1981 Australian Touring Car Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1981 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS
sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars
. The championship, which was the 22nd running of the Australian Touring Car Championship
, began at Symmons Plains Raceway
and ended at Lakeside International Raceway
after 8 rounds.
Only the best seven round results could be retained by each driver.
Round positions at rounds which were run in two parts were determined by allocating points on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first fourteen placegetters in each part. These points were then aggregated to determine the results for that round. However a different method of determining round positions was used for Round 6 at Adelaide International Raceway where points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first fourteen placegetters in each class in each part.
The following drivers and teams competed in the 1981 Australian Touring Car Championship
.
The 1981 Australian Touring Car Championship
was contested over an 8 round series with Rounds 1, 3, 5, 7 & 8 being single race rounds and Rounds 2, 4 & 6 being two race rounds.
Colin Bond
, driving an under 3 litre Ford Capri
took seven class wins in the first seven rounds, but did not race at the final round as he was unlikely to improve his nett score. With Dick Johnson
and Peter Brock
only twice failing to take the top two positions (Johnson was third at Calder, and Brock did not finish at Sandown), they were classified ahead of Bond due to the bonus points they each received for their outright placings.
Confederation of Australian Motor Sport
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport , has been the governing body of Australian motorsport since 1953. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile ....
sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars
Group C (Australia)
In relation to Australian motorsport, Group C refers to either of two sets of regulations devised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport for use in Australian touring car racing from 1965 to 1984...
. The championship, which was the 22nd running of the Australian Touring Car Championship
Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series awarded the trophy and title of Australian Touring Car Champion.-History:The...
, began at Symmons Plains Raceway
Symmons Plains Raceway
Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about 30 kilometres south of Launceston, Tasmania. Since the closure of the Longford circuit in the 1960s it has been Tasmania's premier motor racing facility...
and ended at Lakeside International Raceway
Lakeside International Raceway
Lakeside Park, formerly known as Lakeside International Raceway is a motor racing circuit located at Pine Rivers north of Brisbane and lies adjacent to Lake Kurwongbah....
after 8 rounds.
Classes
Cars competed in two engine displacement classes:- Up to and including 3000cc
- 3001-6000cc
Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six placegetters in each class at each round. Bonus points were awarded on a 4-3-2-1 basis to the top four placegetters irrespective of class at each round.Only the best seven round results could be retained by each driver.
Round positions at rounds which were run in two parts were determined by allocating points on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first fourteen placegetters in each part. These points were then aggregated to determine the results for that round. However a different method of determining round positions was used for Round 6 at Adelaide International Raceway where points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first fourteen placegetters in each class in each part.
Teams and drivers
Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series awarded the trophy and title of Australian Touring Car Champion.-History:The...
.
| Team | Manufacturer | Car model | No | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Cooke | Holden Holden GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931... |
VB Commodore | 2 |  Gary Cooke |
| Cadbury-Schweppes Racing | Holden | VC Commodore | 3 |  Peter Janson |
| Re-Car Racing | Holden | VC Commodore | 4 | Alan Browne |
| Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Holden Dealer Team The Holden Dealer Team was Holden’s semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1987, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and sports sedans during the 1970s... |
Holden | VC Commodore | 05 | Peter Brock Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other... |
| Launceston Hotel | Holden | VC Commodore | 7 | Larry Perkins Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.-Career:... |
| Nine Network Racing Team | Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918... |
