1982 Australian GT Championship season
| 1982 Australian GT Championship season | |||
| Previous: | 1963 | Next: | 1983 |
The 1982 Australian GT Championship season was the first season of the revived Australian GT Championship, last held in 1963. The 1982 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group D GT cars and Group B Sports Sedans. Unlike the single race format used previously, the 1982 title was staged over a nine round series contested from 16 May to 10 October 1982.
The championship was dominated on the scoreboard by Australia's 1980 Formula One World Drivers' Champion Alan Jones who went through the season undefeated driving his Porsche Cars Australia Porsche 935. His closest on-track rival was multiple Bathurst and Australian Touring Car Champion Peter Brock driving the Bob Jane owned 6.0L V8 Chevrolet Monza. Brock only finished 5th in the series due to the general unreliability of the car, which was the equal in speed to the turbocharged Porsche, but his battles with Jones are regarded as some of the closest and best racing in Australian motor racing history.
Rusty French finished second in his Porsche 935, a full 45 points behind Jones. Jones' Porsche Cars Australia team mate Colin Bond finished third in the championship driving a turbocharged Porsche 944. Reigning Australian Sports Sedan Champion Tony Edmondson finished 4th in his 1980 and 1981 championship winning Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV-Chevrolet.
Contents |
Schedule [edit]
All rounds were contested over two races except for Rounds 2 & 4 which were both staged over a single race.[1]
| Rnd | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winton Motor Raceway | 16 May |
| 2 | Oran Park Raceway | 6 June |
| 3 | Lakeside International Raceway | 20 June |
| 4 | Adelaide International Raceway | 4 July |
| 5 | Wanneroo Park | 11 July |
| 6 | Calder Park Raceway | 1 August |
| 7 | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | 29 August |
| 8 | Symmons Plains Raceway | 19 September |
| 9 | Baskerville Raceway | 10 October |
Points system [edit]
Points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six finishers in each round.[2] Where rounds were contested over two races, points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first 14 positions in each race. These points were then aggregated to determine the first six round positions for the purpose of championship points allocation.[2]
Results [edit]
| Pos | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Rd6 | Rd7 | Rd8 | Rd9 | Total [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Jones | 27 | Porsche 935 | Porsche Cars Australia | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 81 [4] |
| 2 | Rusty French | 10 | Porsche 935 | John Sands Racing | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 36 |
| 3 | Colin Bond | 28 | Porsche 944 Turbo | Porsche Cars Australia | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | - | 4 | 31 |
| 4 | Tony Edmondson | 1 | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV - Chevrolet | Don Elliot | 6 | - | - | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 25 |
| 5 | Peter Brock | 7 | Chevrolet Monza | Bob Jane T-Marts | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 6 | Doug Clark | 78 | Toyota Celica | Brian Hilton Toyota | - | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 7 |
| 7 | Tony Hubbard | 111 | Holden LX Torana | Settle in Seymour | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 8 | Bruce Lynton | 18 | BMW 318i Turbo | Bruce Lynton BMW | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 9 | Kerry Baily | 128 | Holden LJ Torana | Kerry Baily | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Gregory Wright | 52 | Holden LX Torana | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 | |
| 11 | Gordon Stephenson | 75 | Holden HQ Monaro | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| 11 | Graham Lusty | 44 | Toyota Celica | Lusty Racing | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | 2 |
| 13 | Peter Finch | Holden Monaro | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||
| 13 | Peter Dane | Ford Escort | Thomson Ford | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
| 13 | Steve Land | Holden Torana | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||
| 13 | Clem Smith | 26 | Chrysler VH Valiant Charger | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
| 13 | Brian Rhodes | Holden LX Torana | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||
| 13 | Jim Richards | 31 | BMW 318i Turbo | JPS Team BMW | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| 13 | Ian Beechey | Fiat 124 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
Championship name [edit]
Sources vary as to the actual name of the championship. The 1982 CAMS Manual uses "Australian Sports Sedan Championship" as does the Official Souvenir Programme for the 4th round of the championship at Adelaide International Raceway. Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1982/93 uses "Australian GT/Sports Sedan Championship, as does Racing Car News, November 1982. The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport recognises Alan Jones as the winner of the "1982 Australian GT Championship" in its "Australian Titles" document at www.camsmanual.com.au.
References [edit]
- ^ Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1982/83, pages 168-187
- ^ a b 1982 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, Conditions for Australian Titles, pages 87-91
- ^ Total points for each driver have been calculated by applying the referenced points system to the top six drivers at each round, as recorded in Australian Motor Racing Year, 1982/83
- ^ The 1982 CAMS Manual states that eight of nine rounds would count but final points listings in Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1982/83, page 168 and Racing Car News, November 1982, page 22 both show Jones with a season total of 81 points
External links [edit]
- CAMS Online Manual of Motor Sport - refer About CAMS > Titles - Australian Titles
- Jeff Gunning images from the AIR round of the championship at www.motorsportarchive.com
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