1978 Australian Sports Car Championship
The 1978 Australian Sports Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title [1] for Group D Production Sports Cars.[2] The title, which was the tenth Australian Sports Car Championship,[3] was won by Ross Mathiesen,[4] driving a Porsche Carrera.[3]
Calendar
The championship was contested over a four round series.[4]
Round [4] | Circuit [4] | State | Date [4] | Format [4] | Round winner [4] | Car |
1 | Calder | Victoria | 10 March | Two heats | Ross Bond | Bolwell Nagari |
2 | Lakeside | Queensland | 2 April | Two heats | Ross Mathiesen | Porsche Carrera |
3 | Amaroo Park | New South Wales | 21 May | One race | Ross Bond | Bolwell Nagari |
4 | Winton | Victoria | 20 August | Two heats | Ross Mathiesen | Porsche Carrera |
Classes
Cars competed in two engine displacement classes.[1]
Points system
Championship points were awarded at each round on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers in each class, and on a 4-3-2-1 to the first four finisher outright, irrespective of class.[1]
At rounds which were contested over two heats, round placings were determined by allocating "points" to the first fourteen placegetters in each heat on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.[1] Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant round placing was awarded to driver gaining the higher place in the last heat.[1] Actual championship points were then awarded based on the calculated round placings.[1]
Championship results
Position | Driver [4] | Car [4] | Class [4] | Calder [5] | Lakeside [5] | Amaroo [5] | Winton [5] | Total [4] |
1 | Ross Mathiesen | Porsche Carrera [1] | Over 2000cc | 9 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 44 |
2 | Bill Evans | Triumph TR7 | Up to 2000cc | 9 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 32 |
Ross Bond | Bolwell Nagari | Over 2000cc | 13 | 6 | 13 | - | 32 | |
4 | Allan Hanns | Datsun 2000 | Up to 2000cc | 6 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 21 |
5 | John Latham | Porsche Carrera | Over 2000cc | - | 9 | - | 9 | 18 |
6 | Allan Edwards | Bolwell Nagari | Over 2000cc | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
7 | Ray Julien | Datsun 2000 | Up to 2000cc | 1 | 6 | 6 | - | 13 |
8 | Neil Swingler | Triumph GT6 | Up to 2000cc | 3 | 2 | - | 6 | 11 |
Warwick Henderson | Chevrolet Corvette (C3) | Over 2000cc | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 | |
10 | Peter Fitzgerald | Porsche 911S | Over 2000cc | - | - | 6 | 3 | 9 |
11 | Fernando D'Alberto | Datsun 260Z | Over 2000cc | 2 | - | - | 6 | 8 |
12 | Bob Kennedy | Triumph TR5 | Up to 2000cc [6] | 4 | 3 | - | - | 7 |
13 | Chris Swingler | Triumph Spitfire | Up to 2000cc | 2 | - | - | 3 | 5 |
14 | Rex Colliver | Lotus 47 | Up to 2000cc | - | - | - | 4 | 4 |
15 | Anthony Timmins | Austin-Healey Sprite | Up to 2000cc | - | - | 3 | - | 3 |
Ellen Reed | MG Midget | Up to 2000cc | - | 1 | 2 | - | 3 | |
17 | Bernard van Elsen | Bolwell | Over 2000cc | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
Michael Finnis | Jaguar E-Type | Over 2000cc | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | |
Matt Pintar | Bolwell Mark 7 [7] | Over 2000cc | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | |
Gary Ryan | Triumph Spitfire | Up to 2000cc | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Conditions for Australian Titles, 1978 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 84 to 86
- ^ Conditions for Australian Titles in the 1978 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport refers to “Sports Cars complying with Group D”. Classifications on page 240 of the 1978 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport refers to “Production Sports Cars (Group D)"
- ^ a b Records, Titles and Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-6
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Australian Sports Car Championship, Australian Competition Yearbook, Number 8, 1979, pages 65 to 67
- ^ a b c d Round points calculated by applying the points system, as published in the 1978 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, to the round results, as published in Australian Competition Yearbook Number 8
- ^ Australian Competition Yearbook Number 8 indicates that Kennedy competed in the Up to 2000cc class at Calder and Lakeside, notwithstanding Triumph’s TR5 model being powered by a 2500cc engine.
- ^ No SR6 here, wwwbollyblog.blogspot.com Retrieved on 29 October 2012
Further reading
Jim Shepherd, Australian Sports Car Championship, 1978, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 178 to 179