Camaro Z28 | 9 | Kevin Bartlett Kevin Bartlett (race driver) Kevin Bartlett , often known by his nickname "KB", is an Australian former open wheel and touring car racing driver who won the CAMS Gold Star in 1968 and 1969, as well as the prestigious Bathurst 1000. Bartlett was named in Wheels magazine's annual yearbook in 2004 as one of Australia's 50... |
| Roadways Racing | Holden | VC Commodore | 10 | Steve Harrington |
| JPS Team BMW | BMW BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands... |
635CSi BMW E24 The BMW E24 series was the first BMW 6 Series coupé, produced by the German automaker BMW between the 1976 and 1989 model years. The 6 Series name reappeared with the BMW E63 chassis beginning in the 2004 model year. The E24 borrowed heavily from contemporary 5-series cars .- Model history :The... |
11 | Allan Grice Allan Grice Allan Maxwell Grice OAM , known to motor-racing fans as Gricey, is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 , and as a privateer driver of a Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship.Grice also had a successful second... |
| Neil Cunningham | Holden | VB Commodore | 16 | Neil Cunningham |
| Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing is Australia's oldest operating motor racing team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team has won seven Australian Touring Car Championship titles and has taken three victories in Australia's hallmark race, the Bathurst 1000... |
Ford | XD Falcon Ford XD Falcon The Ford XD Falcon is a car that was produced by the Ford Motor Company of Australia between 1979 and 1982.The XD series was introduced on 28 March 1979 and was initially offered in five models:* Falcon GL * Fairmont... |
17 | Dick Johnson |
| Murray Carter | Ford | XD Falcon | 18 | Murray Carter Murray Carter Murray Carter is an Australian racing driver. For many years a stalwart of the Australian Touring Car Championship Carter has had one of the longest racing careers of any driver in Australian history, continuing to race into his late 70s.-Racing history:One of a generation of racing drivers that... |
| Army Reserve Racing | Ford | XD Falcon | 24 | Bob Muir Bob Muir Bob Muir is the name of:*Bob Muir , American swimming coach in the International Swimming Hall of Fame*Bob Muir , Australian rules footballer*Bob Muir , Australian Bathurst 1000 race car driver... |
| Capri Components | Ford | Capri Mk.IIIs | 29 | Lawrie Nelson |
| P McLeod | Mazda | RX-7 | 30 | Peter McLeod Peter McLeod Peter Gerard McLeod , was an Australian racing driver, best known as co-winner of the 1987 James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst and for driving the distinctive yellow and black Slick 50 Mazda RX-7 Group C touring car during the early to mid 1980's.-Group C Touring Cars:McLeod began his racing career in... |
| Masterton Homes Racing | Ford | Capri Mk.II | 31 | Colin Bond Colin Bond Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team... |
| 32 | Steve Masterton |
|||
| Belgrave Mazda | Mazda | RX-3 | 41 | Frank Porter |
| Chickadee Chicken | Toyota | Celica | 53 | Graeme Bailey Graeme Bailey Graeme Alfred Bailey , was an Australian racing driver, best known as co-winner of the 1986 Bathurst 1000.... |
| Holden | VC Commodore | 71 | Graeme Hooley |
|
| Toyota Dealer Team | Toyota | Celica | 77 | Peter Williamson |
| Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars... |
Alfetta GTV | Joe Beninca |
||
| Mazda Mazda is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales... |
RX-3 Mazda RX-3 The Mazda RX-3 is an automobile sold in the 1970s. It was intended to be smaller and sportier than its brother, the RX-2/Capella Rotary. In 1972 all rotary engines had their die-cast rotor housing coated with a new process: The new Transplant Coating Process featured sprayed-on steel which is... |
Ross Burbidge |
||
| Isuzu Isuzu , is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures... |
Gemini Isuzu Gemini General Motors sought a replacement for their world car T-body Kadett / Gemini, and this time, instead of building one design on several continents, they decided to build a world car in one location and export it to several continents... |
Jim Faneco |
||
| Ford | Escort Mk.II RS2000 | Graham Mein |
||
| Mazda | RX-3 | Michael O'Hehir |
||
| Mazda | RX-7 | Terry Shiel |
||
| Toyota | Corolla Levin Toyota Corolla The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million... |
Alexandra Surplice |
||
| Triumph Triumph Motor Company The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company. The Triumph marque is owned currently by BMW. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg initiated S. Bettmann & Co and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them with his own... |
Dolomite Sprint | Greg Symes |
||
| Mazda | RX-3 | Evan Thomas |
||
| Holden | LX Torana SLR 5000 A9X | Gary Whittaker |
||
Race Calendar
Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series awarded the trophy and title of Australian Touring Car Champion.-History:The...
