The 1981 Australian Sports Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group D Production Sports Cars.Conditions for Australian Titles, 1981 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 91 to 93 It was the thirteenth Australian Sports Car ChampionshipRecords, Titles and Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-6 and the last to be restricted to cars complying with Group D regulations. The championship was won by John Latham, driving a Porsche Turbo.Australian Sports Car Championship, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1981/82, pages 140 to 149
Schedule The championship was contested over a four-round series with Rounds 1, 2 and 3 each staged over two heats and Round 4 run as a single race. RoundCircuitLocation / stateDateHeat 1 winnerHeat 2 winnerRound winner 1 Sandown Park Melbourne, Vic. 22 February John Latham John Walker John Latham 2 Baskerville Raceway Hobart, Tas. 5 April John Walker John Latham John Latham 3 Winton Motor Raceway Winton, Vic. 23 August Murray Bryden John Latham John Latham 4 Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Vic. 8 October John Latham N/A John Latham
Class structure Cars competed in two engine capacity classes: Class A - Over 2000cc Class B - Up to and including 2000cc
Points system Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six placings in each class at each round. Bonus points were awarded on a 4-3-2-1 basis for the top four placings irrespective of class at each round.
Where rounds were run in multiple parts, drivers were allocated points on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first fourteen positions in each part. These points were then aggregated to determine the placings for that round.
Championship standings Position Driver Car EntrantAust. Sports Car C'ship, Racing Car News, January 1982, page 37 Class San Bas Win Cal Total 1 John Latham Porsche Turbo John Latham A 13 13 13 13 52 2 Murray Bryden Lotus Super 7 Murray Bryden B 9 10 4 - 23 3 Peter Fitzgerald Porsche Carrera Lindsay Quinn Real Estate A 1 6 4 9 20 4 John Walker Porsche Turbo Magnum Wheels A 9 9 DNS DNS 18 5 Lex Lasry Triumph GT6 Lex Lasry B 3 3 7 3 16 6 Norman Carr Austin-Healey SpriteLotus Elan Norman Carr B 2 - 2 11 15 7 Gordon Dobie Datsun 260Z Gordon Dobie A DNS DNS 8 5 13 8 Bernie Bisseling Lotus Elan Norman Carr B DNS DNS 12 DNS 12 9 Don Hume Lotus 47 Don Hume B 6 4 1 DNS 11 10 Dick Smith Lotus Super 7 Dick Smith B 4 6 - - 10 11 Lack-Lustre Last to Latham, Racing Car News, December 1981, Page 21Rusty French Family names from Lack-Lustre Last to Latham, Racing Car News, December 1981, Page 21 and given names from Australian Sports Car Championship, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1981/82, pages 140 to 149 De Tomaso Pantera Rusty French A 4 Graham Slater, Latham and Costanzo First Up, Racing Car News, March 1981, pages 66 to 69 5 Sandown round report in Racing Car News shows French's progressive score as 4 points, Baskerville report in Racing Car News, May 1981 shows French's progressive score as 9 points - - 9 12 Chris Swingler Triumph TR7 Chris Swingler B ? ? ? ? 8 13 Rex Colliver Lotus Elan R. Colliver Program. Calder Raceway, November 7th-8th B ? ? ? ? 6 14 Ross Mathieson Porsche Carrera Ross Mathieson Official Program, Sandown, February 22, 1981 A ? ? ? ? 4 15 Alan Edwards Bolwell Nagari Alan Edwards A 2 - - - 2 = Geoff Munyard Triumph TR4 G. Westwell Program, Baskerville, 5 April 1981 A ? ? ? ? 2
References
External links Baskerville Raceway Photo Catalogue & Race Program Entry Listings, oldmotorsportphotos.com.au