August 01, 2024
A car driven in the Australian Grand Prix by Formula 1 World Drivers Champion Nelson Piquet will be on display at the Historic Leyburn Sprints.
Michael Cumming fulfilled a dream to own an open-wheel racer when he bought his classic Ralt RT4-Ford.
This car was driven to second place in the 1981 Australian Grand Prix - before it became a Formula 1 round - at Calder Park Raceway (Vic.) by Nelson Piquet, while Roberto Moreno took it to victory in the New Zealand Grand Prix in 1982.
The 1.6 litre Ralt RT4 model was one of the most popular single-seaters made for customer racers. The 1981 grid at Calder included 14 of these agile machines, also in the hands of stars such as Geoff Brabham, Alan Jones, Jacques Lafitte, Moreno, John Bowe, Bruce Allison, Charlie O’Brien, Larry Perkins and Lucio Cesario.
A month before the Calder race, Piquet in a Brabham had won the first of his three Formula 1 World Championships, so Cumming’s car has an illustrious provenance.
Still presented in its original green REPO HI-TECH livery, the Ralt RT4 will be on display in the Sprints’ new Motorsport Alley, at the roadside between the spectator gate in Macintyre Street and the Warwick Street corner.