was contested over an 8 round series with Rounds 1, 3, 5, 7 & 8 being single race rounds and Rounds 2, 4 & 6 being two race rounds.
| Rd. | Race Title | Circuit | City / State | Date | Winner | Team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Launceston |
Symmons Plains Raceway Symmons Plains Raceway Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about 30 kilometres south of Launceston, Tasmania. Since the closure of the Longford circuit in the 1960s it has been Tasmania's premier motor racing facility... |
Launceston Launceston, Tasmania Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart... , Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart... |
1 Mar | Dick Johnson Dick Johnson (Australian auto racing) Dick Johnson is the owner of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former racing driver. As a driver, he was a five-time Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-time winner of the Bathurst 1000... |
Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing is Australia's oldest operating motor racing team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team has won seven Australian Touring Car Championship titles and has taken three victories in Australia's hallmark race, the Bathurst 1000... |
|
| 2 | Calder |
Calder Park Raceway Calder Park Raceway Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a drag strip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clockwise or counter-clockwise .-History:Calder Park... |
Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
15 Mar | Peter Brock Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other... |
Holden Dealer Team Holden Dealer Team The Holden Dealer Team was Holden’s semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1987, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and sports sedans during the 1970s... |
|
| 3 | Oran Park |
Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan in southwestern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from 1962 to 2010.... |
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales... |
22 Mar | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | |
| 4 | Sandown |
Sandown Raceway Sandown Raceway Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. It is considered a power circuit with its front straight being 899m long and back straight 910m long.-History:... |
Melbourne, Victoria | 12 Apr | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | |
| 5 | Perth |
Wanneroo Park Barbagallo Raceway Barbagallo Raceway is a motorsport circuit located in Wanneroo, approximately north of Perth in Western Australia.The circuit was originally known as Wanneroo Park and the first race meet took place in March 1969. Initially the major race per year was a 6 hour Le Mans style race for sedans and... |
Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... , Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east... |
26 Apr | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | |
| 6 | Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... |
Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide International Raceway The Adelaide International Raceway is a permanent circuit owned by Australian Motorsport Club Limited under the auspices of the Bob Jane Corporation. It is located on Port Wakefield Road at Virginia, a small town just north of Adelaide, South Australia, and is round the corner from Speedway City... |
Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... , South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland... |
3 May | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | |
| 7 | Surfers Paradise |
Surfers Paradise Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Queensland Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean... |
17 May | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | |
| 8 | Lakeside |
Lakeside International Raceway Lakeside International Raceway Lakeside Park, formerly known as Lakeside International Raceway is a motor racing circuit located at Pine Rivers north of Brisbane and lies adjacent to Lake Kurwongbah.... |
Brisbane, Queensland | 21 Jun | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing |
Drivers Championship
Colin Bond
Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team...
, driving an under 3 litre Ford Capri
Ford Capri
Ford Capri was a name used by the Ford Motor Company for three different automobile models. The Ford Consul Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Britain between 1961 and 1964. The Ford Capri coupé was produced by Ford of Europe from 1969 to 1986...
took seven class wins in the first seven rounds, but did not race at the final round as he was unlikely to improve his nett score. With Dick Johnson
Dick Johnson (Australian auto racing)
Dick Johnson is the owner of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former racing driver. As a driver, he was a five-time Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-time winner of the Bathurst 1000...
and Peter Brock
Peter Brock
Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other...
only twice failing to take the top two positions (Johnson was third at Calder, and Brock did not finish at Sandown), they were classified ahead of Bond due to the bonus points they each received for their outright placings.
EWLINE
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External links
- Official V8 Supercar site Contains historical ATCC information.
- 1981 Australian Touring Car images
- 1981 Western Australian race results