position on lap 35. Then Geoghegan broke his clutch and dawdled down the main straight to 
his pit. John McDonald was now up to third, and John Ampt took over the leadership of the ANF1.5 
class.
      By lap 40 Stillwell had lapped all but the two large Brabhams of Matich and Martin, and just as 
the latter was being relegated to lap down status opposite the grandstand, Martin breached a Climax 
and hot bits of Repco castings flew every which way, with Bib ducking just in time to miss being taken 
out by a flying oil pump.
      B.S. Stillwell went on to win the race by over a lap as Matich was slowed in the dying stages 
with falling oil pressure. McDonald came in third in the ex-Phil Hill Cooper, with an excellent Gold 
Star debut from Ampt in fourth, from McEwin and Fraser.
Round 4, Governor's Trophy at Lakeside.
      Where else could you run a Gold Star race in the middle of winter, but at Lakeside? Quite a good 
field of fourteen cars had entered for the annual foray up to Queensland. Of the main contenders only 
Stillwell was missing, being away on business. There were two unusual entries from New Zealand, 
Mustang driver Paul Fahey in the Ecurie Rothmans Cooper T66 usually driven by Dennis Marwood, and one
of Bib's old cars, his BT4 now in New Zealand hands, in a one off drive by John Riley.
      In dry and fast but windy conditions, Matich was able to equal his previous best time of 55.4 
seconds in practice. Martin got down to 56.7, with the best of the small bore cars on 58.2 being 
Cusack in his Brabham, with Geoghegan's Lotus a further half second away. Then came John McDonald with 
a 59.1 to be last cars under the minute. Glyn Scott in his twin cam Lotus followed, then Ampt, 
Hunnam's Mono and first of the visitors Fahey in eighth nearly 7 seconds slower than Matich. Matich's 
time was to prove of no consequence however, as he did not start due to a big accident in his Lotus 
19B sports car in practice.
      With Matich out, Martin had no threat as far as the big cars went and moved to an early lead 
from Cusack, Geoghegan, McDonald, Scott, Fahey, Hunnam and Ampt. Mel McEwin didn't last long before 
retiring his Elfin. Geoghegan was pushing on and soon took second from Cusack, rattling off a 29.1 
lap. Cusack was having none of this though, and on the fourth tour he posted fastest lap, a new 1500 
record of a phenomenal 57.1 and regained second place. All this was in vain, as he then pitted after 
5 laps before rejoining and then coming in for good when the throttle linkage started to disassemble.
      Martin had by now cleared out, and all interest was on the smaller class. Scott, Ampt and 
Hunnam had no trouble mixing it with Fahey's larger car and Geoghegan had settled down in second 
place. All was not 100% with the twin cam, but he was able to easily hold off McDonald. On lap 35 
Glyn Scott retired the Lotus 27 and Ralph Sach retired the BT2 Brabham two laps later, then Bartlett 
retired the Elfin Imp with a broken fuel pump, quickly followed by Hunnam with a broken rear roll bar. 
Of the thirteen starters, we were now down to seven.
      After 65 of the scheduled 66 laps, the chequered flag was prematurely hung out and Spencer 
Martin had won his first Gold Star, a fantastic effort at only his second attempt. With Matich out 
with minor burns sustained in the sports car accident and Stillwell not appearing, there didn't appear 
to be anyone likely to threaten him, especially as Cusack's race was so short-lived.
Round 5, at Mallala.
      There was a major change prior to the South Australian round of the Gold Star, in that Frank 
Matich sold his Repco Brabham to New Zealand interests and he wouldn't be seen again in a front line 
open-wheeler until Formula 5000 came to these shores in 1970. With his 19 points to date, Bib wasn't 
over the line yet, but who was going to threaten him? John McDonald was in outdated machinery and 
wasn't quite quick enough to overcome that, despite his win at Mallala Spencer Martin was still green, 
Cusack looked to be possibly the best option at any stage to knock Stillwell off, but only had 1 point 
to date. Mallala was the last chance for somebody to put their hand up and take the title from 
Stillwell.
      Martin gave it a good shake and showed how quickly he had adapted to these big beasts by being 
quickest in practice with a 1:16.2.
      From the start of the 47 lap race, Martin blasted off the line to lead the triple champion. The 
race started to resemble Sandown only 2 rounds prior, except that Martin had taken over Matich's role. 
Third was Mel McEwin in his Elfin Mono, who led for the first four laps, when he spun letting McDonald 
through.
      It was expected that towards the end, Stillwell would move past the cheeky Martin to win 
comfortably. But that would be mis-interpreting the situation and selling Martin short. They both put 
on a great display of fast, close driving with Stillwell often drawing alongside under brakes, but 
Martin better under acceleration. McDonald held down third until lap 24 when he entered Club House 
Corner and promptly snapped off the brake pedal! This let McEwin back into third, but it wasn't to be 
for poor Mel either. He had spun at KLG on lap 15 and received a push start to resume. On lap 33, the 
black flag was hung out for him and that was that. This let Cooper into third in his Mono.
      With only 3 laps to go it looked like being an upset by the upstart, but as the leaders braked 
into KLG, there were sounds of squealing tyres but there was nothing to see as they were both within a 
large dust cloud. They had both spun, Stillwell apparently to avoid Martin, and Bib recovered quickly 
and was away. It turns out in the end that it was brake failure that caused the problem for Spencer, 
not driver error, and he duly finished second some 8 seconds behind. Cooper held off for third, John 
Walker in his Elfin Catalina was fourth, Potts fifth and Jimmy Orr sixth in his little Austin Special. 
Then came Don Fraser and Dud Dansie in the unusual Rotary Valve Holden powered BBM.
