1954 Mount Druitt 24 Hours Road Race Explained

The 1954 Mount Druitt 24 Hours Road Race was an endurance race for production cars staged at the Mount Druitt circuit in New South Wales, Australia from 31 January to 1 February 1954.^[1] The race, which was organized by the Australian Racing Drivers' Club,^[2] was the first motor race of 24 hours duration to be held in Australia.^[3] Cars were required to be stock models, competing as purchased with no modifications permitted other than the removal of the silencer.^[1] All starters finished the race, with those that had retired rejoining to cross the finish line at the end of the 24 hours.^[4]

The race was won by Geordie Anderson, Chas Swinburne and Bill Pitt driving a Jaguar XK120 Coupe.^[1]

Results

Position	Drivers [5]	No.	Car	Entrant	Class pos.	Class	Laps
1		6	Jaguar XK120 Coupe	Mrs. C. Anderson	1	Closed Cars 3001 cc and Over	573
2	Gordon Greig Bill Reynolds Peter Vennermark	4	Bristol 400	Sports Cars Pty. Ltd.	1	Closed Cars 1501 – 3000 cc	569
3	Tom Sulman [7] Nat Buchanan J. A. Masling	10	Humber Super Snipe	T. N. Sulman			563
4	Dick Shaw J. H. Shaw R. E. Long	12	Holden 48/215	R. D. Shaw			547
5	John Crouch J. Dowling David McKay[8]	23	Peugeot 203	Harden Johnston Pty. Ltd.	1	Closed Cars 1101 – 1500 cc	546
6	R. M. Daniel P. Spring B. Polaine	18	MG TC	R. M. Daniel	1	Open Cars 1101 – 1500 cc	537
7	Ken Tubman Kel Ebbeck	22	Peugeot 203	K. Tubman			528
8	Doug Chivas Frank Dent Peter Lowe	20	MG TD	Lowe's Service Station			491
9	John Le Foe G. R. McColl	9	Standard Vanguard Spacemaster	Marshalls Motors Pty. Ltd.			481
10	John Nind A. McAlpine	21	MG TD	J. P. Nind			441
11	W. Collins K. French N. Senior	16	MG TD	W. Collins			414
12	K. Harrison B. Maher J. Johnston	26	Morris Minor Tourer	K. Harrison	1	Open Cars Under 1100 cc	406
13	Reg Lewis F. Samuels J. H. Richards	15	Jaguar Mark V	R. Lewis			399
14	I. Boydell M. Robinson P. Moffitt	25	Renault 760	I. Boydell	1	Closed Cars Under 1100 cc	396
15	N. Perkins R. Barnard R. A. Dixon	17	Ford V8 (1938)	N. Perkins			323
16	Peter Whitehead Tony Gaze Alf Barrett	1	Jaguar XK120C	P. N. Whitehead	1	Open Cars 3001 cc and Over	282
17	Bill Ford W. Hand P. Carter	27	Singer Nine	C. H. C. Engineering Co.			245
18	John Webber Ashton Marshall	28	Fiat 500C	J. H. Webber	2	Closed Cars Under 1100 cc	210
19	Les Cosh Dick Cobden [9] Stewart Moody	2	Aston Martin DB2	L. J. Cosh			170
20	Belf Jones Col James G. E. Turner	7	Austin A90 Atlantic	B. J. Jones			153
21	W. Broad W. Clarke S. Hall	14	MG TD	W. Broad			140
22	E. Wright B. J. Jones L. A. Painter	11	MG TD	E. Wright			130

Notes

• Entries: 28^[1]
• Starters: 22^{[1] [10]}
• Finishers: 22^[10]
• Start format: Le Mans-style^[1]
• Start time: 2pm^[1]
• Distance covered by winning car: Approximately 1,260 miles (2,029 km)^[11]
• Average speed of winning car: 53 m.p.h.^[12]
• Attendance: 15,000 ^[12]
• Prize money: 3,000 pounds ^[12]

External links

• Video, 1954 Mount Druitt 24 Hour Road Race, NSW Australia, www.youtube.com

Notes and References

1. Mt. Druitt 24-Hours Road Race, Australian Motor Sports, February 1954, pages 23 to 29
2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28658824 Varied Entry for Mt Druitt Race, The Sun-Herald, Sunday 10 January 1954, page 78, as retrieved from nla.gov.au
3. David McKay, Behind the Wheel, The Best Car and Sports Driver Magazine, Dec 1992 / Jan 1993, pages 104 & 105
4. Con rods at dawn, Australian Monthly Motor Manual, March 1954, pages 910-913
5. Official Souvenir Programme, The Grand Prix Circuit, Mt. Druitt, Australia Day Week-end, Jan. 30-31, Feb. 1
6. https://web.archive.org/web/20080207111104/http://www.jagqld.org.au/Bulletin/bill_pitt.htm The Anderson XK120, www.jagqld.org.au as archived at web.archive.org
7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18407506/1072745 Woman Driver's Victory With Borrowed "Spare", The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 2 Feb 1954, Page 6, as archived at trove.nla.gov.au
8. David McKay, Australia's First Twenty Four Hour Race, Anniversary Day 1954, The Best Car and Sports Driver Magazine, Dec 1992 / Jan 1993, pages 104-105
9. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12641605 Tricky circuit limits top speed, The Sun-Herald, Sunday 24 January 1954, page 77, as retrieved from nla.gov.au
10. The AMS report says there were 22 starters and lists results for 22 cars. The Motor Manual report says 24 starters but lists results for 22 cars. The Motor Manual report also says that all cars finished.
11. Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 142-143
12. Woman Wins First 24 Hour Race, Wheels, March 1954, pages 800 to 803