Tony
Gaze

Tony Gaze was born in Melbourne in 1920 and was a student at Cambridge when the Second World War began. He served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot, flying mainly Spitfires. He is credited with 12.5 confirmed aerial victories and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross three times. In 1943 he was shot down over France, evaded capture and reached neutral Spain with help from the French Resistance. In February 1945 he shot down a Messerschmitt Me 262, the first Australian to do so.

In 1946 he suggested to the Duke of Richmond and Gordon that the roads around Westhampnett airfield would suit a racing circuit, and the Duke opened the Goodwood Circuit in 1948. After the war Gaze returned to Australia and raced an Alta there. He contested the 1951 season in Europe with an Alta in Formula Two and switched to an HWM-Alta for 1952. The World Championship was run to Formula Two regulations that year, and Gaze contested championship rounds. At the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa he qualified 16th and finished 15th, which made him the first Australian to contest a World Championship race. The British and German Grands Prix followed, but he failed to qualify in Italy. Four entries therefore produced three starts.

In 1954 and 1955 he raced a Ferrari 500 F2 in non-championship events in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Back in England he founded the Kangaroo Stable, the first Australian international racing team. A young Jack Brabham was among its members, and the team ran Aston Martin DB3S cars. It disbanded at the end of the season, though Gaze raced for one more year. In 1960 he represented Australia at the World Gliding Championships. He died in 2013.

Source: Wikipedia, “Tony Gaze”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.