The 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship

Australian Drivers' Championship

The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula...

was a CAMS

Confederation of Australian Motor Sport

The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport , has been the governing body of Australian motorsport since 1953. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile ....

 sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre

Formula Libre

Formula Libre is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the opportunity for some compelling driving performances against superior machinery...

 cars. The title was contested over a five race series with the winner awarded the 1961 CAMS Gold Star.

The series was dominated by Victorian racer Bill Patterson

Bill Patterson (racing driver)

Gerard William Riggall "Bill" Patterson was an Australian motor racing driver, race team owner and businessman....

 driving a Cooper T51

Cooper T51

The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car to become the first driver to win the championship with a rear-engined...

-Climax

Coventry Climax

Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...

. Patterson won three of the five races and was second and fourth in the remaining races. Patterson finished the series 36 points ahead of Lex Davison

Lex Davison

Alexander Nicholas Davison was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 and 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1957...

 (Aston Martin DBR4

Aston Martin DBR4

The Aston Martin DBR4/250, commonly referred to simply as the DBR4, is a Formula One racing car, designed by Ted Cutting for the sports car manufacturer Aston Martin...

). Stan Jones

Stan Jones (racing driver)

Stanley Jones was an Australian racing driver.Today better known as father of 1980 World Drivers' Champion Alan Jones, Stan was a prominent racing driver himself, racing mainly in the 1950s. He is one of eleven drivers to have won the Australian and New Zealand Grands Prix...

 (Cooper T51

Cooper T51

The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car to become the first driver to win the championship with a rear-engined...

-Climax

Coventry Climax

Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...

) and Bib Stillwell (Cooper T51

Cooper T51

The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car to become the first driver to win the championship with a rear-engined...

-Climax

Coventry Climax

Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...

) tied for third place in the points standings.

The two races not won by Patterson were Longford

Longford Circuit

The Longford Circuit was a temporary motor racing course laid out on public roads at Longford, south-west of Launceston in Tasmania, Australia...

, won by British driver Roy Salvadori

Roy Salvadori

Roy Francesco Salvadori is a former motor racing driver and manager from England. He participated in 50 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 12 July 1952, and achieved two podiums, scoring a total of 19 Championship points.During a varied career he also won the 24 Hours of Le...

 in a Cooper T51

Cooper T51

The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car to become the first driver to win the championship with a rear-engined...

-Climax

Coventry Climax

Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...

 and Mallala, won by Davison.