1984 Australian GT Championship season
Encyclopedia
The 1984 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS
sanctioned national motor racing title and was the seventh Australian GT Championship
to be awarded. It was a series open to grand tourer
cars complying with CAMS
Group D regulations with Group B Sports Sedans competing by invitation. The series was contested over six rounds from 15 April to 9 September 1984.
Some of the cars that competed in the series included Chevrolet Monza
, Jaguar XJ-S, Porsche Carrera RSR
, Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
, Porsche 935
, BMW 318i Turbo and Holden Monaro.
Regular ATCC
driver Allan Grice
won the series driving the ex-Bob Jane
6.0L
Monza from Queenslander
Mark Trenoweth driving the ex-John McCormack
XJS Jag and Series Production
ace Peter Fitzgerald in his Porsche Carrera RSR
. Fitzgerald, the only driver other than Grice to win a race in the championship, did not enter the first two races of the series at Lakeside
and Adelaide
*. Going into the last round of the series at the then new 3.9km International circuit at Sandown
, only Grice and Trenoweth could win the championship but with the Sydney
based driver winning both heats and the Queenslander only finishing 4th and 3rd, the title was Grice's. It was Grice's third (and ultimately last) national title win after also capturing the 1978
and 1979
Australian Sports Sedan Championships
(the SS Championship was merged into the GT Championship in 1982).
Despite his final winning margin being only 12.5 points, Grice and the Monza dominated the series. He sat on pole position for every round, his biggest pole margin over the field being a full 4 seconds at Sandown, and not only did he win all bar one race in the championship he also set the fastest lap for every race except for the first heat in the first round at Lakeside and the first heat of the last round at Sandown. Bryan Thompson in his twin-turbo
Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC Chev V8
(the Merc was reportedly more powerful than the Monza but not as reliable) was credited with the fastest race lap in both races.
* Fitzgerald won at Calder
after race leader Grice retired with just over a lap remaining with no fuel pressure. Grice held an 8 second lead at the time of his retirement. Bryan Thompson suffered turbo failure in the Merc on the warmup lap and took over Tino Leo's Holden Monaro to finish 9th.
Only the top 20 drivers are listed.
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 national motor racing title and was the seventh Australian GT Championship
Australian GT Championship
The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race and those after that year over a series of races...
to be awarded. It was a series open to grand tourer
Grand tourer
A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....
cars complying with CAMS
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 ....
Group D regulations with Group B Sports Sedans competing by invitation. The series was contested over six rounds from 15 April to 9 September 1984.
Some of the cars that competed in the series included Chevrolet Monza
Chevrolet Monza
The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1975–1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width and 140 CID inline-4 engine...
, Jaguar XJ-S, Porsche Carrera RSR
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
, Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
Alfa Romeo Alfetta
Alfa Romeo GTV redirects here. For 916 series GTV see Alfa Romeo GTV & SpiderThe Alfa Romeo Alfetta is an Italian rear-wheel drive executive saloon car and fastback coupé produced from 1972 until 1987 by Alfa Romeo...
, Porsche 935
Porsche 935
The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976, as the factory racing version of the Porsche 911 turbo prepared for FIA-Group 5 rules. It was an evolution of the Porsche Carrera RSR 2.1 turbo prototype which had scored 2nd overall in the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans....
, BMW 318i Turbo and Holden Monaro.
Regular ATCC
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...
driver 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...
won the series driving the ex-Bob Jane
Bob Jane
Robert "Bob" Jane is an Australian former race car driver and prominent businessman. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a four-time Australian Touring Car Champion, Jane is perhaps known best nowadays for his chain of tyre retailers,...
6.0L
Chevrolet Small-Block engine
The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block...
Monza from Queenslander
Queenslander
Queenslander may refer to:* List of Queenslanders - a person from the Australian state of Queensland* Queenslander - a style of architecture found in Queensland* Queenslander - the name of a train service operated by Queensland Rail...
Mark Trenoweth driving the ex-John McCormack
John McCormack (racing driver)
John McCormack is a former Australian racing driver. Originally from Tasmania McCormack became one of the leading Formula 5000 racers in Australia during the 1970s....
