THE 1964 International 100 provided a fairytale finish, with Jack Brabham beating New Zealander Bruce McLaren by a bare four-tenths of a second. Significantly, it was the first win in the race for an Australian driver since the international visits started and it showed that the locals at last had the machinery to compete with the imported cars.

The signs were there after the practice laps: Frank Matich set the fastest time with a lap of 1:37.0 and took pole position on the grid. Brabham and New Zealand's Denny Hulme recorded 1:37.2, and McLaren and Graham Hill had 1:37.7 laps. Four of the five were driving Repco Brabham Climaxes (McLaren was in a Cooper Climax). Most indicative of the evenness of the cars was the fact that only 6.3 seconds separated the field of 20 in practice times. The only non-starter was Bill Patterson, whose cars were demolished at Sandown. Thirteen of the field were Australians.

The weather was fine and overcast on race day, with the track in good condition. The stage seemed set for what could be the best racing car event ever seen in Australia, but it could have been one of the most disastrous. As the national flag fell Denny Hulme stalled on the centre of the front line. Brabham and Matich, starting either side, were in the clear, but it was a minor miracle that none of the other 17 cars tangled in the resulting confusion.

Brabham went to the front on the first lap, followed by Matich, Hill, McLaren, the American Tim Mayer, Stillwell, Davison, Geoghegan, the New Zealanders Palmer and Shelly, Cusack, Scott, Smith, Flowers of New Zealand, Hunnam and Youl. The team-mates Mayer and McLaren had been lucky: going into Creek Corner the first time, Mayer rammed into the back of McLaren, but both were able to continue without any apparent damage.

After his misfortune on the grid, Hulme had driven very strongly to tack on, but three of the locals were already experiencing problems. Frank Gardner had pitted to change an oiled-up plug, David Walker was tailing the field with gearbox trouble, and Arnold Glass was still in the pits, his Lotus-Ford proving almost impossible to start.

On the third lap Matich went past Brabham to lead, but his bid was short-lived. Three laps later a rear radius arm broke as he braked for Creek Corner and he slid off, subsequently retiring on lap 16 when in fifth place.

Brabham, driving his usual cool race, had regained the lead and looked to be going easily. Graham Hill held down second, with McLaren and Mayer next. But it was Denny Hulme who was setting the track alight. He had moved through the field to fifth place, a grand effort under the circumstances, but because of the time he lost at the start, he could not expect to improve further unless there were mechanical failures up front.

Stillwell was sixth, followed by Davison, Shelly, Palmer, Youl, Geoghegan, Cusack, Flowers and Smith, all out of contention for top honours. Scott and Gardner were a lap behind, and Walker's gearbox problems had put him out on the fourth lap. Hunnam went out on the ninth lap with failing oil pressure.

The challenges started to come just short of the half-way point in the race. On lap 22 the team-mates McLaren and Mayer had given Graham Hill the go-by and were closing up on Brabham. It was soon apparent that if there were going to be a danger to the two-times world champion, it would be McLaren. Back in the pack, positions were unchanged for the main.

McLaren relentlessly closed the gap on Brabham, but the Australian still seemed to be in command at all times. This was in no small part due to an obvious difference between the two cars: the Brabham was handling noticeably better than McLaren's Cooper.

The two drivers had the crowd on their feet over the last of the 45 laps. The New Zealander was driving frantically - he had already recorded the fastest lap time, of 1:37.4. But at the flag it was Jack Brabham, by a mere four-tenths of a second.

Tim Mayer was only 11 seconds away in third place, after a strong supporting drive for McLaren. Twelve seconds back, Graham Hill was fourth. The fact that the time difference between the first four cars at the end of a gruelling 100-mile race was only 24 seconds spoke volumes for the quality of the drivers, and made the event a promoter's dream. Eight drivers finished on the same lap. The unlucky Hulme drove magnificently for his fifth placing, Stillwell was sixth and Shelly and Davison also completed the distance.

In the 1500cc class, Leo Geoghegan was a clear winner, establishing a new lap record of 1:39.2 seconds on the way. He finished a lap ahead of Greg Cusack, who took second in the class, followed by the New Zealander Flowers, only nine seconds back. Despite his early problems, Gardner finished the course for fourth place in the class, the only other of the 1500cc cars to do so. The 100 miles proved beyond the capabilities of several of the smaller cars.

The times in the 1964 International were an eye-opener and showed just how much improved was the standard of car being raced by the locals. For example, Stillwell, who finished sixth in his Repco Brabham, recorded a time which would have given him the previous year's Australian Grand Prix by half a minute. Geoghegan, in his Lotus 27 would have finished second to Brabham in 1963, with John Surtees in third place.

If the 1963 Australian Grand Prix at the Farm had marked the coming of age of motor racing in Australia, the 1964 International 100 had confirmed that with the right machinery, Australian drivers could compete on equal terms with the best of the internationals.