Motorsport identities honoured Australia Day 2023 Honours List
Motorsport figures Larry Ormsby and John Moxon have been nationally recognised at the Australia Day 2023 Honours List.
Ormsby received the prestigious medal of the Order Of Australia for services to drag racing.
The driver known as the “Big O” dominated the national drag racing scene and enjoyed plenty of success across a 17-year career.
Ormsby started his drag-racing journey in 1968 and collected titles all over the nation in a trio of factory backed Ford GT and GT-HO Falcons.
In addition to dominating the Australian scene and scoring five national titles in four different categories, he was also untouchable in the global world.
Ormsby broke five world speed records driving a Waltzing Matilda Ford jet-powered truck with a best of 284.4 kph in 1979.
Not only was the “Big O” a massive presence on the track, he also made a major impact off it.
Larry Ormsby debuting his Ford GT-HO Falcon at Calder Park – Honoured in Australia Day Awards
He was involved with the establishment of the Australian National Drag Racing Association in 1973 and became the first chairman of honour.
He was also a manager of numerous venues such as Calder Park Raceway, Adelaide International Raceway and Heathcote Park Raceway.
Ormsby also oversaw major events, being the general manager of the Winfield and RPS Pro Series through the 1990’s.
Fans were reminded of the “Big O’s” skills on the drag strip through a recently released scrap book he authored called “The Larry Ormsby Scrapbook”.
The father of AUTO ACTION’s long time contributor Bruce Moxon, John Bruce Moxon, was also posthumously awarded in the General Division of the Order Of Australia.
T John Moxon (right) son Bruce and granddaughter Alana gather around John’s restored Formula Vee car at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2021.
Moxon received the member in the General division of the Order of Australia for “significant service to community health, and to people with physical disability”.
Despite being once described as “the angriest person with disability” Moxon was a pioneering advocate for the disabled and campaigned hard for change.
He recently passed away in Sydney aged 83, but his impact for Australians living with disabilities remains a long-lasting one.
Before Moxon’s life changed forever, he was a familiar face in the motorsport scene as a car constructor and racer.
He did suspension work for some big names of the era such as Frank Matich and Neil Allen.
The youngster also forged a name for himself as a driver in a FJ Holden. He also raced an Austin A95, and scored some impressive results in a Studebaker Lark for the Benard’s Auto Spares Team before becoming his own constructor.
Got involved in Formula Vee from the start, was one of the first engine sealers and served on the committee. Was President of the NSW and National Vee Associations, including after his accident. First Honorary Life Member of the NSW Vee Association.
Moxon built his own Formula Vee and raced the car at the famed Mount Panorama, plus other notable tracks of the era such as Surfers Paradise and Warwick Farm.
But his life and racing career came to a sudden halt after a test lap at Oran Park went tragically wrong.
Moxon was testing in preparation for the Captain Cook 200th anniversary race in 1970 and crashed into a concrete wall.
He broke his neck and was not expected to live through the night, but was able to survive for the next 52 years as a C7/8 vertebrae quadriplegic wheelchair user.
Having experienced discrimination, exclusion and battles with no wheelchair accessible public transport, shops, schools, motels and services, Moxon teamed up with wheelchair user Ian Irwin to push for improvement.
Through decades of campaigning, Moxon helped the world become much more disability friendly.
A great tribute to John can be found here. In memory of JOHN BRUCE MOXON: 1938–2022 (dougieherd.com)
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