1952 Australian Grand Prix 1952 Australian Grand Prix The 1952 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Libre motor race held at the Mount Panorama Circuit near Bathurst, in New South Wales, Australia on 14 April 1952. The race had 43 starters and was held over 38 laps of the six kilometre circuit, a total distance of 235 kilometres. A crowd of 15,000 watched the race, which was organised by the Australian Sporting Car Club. The race, which is recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the seventeenth Australian Grand Prix, was won by Doug Whiteford driving a Talbot-Lago T26C Formula One car.
Brabham BT19 which Brabham described as "Brands Hatch on steroids". On the opening lap Brabham took the lead from Surtees, now driving a Cooper-Maserati. Brabham won after a race-long fight with the Englishman in the rain. With four wins and more finishes than any of his championship rivals, Brabham had a 22-point lead in the drivers championship and could only be caught in the championship by Surtees or Stewart if one of them won all three of the remaining races. Jack Brabham used BT19 again at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, another high speed circuit. A second BT20 was completed at