FRANK MATICH (McLaren M10 B Repco V8 4994 cc)
With the famous Creek Corner crowd blurred in the background, the master of Warwick Farm, Frank Matich, accelerates hard into the Esses on his way to winning the Australian Grand Prix on November 22, 1970. (Photograph by Nigel Foote)
Renowned for his performances in the 1964 and '65 practice sessions – when he put himself on pole position in front of the likes of Jim Clark, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Denny Hulme and Bruce McLaren – Matich again set a blistering pace for the 35th running of the event with a time of 1:23.9, just outside Jochen Rindt's record of 1:23.8 set in February the previous year.
The win capped a wonderful career in open-wheelers for the warm-hearted Australian, whose popularity with the crowds was boosted by his thunderous performances in the 'big-banger' sports car scene with cars of his own design. The sight and sound of the Matich SR3 or SR4 appearing under Dunlop Bridge at the end of Hume Straight would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and was perhaps only equalled by the Mustangs of Geoghegan, Moffat and Jane.