XJS Jag and Series Production
Group 3E Series Production Cars
Group 3E Series Production Cars is an Australian motor racing formula for production based cars competing with limited modifications. Group 3E cars currently contest the Australian Manufacturers' Championship and Australian Production Car Championship titles and the annual Bathurst 12 Hour...
ace Peter Fitzgerald in his Porsche Carrera RSR
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
. Fitzgerald, the only driver other than Grice to win a race in the championship, did not enter the first two races of the series at Lakeside
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....
and Adelaide
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...
*. Going into the last round of the series at the then new 3.9km International circuit at Sandown
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:...
, only Grice and Trenoweth could win the championship but with the 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...
based driver winning both heats and the Queenslander only finishing 4th and 3rd, the title was Grice's. It was Grice's third (and ultimately last) national title win after also capturing the 1978
1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The 1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Group B Sports Sedans. It was the third Australian Sports Sedan Championship title to be awarded by CAMS.-Calendar:...
and 1979
1979 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The 1979 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group B Sports Sedans. It was the fourth Australian Sports Sedan Championship.-Calendar:The title was contested over a nine round series....
Australian Sports Sedan Championships
Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The Australian Sports Sedan Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars complying with Australian Sports Sedan regulations...
(the SS Championship was merged into the GT Championship in 1982).
Despite his final winning margin being only 12.5 points, Grice and the Monza dominated the series. He sat on pole position for every round, his biggest pole margin over the field being a full 4 seconds at Sandown, and not only did he win all bar one race in the championship he also set the fastest lap for every race except for the first heat in the first round at Lakeside and the first heat of the last round at Sandown. Bryan Thompson in his twin-turbo
Twin-turbo
Twin-turbo refers to a turbocharged engine, in which two turbochargers compress the intake charge. There are two commonly used twin turbo configurations: parallel twin-turbo and sequential twin-turbo...
Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC Chev V8
Chevrolet Small-Block engine
The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block...
(the Merc was reportedly more powerful than the Monza but not as reliable) was credited with the fastest race lap in both races.
* Fitzgerald won at Calder
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...
after race leader Grice retired with just over a lap remaining with no fuel pressure. Grice held an 8 second lead at the time of his retirement. Bryan Thompson suffered turbo failure in the Merc on the warmup lap and took over Tino Leo's Holden Monaro to finish 9th.
Schedule
| Rd. | Circuit | City / State | Date | Winner Race 1 | Winner Race 2 | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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 Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... , Qld |
15 April | 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... |
||
| 2 | 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... , SA 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... |
6 May | Allan Grice | Allan Grice | |
| 3 | 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... , Vic 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.... |
29 July | Peter Fitzgerald | ||
| 4 | Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a Motor Racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia.-History:The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958. In 1960 it was decided to build the track at Winton Recreation Reserve and was completed in twelve months... |
Winton Winton, Victoria Winton is a town near Benalla, Victoria, Australia. It is home to the Winton Motor Raceway. The town of Winton was proclaimed on 25 February, 1861... , Vic |
12 August | Allan Grice | Allan Grice | |
| 5 | Surfers Paradise Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Qld | 26 August | Allan Grice | Allan Grice | |
| 6 | 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 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... , Vic |
9 September | Allan Grice | Allan Grice |
Results
Points were awarded on a 30-27-24-21-19-17-15-14-13-12 basis to the top ten outright finishers in each round. For rounds that featured two heats, the points were halved for each heat. All scores counted towards the championship.Only the top 20 drivers are listed.
