1979 Australian Championship of Makes
The 1979 Australian Championship of Makes was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group C Touring Cars.[1] It was the ninth manufacturers’ title to be awarded by CAMS and the fourth to carry the Australian Championship of Makes name.[2] The title was awarded to Holden.[2]
Calendar
[edit]The 1979 Australian Championship of Makes was contested over a three-round series with one race per round.[3]
| Round[3] | Race name[3] | Circuit[3] | State | Date[3] | Winning driver[3] | Winning car[3] | Report |
| 1 | Hang Ten 400 | Sandown Park | Victoria | 9 September[4] |  Peter Brock
|
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | Report |
| 2 | Rothmans 250[5] | Adelaide International Raceway | South Australia | 21 October | Allan Grice
|
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback | |
| 3 | Rothmans 300[6] | Surfers Paradise | Queensland | 4 November | Charlie O'Brien
|
Holden LX Torana SLR 5000 A9X[7] |
A fourth round, scheduled to be held at Oran Park on 18 November,[8] was cancelled.[3]
Classes
[edit]Cars competed in three classes:[1]
Points system
[edit]Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the best six placed cars in each class.[1] Only the highest placed car of each make was awarded points and then only the points applicable to the position filled.[1] The title was awarded to the make of car gaining the highest number of points in the series with all points acquired in all races counted.[1] No drivers' title was allocated or permitted to be advertised in connection with the title.[1]
Results
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| Position[3] | Make[3] | Sandown[3] | Adelaide[3] | Surfers[3] | Total[3] |
| 1 | Holden Torana | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| 2 | Toyota Celica | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| 3 | Mazda | 9 | 9 | 4 | 22 |
| 4 | Ford Falcon | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 5 | Alfa Romeo | 3 | 4 | 6 | 13 |
| 6 | BMW | 3 | - | - | 3 |
| 7 | Volkswagen | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Holden Torana and Toyota Celica both achieved maximum points, each winning its class at each of the three rounds.[3] The title was awarded to the former on the grounds that it also featured in the minor placings.[3]
The cars
[edit]The following models contributed to the championship pointscores.
- Holden LX Torana SS A9X[3] & Holden LX Torana SLR 5000 A9X[3]
- Toyota Celica RA40[3]
- Mazda RX-3[3]
- Ford XC Falcon[9]
- Alfa Romeo GTV[10] & Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV[3]
- BMW 3.0[10]
- Volkswagen Golf[3]
It would appear that placings gained by other models from the same manufacturer were not considered in determining championship placings. The first place gained by Ford Capri in the 2001 to 3000cc class at the Surfers Paradise round[3] is an example of this.
Notes & references
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Conditions for Australian Titles, 1079 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 94 to 99
- ^ a b Australian Titles, www.camsmanual.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org on 19 July 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Australian Championship of Makes, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1979/80, pages 168 to 177
- ^ Brock leads Torana onslaught The Age 10 September 1979 page 29
- ^ Official Souvenir Programme, The Rothmans 250, Adelaide International Raceway, 21 October 1979
- ^ The wait is over for Charlie The Courier-Mail 5 November 1979 page 20
- ^ The race report in Australian Motor Racing Yearbook lists the winning car simply as a Torana however an image of the vehicle accompanying the report shows it to be a 4 -door sedan with reverse bonnet scoop, identifying it as an SLR 5000 A9X
- ^ Official 1979 Calendar, Racing Car News, January 1979
- ^ Stewart Wilson and Max Stahl, Ford, The racing History, 1989, page 302
- ^ a b Official Souvenir Programme, The Rothmans 250, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday 21 October 1979, page 17