He was one of a brace of new drivers that emerged after World War II, first appearing in the Australian Grand Prix in 1948 driving a stripped down MG TC.
Patterson used this to win his first national title, the 1954 Australian Hillclimb Championship.
In the scorching heat of a Western Australian summer in 1957, Patterson stepped into Lex Davison's Ferrari 625 F1 as a relief driver, working together to defeat Stan Jones to win the 1957 Australian Grand Prix.
Victories at Mount Panorama, Lowood, Caversham and a second at Longford saw Patterson dominate the 1961 Australian Drivers' Championship, scoring 51 points to Lex Davison's 15 to win the Gold Star.
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