| Pos | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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... |
4 | Chevrolet Monza Chevrolet Monza The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1975–1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width and 140 CID inline-4 engine... |
Re-Car Racing | 30 | 30 | - | 30 | 30 | 30 | 150 |
| 2 | Mark Trenoweth | 8 | Jaguar XJ-S | Mark Trenoweth/Jaguar Racing | 24 | 25.5 | 19 | 21 | 25.5 | 22.5 | 137.5 |
| 3 | Series Production Group 3E Series Production Cars Group 3E Series Production Cars is an Australian motor racing formula for production based cars competing with limited modifications. Group 3E cars currently contest the Australian Manufacturers' Championship and Australian Production Car Championship titles and the annual Bathurst 12 Hour... |
3 | Porsche Carrera RSR Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998... |
Peter Fitzgerald/Stanilite Electronics | - | - | 30 | 27 | 21 | 25.5 | 103.5 |
| 4 | Bryan Thomson | 17 | Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC-Chevrolet Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... Holden Monaro HQ |
Thomson-Fowler Motorsport Tino Leo |
27 | 13.5 | 13 | 12 | - | 13.5 | 79 |
| 5 | John Bourke | 77 | Toyota Celica Turbo Toyota Celica The Toyota Celica name has been applied to a series of coupes made by the Japanese company Toyota. The name is ultimately derived from the Latin word coelica meaning "heavenly" or "celestial".... |
Biran Hilton Toyota | 21 | - | 17 | - | 19 | - | 57 |
| 6 | Bob Jolly | 31 | Holden Commodore Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is an automobile manufactured since 1978 by the Holden subsidiary of General Motors in Australia, and, formerly, in New Zealand. In the mid-1970s, Holden established proposals to replace the long-serving Kingswood nameplate with a smaller, Opel-based model... |
Bob Jolly | - | 21.5 | 21 | 12 | - | - | 54.5 |
| 7 | Robin Doherty | 18 | Holden Torana LX Hatchback | Robin Doherty | - | 6.5 | 24 | 15.5 | - | - | 46 |
| 8 | Jeff Barnes | 3 & 6 | Chevrolet Monza | Lithgow VHS Video | - | 20 | - | - | 25.5 | - | 45.5 |
| 9 | Doug Clark | 78 | Toyota Celica | Brian Hilton Toyota | 19 | - | - | - | 16 | - | 35 |
| 10 | Mick Monterosso | 2 | Ford Escort Mk I | Garry Sloper | - | 17 | - | 17.5 | - | - | 34.5 |
| 11 | Tino Leo | 86 | Holden Monaro HQ | Tino Leo | - | 17 | - | 16 | - | - | 34 |
| 12 | Tony Hubbard | 15 | Ford Falcon XC Hardtop | Scandia Heaters | - | - | 27 | - | - | - | 27 |
| 13 | Cos Monterosso | Ford Escort Mk II | - | - | 15 | 7 | - | - | 22 | ||
| 13 | Ray Ellis | Holden Torana Holden Torana The Holden Torana is a car which was produced by General Motors–Holden's , the Australian subsidiary of General Motors from 1967 to 1980. The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "to fly". The first Torana appeared in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle that had its origins in the... |
- | - | - | 6 | - | 16 | 22 | ||
| 15 | John Chambers | Holden Gemini | - | - | 12 | 6 | - | 18 | |||
| 16 | Gerry Bezett | Holden Commodore SS | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | 27 | ||
| 17 | Simon Harrex | Holden Commodore SS | - | - | - | - | 15.5 | - | 15.5 | ||
| 18 | Bonny Cameron | Holden Torana LC | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | ||
| 19 | Larry Kogge | Mazda R100 Mazda R100 The Mazda R100 was the export name for the Mazda Familia Rotary Coupe, an automobile produced by Mazda in Japan from 1968 to 1973. It used the chassis from the Familia and the rotary 0820 engine similar to the one used in the Cosmo Sport Series II. It was a 2 door 2+2 coupé and was produced from... |
- | - | - | 7.5 | - | 7 | 14.5 | ||
| 19 | Luigi Deluca | 22 | Ford Anglia Ford Anglia The 1949 model, code E494A, was a makeover of the previous model with a rather more 1940s style front-end, including the sloped, twin-lobed radiator grille. Again it was a very spartan vehicle and in 1948 was Britain's lowest priced four wheel car.... |
DWU Australia | - | 14.5 | - | - | - | - | 14.5 |
External links
- Australian Titles Retrieved from CAMS Online Manual of Motor Sport on 28/7/2008
- 1984 Australian motor racing images including 1984 AGTC Retrieved from Autopics on 28/7/2008