CAMS is saddened to learn of the recent passing of Warren Gracie.

 

Born in 1936, Warren will forever be known as one of the top stewards in New South Wales after being involved with the sport for more than 50 years.

 

As a proud owner of an Austin Seven, Warren got into motor sport in his younger years through the Austin Sevens Club of NSW, a club where he later became president.

 

While he was heavily involved in his beloved club, he will be also be remembered for the work he did on the other side of the fence as a steward.

 

His passion and dedication for the sport saw him progress up the officials ranks quickly and was handed a grade one stewarding license soon after he got involved.

 

After excelling in his early days as a steward, it wasn’t long until he was requested to attend Bathurst, which in turn made him the youngest individual to ever steward at the iconic event.

 

As a grade one steward, Warren was then entrusted with educating future stewards and was significant in developing the talents of these individuals before the introduction of a national officiating program.

 

In his home state of New South Wales, Warren became known to as go-to person for training and his reputation continued to grow, often being referred to as the state’s best steward who operated with the upmost professionalism.

 

Having a long and strong career as a well-respected steward, Warren was one of the first to be transferred to a gold level steward when the new system came in.

 

Apart from being a steward, he was also worked in the tribunal as a prosecutor and always sat on the investigative tribunal panel.

 

Despite making a name for himself as a highly reputable CAMS steward, Warren was just as fierce as a racer, entering Bathurst on multiple occasions in the late 1960s alongside Ron Gillard in a Mini Cooper S.

 

His most notable result came in 1969 where he and Gillard picked up a well deserved class win, as well as coming 14th outright against the likes of Peter Brock, Allan Moffat, Colin Bond and Kevin Bartlett.

 

As someone who was involved in some of Warren's best racing days, Gillard paid tribute to his best man for his wedding day 48 years ago.

 

“He was the most calm and calculated bloke and was a very good thinker. He always thought things through very well and I never saw him get frustrated and cranky due to his ability to control his emotions, ” Gillard explained.

 

“In the 1969 race, no one gave us a chance but we knew we would be able to win this class and his knowledge and attitude definitely helped us get the class win.

 

“He was very knowledgeable and he was sort of person who thought before he opened his mouth. I lost a bit of touch with him as the years went on but I’ll always remember his as a very nice bloke and a very smart one.”