      Stillwell recorded a best time of 1:16.5 in the race, 2/10s quicker than Martin and the 9 points 
took him to 28 points, and an unbeatable lead in the championship leading into the second Warwick Farm 
Gold Star round of the year, the Hordern Trophy in December.
Round 6, the Hordern Trophy at Warwick Farm.
      At the esteemed Hordern Trophy meeting in December, B.S. Stillwell announced his retirement. He 
was by now 38, had won the CAMS Gold Star four times in succession and had seen off his peers from the 
days of racing an MGTC after the war. More importantly, the longer his career went, the better he 
seemed to drive and when he went out he went out on top.
      Practice proved to be a surprise to many, who expected Stillwell and Martin to run away from the 
rest of the Hordern Trophy field. The only other 2.5 litre car to appear was the outdated Cooper of 
John McDonald. The threat came from not within their ranks, but in the form of a twin cam powered 
Brabham BT10 of Greg Cusack's. Cusack had not had a good year, showing prodigious pace but not being 
able to bring the car home, scoring only one point. At Warwick Farm he plonked the Brabham on pole 
with a 1:35.8, a time which was later matched by Stillwell. Martin was on the outside of the front 
row, 0.4secs behind, and on the second row were 2 more 1500cc cars to back up Cusack. In fourth was 
Leo Geoghegan in the Lotus 32 and beside him Frank Gardner making his annual Hordern Trophy 
appearance, this time in an old BT2 Brabham with a twin cam. They had both recorded 1:36.4, and there 
was more to come with John Harvey on the row behind making his Gold Star debut in the ex-Stillwell 
Brabham BT14 with twin cam. The car was owned by sports car dealer R.C. Phillips. In all there were 16 
cars facing the flag.
      As the flag dropped, Cusack made a great start and was an improbable leader onto Hume Straight. 
All was not well though, as the tachometer was indicating the clutch was suffering issues and 
Stillwell went past Greg at Creek Corner. At the end of the first lap, it was Stillwell showing the 
way with Cusack tucked up under his transmission. About 40 yards later came Gardner and then a fair 
way back was McDonald about to be passed by Martin, who had made a sluggish start. Further back came 
Geoghegan, Harvey, Glyn Scott, Les Howard in the ex-Geoghegan Lotus 27 now fitted with a twin cam, Bob 
Jane in the Mono and a long gap to Fergusson, Max Stewart's Rennmax and Champions Brabham.
Cusack pressed on though, ignoring the clutch issue and was giving Stillwell a really hard time, 
especially on the section from Creek to Polo where he often had to back off on the exits to avoid the 
bigger car. The gap steadily opened up to Gardner, who was soon relegated to fourth by Martin, intent 
on making up lost ground. While one of the 1.5s lost a position, one gained as Geoghegan got past 
McDonald. At the end of lap nine the script changed dramatically when Stillwell came around on his 
lonesome, Cusack's pressure plate had finally shattered and he slowly made his way to the pits after 
having put up a terrific fight to the champion. Les Howard also pulled into the pit counter to try 
and trace a misfire, and didn't return in a great hurry.
      Martin now decided to take the fight up to Stillwell, and by lap 11 he was only 2.5 seconds 
behind. He was starting to get a grasp of this Gold Star lark and on lap 13 he put down a 1:35.1 and 
began to close rapidly. Max Stewart pulled in to secure a loose exhaust at this stage, followed by 
Gardner 2 laps later, barely stopping on his way through. He stopped a lot longer next time around, 
permanently in fact, as a rear wheel bearing had collapsed and he found the non-factory four wheel 
steering to be a bit unpredictable. Without drama or fanfare, and barely noticed was that now 
Geoghegan was up to third, 25 seconds from the pace.
      The race had moved into a settled period with Stillwell metronomically reeling off 1:36.4s 
after doing a 1:35.4 on lap 17, trying to keep Martin from stealing more ground from him. Martin sat 
some 30 to 40 yards back unflustered, with Geoghegan losing a little to the leaders with each passing 
circuit. He was now 26 seconds up on McDonald and had just set is PB of 1:36.0. McDonald had about the 
same distance back to Harvey who had made his debut in the car only three weeks earlier, and now had 
Jane on his hammer. These two started to have a great duel, Bob passing Harvey on lap 13 but not being 
able to clear out, before the positions changed once again on lap 18 and John was able to pull away 
slightly.
      The leaders passed Glyn Scott on lap 24 when he was holding down 7th, as Howard re-joined after 
his 16 lap sojourn in the pits. On lap 26 David McKay gave Spencer the signal in the Scuderia Veloce 
Brabham, but as he put his foot down so did Bib, and the margin didn't change. By lap 32 his lead had 
actually changed 2 seconds to the good. Now it was all done and dusted. Almost.
      A lap and a half from home, Martin went down through the box and the revs suddenly skyrocketed. 
Two throttle return springs had broken in unison, and he was forced to complete the lap on the 
ignition switch and park it. Stillwell's last lap was a virtual lap of honour to say goodbye to the 
world of motor racing that had rewarded him so well. In second came Geoghegan some 39 seconds behind 
with McDonald a further 45 seconds away and last on the lead lap. Harvey put up a great Gold Star 
debut for 4th ahead of Jane, Scott, Peter Williamson in McGuire's Imp powered Elfin, Fergusson, 
Shirvington and Max's Rennmax.
      It had been another typical Stillwell championship, up where the action was and watch the others 
drop out one by one. What a debut by Spencer since the Tasman Series though, a win, a second (when a 
win looked assured until brake dramas) and 2 DNFs due to mechanical failure. The two outstanding 
drivers in the 1.5 class in Cusack and Geoghegan were to move up out of the class for 1966, leaving 
the new boy Harvey looking the most likely to fill the void they left.