FORMER F1 WORLD CHAMPION ALAN JONES DIES AFTER ILLNESS

Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula 1 world champion, has died after a short illness, Supercars said this week. He became the second Australian after Sir Jack Brabham to win the title, taking the 1980 championship with the Williams team after winning five races to beat Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet by 13 points with a round to spare. Jones won 12 Grands Prix from 117 Formula 1 starts, with his final appearance coming at the 1986 Australian Grand Prix. He remains the last Australian driver to win the Australian Grand Prix, having triumphed at Calder Park in 1980.

Born in Melbourne, Jones began racing after working at his father's Holden dealership, and was related to driver Stan Jones, winner of the 1959 Australian Grand Prix at Longford. After leaving Formula 1, he raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship, now known as Supercars, between 1985 and 1998, completing a one-two finish for Glenn Seton Racing in 1993 as Seton won the first of two drivers' championships with his own team. He made 19 attempts at the Bathurst 1000, known as the Great Race, finishing third with Colin Bond in 1988 and second with Allan Grice in 1995, before his final start there in 2002 alongside Greg Ritter for Dick Johnson Racing. Jones also won the 1993 Bathurst 12 Hour and the 1978 Can-Am championship.

Jones received an MBE in 1980 for services to motor racing. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. Supercars said it was "saddened to learn of the passing of Australian motorsport legend Alan Jones." Supercars described Williams, the team with which Jones won his Formula 1 title, as a "decorated" outfit.