1979 Australian Drivers' Championship
A 1979 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Australian Formula 1 racing cars.[1] The championship winner was awarded the 1979 CAMS Gold Star.[2] The title, which was the 23rd Australian Drivers' Championship,[3] was won by Johnnie Walker, driving a Lola T332.[4]
Schedule edit
The championship was contested over a three-round series with one race per round.[4]
| Round[4] | Name[4] | Circuit[4] | State | Date[4] | Round winner[4] | Car[5] | Report |
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | Wanneroo Raceway[6] | Western Australia | 11 March | Johnnie Walker | Lola T332 Chevrolet | Report |
| 2 | Oran Park | New South Wales | 29 July | John Bowe | Elfin MR8 Chevrolet | ||
| 3 | Rothmans 10,000[7] | Sandown | Victoria | 9 September | Alfredo Costanzo | Lola T430 Chevrolet |
Points system edit
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six placegetters in each race.[1]
Results edit
| Position | Driver[4] | No.[8][6][7] | Car | Entrant[6][7] | Wan[4] | Ora[4] | San[4] | Points[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnnie Walker | 25 | Lola T332 Chevrolet[8] | Magnum Wheels | 9 | 4 | 6 | 19 |
| 2 | John Bowe | 11 | Elfin MR8 Chevrolet[8] | Ansett Team Elfin | 6 | 9 | - | 15 |
| 3 | Alfredo Costanzo | 84 | Lola T430 Chevrolet[8] | Porsche Cars Australia | - | - | 9 | 9 |
| 4 | Rob Butcher | 10 | Lola T332 Chevrolet[8] | Rob Butcher | 4 | - | 4 | 8 |
| John Smith | 71 | Ralt RT1 Ford[8] | John Smith | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | |
| 6 | John Wright | 76 | Lola T400 Chevrolet[8] | John Wright | - | 6 | - | 6 |
| 7 | Graham McRae | 2 | McRae GM3[4] | Settlement Road Wreckers[9] | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| 8 | Chas Talbot | 3 | Lola T332C[4] | Chas Talbot | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| Terry Hook | 15 | Lola T332 Chevrolet[8] | Terry Hook | 2 | - | - | 2 | |
| 10 | Peter Edwards | 21 | Lola T332[4] | PJ Edwards | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Paul Hamilton | 88 | Elfin 600[4] | - | 1 | - | 1 | ||
| Barry Singleton | 19 | Gardos GL1 Chevrolet[8] | Barry Singleton | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Championship name edit
Sources of the time differ as to the actual name of the championship with both Australian Drivers' Championship[4][9] and Australian Formula 1 Championship[1][7] being used. "Australian Drivers' Championship" is used by Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in its historic documentation[2] and that term has been used here.
References edit
- ^ a b c CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1979, pages 94-96
- ^ a b
- ^ Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1979/80, page 214
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1979/80, pages 88-97
- ^ Wolfgang Kopfler, 1979 Australian Drivers' Championship, Formula 5000 in New Zealand & Australia: Race by Race, page 214
- ^ a b c Souvenir Programme, Wanneroo Raceway, Australian Grand Prix, 11th March 1979
- ^ a b c d Official Program, Sandown, 9 September 1979
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, 1986, pages 426-434
- ^ a b Ray Bell, Alfie storms back, Racing Car News, October 1979, pages 28-30
External links edit
- John Walker & Lola T332 -1979 AGP images (refer page 32), www.austin7clubsa.com.au
- Western Australian Motor Race Results 1979, www.terrywalkersplace.com 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine