Australian Formula Libre

[Nero]

What is the history of Formula Libre in Australian circuit racing. I seem to recall it on the programs and just wondered if anybody recalls the specifics.

[Oldtony]

Nero the soecifics of Australian Formula Libre were that there were no specifics.
Libre of course translates as liberty. Ask an Australian to take a liberty and you can expect interesting results.
It was always a case of "run what you brung".
Pre WW2 racing in Australia was a rather amazing mix of Australian made specials and 4 or 5 year old pensioned off European cars. The usual form was to run either fully built up local race cars or imported sports cars with replacement bigger engines. A few Buggattis, things like Frontegnac Fords, the odd Lea Francis or Chain Gang Fraser Nash would compete with Ford V8 or Hudson straight eight specials. The first Australian GP by the way was won by an Austin 7 Special. Being a handicap event helped.
Following WW2 things took a while to get started again with much of the same machinery competing. A few Coper Bristols, a 4clt Maserati, an HWM or two and a couple of Lago Talbots came into the country but most racing was based around MG specials or localy designed and built cars featuring largish American engines. In the early 50s a summer series in Australia and NZ strated to attract som interest from British drivers and a couple of 4.5ltr Ferraris, superceeded by the World championship going to F2, were brought down, followed the next year by the first of the 250Fs.
The 1956 Olympic GP brought a couple of 250Fs for Moss and Behra with 300s sports cars to compete with the by then fairly strong local field of C & D type Jags etc in sports car races. At that time, even in Europe sports cars were dominant compared with the slower by then F1 cars. Many and various chassis were mated with modified versions of the Holden 6, with SV V8 fords, Jaguar, Hudson and later Dodge and Chev OHV V8s.
Probably the peak of the Austrlian specials were about that time. The Stan Jones Maybach, Ted Grays Tornado/Corvette are a couple tha spring to mind. There was even a special powered by a Lycoming Aircraft engine.
With the F1 spec from that time going to 2.5ltr a Tasman Formula of 2.7ltr
was adopted for the annual Australia/NZ tour and of Course Jack Brabhams influence ensured that initially Coopers, and later Brabhams were imported in some numbers to add to the machinery left behind each (antipodean) summer by the visiting circus.
JB by the way started in Speedway, moved on to an Ron and Austin Tauranac built Cooper JAP type unit, and then finaly before going to Europe a front engined Cooper Bristol run as the Redex Special.

[Nero]

Thanks for your reply Tony. Do you think there was a year from which FL was no longer run?

[Oldtony]

I guess the adoption of the 2.7ltr formula for the Tasman series was the begining of the end for Formula Libre being the accepted format for major international standard races. It did linger on in National and State championships for quite a while but when F5000 replaced the 2.7ltrs for the Tasman rounds the term mainly disappeared from race descriptions.
It still lingers at some State and Club levels but is usualy termed "open".
The local term for the "anything still running" races held at 50s meetings to close the days racing was "Butchers Picnic", a sometimes accurate description.

[Graham Clayton]

Would the 1980 Australian GP at Calder be considered a Formula Libre race?

http://8w.forix.com/aus80.html

According to this results sheet, the NSW Hillclimb Championship has a Formula Libre category:

http://bathurstlightcarclub.com.au/w...-5-6-05-12.pdf

[Darcia1]

Formula Libre is generally used in Hillclimb here in Aus
classes
750cc-1300cc
1301-2001cc
2001 over
We generally have home engineered cars though a number of overseas UK built cars are appearing including a number of Dallaras converted to 1300-40 busas though there is a judd powered Dallara and a beams toyota powered one and a synergy v8 bike powered one..
Formula libre class 68-69 ran at the Farm .. maybe part of tasman series
i have a clubman sports that ran there back then ... Nola Holden Sports of Alan Nolan though the car is now restored in a later period guise of grp Q where it also ran in the Golden Breed sports car series of the 70s in NSW....