The 1939 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held on the Lobethal Circuit in South Australia, Australia on 2 January 1939. The race was staged over 17 laps of the 14 kilometre circuit, the longest ever used for the Grand Prix, for a race distance of 241 kilometres. The Grand Prix meeting was organised by Lobethal Carnivals Ltd. and the Sporting Car Club of South Australia.Programme, Australian Grand Prix Meeting, Lobethal, South Australia, Monday, 2 January 1939

The race was the eleventh Australian Grand Prix and the second since the 1938 revival of the event. The Lobethal Circuit comprised three country roads in a roughly triangular formation, passing through the town of Lobethal and the nearby village of Charleston. The advantage of using these country roads was that, for the first time, the Grand Prix was held on a bitumen sealed surface instead of on dirt roads. The race utilised a handicap start with the slowest cars starting first and the fastest cars last, the winner being the first to complete the stipulated number of laps.Tony Parkinson, Legend of Lobethal: The Story of One of Australia's Greatest Racing Circuits, Vintage Motorsport Carnivals Proprietary Limited, 2008, page 29 Trophies were awarded for the first three places with prize money paid to the first seven finishers. Prize money and a trophy were also awarded for Fastest Time.

The race was won by relatively unknown Western Australian racer Allan Tomlinson driving a supercharged MG T. Bob Lea-Wright's Terraplane Special finished in second position ahead of Jack Phillips' Ford Special. The winning car's average speed was the fastest of any Australian Grand Prix prior to 1956, with Tomlinson averaging 84.00 mph.Australian Grand Prix Winners, Sandown, Australian Grand Prix Programme, 9 February 1964, page 23 The fastest actual time over the race distance was recorded by Jack Saywell driving an Alfa Romeo.

The entry of J O'Dea crashed at the Gumeracha turn late in the race and driver Vern Leech was killed almost instantaneously.

Later in 1939, Australia would declare war on the AXIS powers. As World War II enveloped Australia, motor racing wound down and would not resume until the mid-1940s. The Australian Grand Prix itself would be revived in 1947.

Classification

Results as follows. Pos No. Driver Car / Engine EntrantJohn B Blanden, The 1939 Australian Grand Prix, A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928-1939, pages 169 to 185 Handicap Laps Time 1 12 Allan Tomlinson MG TA / MG s/c 1.3L AG Tomlinson 11m 30s 17 2h 00m 27s 2 19 Bob Lea-Wright Terraplane Special / Terraplane RA Lea-Wright 17m 00s 17 2h 02m 31s 3 15 Jack Phillips Ford Special / Ford 3.6L JK Phillips 12m 45s 17 2h 02m 46s 4 3 John Snow Delahaye 135 3.6L JF Snow 4m 15s 17 2h 04m 11s 5 17 Les Burrows Hudson Special / Hudson L Burrows 12m 45s 17 2h 04m 38s 6 1 Jack Saywell Alfa Romeo P3 / Alfa Romeo 2.9L J Saywell Scratch 17 2h 06m 48s 7 6 John Crouch Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Le Mans / Alfa Romeo s/c 2.4L JF Crouch 5m 00s 17 2h 08m 33s 8 2 Alf Barrett Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 / Alfa Romeo s/c 2.4L AI Barrett 2m 50s 17 2h 09m 11s 9 20 Raymond CurlewisPRE-WAR MG ARCHIVES REGISTER, prewar.mgcc.info, as archived at web.archive.org MG TB / MG 1.3L RF Curlewis 21m 00s 17 2h 09m 57s Ret 23 Robert Manser Lyster Jackson MG N / MG 1.3L RW Manser 21m 00s 14 Ret 26 Vern Leech MG P / MG 0.8L J O'Dea 21m 00s 14 Ret 24 Russell Bowes MG N / MG 1.3L RN Bowes 21m 00s 10 Ret 25 Jim Boughton Morgan 4/4 / Coventry Climax 1.1L JS Boughton 21m 00s 10 Ret 13 Tim Joshua Frazer Nash / Meadows 1.5L CM Joshua 11m 30s 7 Ret 31 J Wilson MG L / MG 1.1L JW Wilson 21m 00s 7 Ret 16 Clifford Downing Alan Sinclair Riley Brooklands / 1.5L CRE Downing 12m 45s 5 Ret 4 Frank Kleinig Kleinig-Hudson 8 Special / Hudson 4.2L F Kleinig 4m 15s 3 DNS 7 Alan Sinclair Sunbeam Special AG Sinclair 8m 30s - DNS 10 Colin Dunne MG K3 / MG s/c 1.1L CA Dunne 10m 00s - DNS 11 Jim Gullan Ballot J Gullan 10m 00s - DNS 21 John Summers MG N / MG 1.3L JF Summers 21m 00s -

Notes Fastest time: Jack Saywell:THRILLS AT CORNERS IN LOBETHAL CAR RACES, The Advertiser (Adelaide), 3 January 1939, page 4, as archived at nla.gov.au 1:45.48 Fastest race lap: Alf Barrett: 5:40s: 93.52 mph Raymond Curlewis was entered to drive an MG N Type in the Grand Prix but, having suffered a rollover in a supporting race, competed in the Grand Prix in an MG TB.

References

External links

Racing History Of Lobethal – 2008 Documentary (including 1939 Australian Grand Prix footage), vimeo.com