The 1985 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to racing cars complying with Formula Mondial.Conditions for Australian Titles, 1985 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 86 to 88 It was the 29th Australian Drivers' Championship and the fourth to be contested by Formula Pacific-based Australian Formula 1 cars or by the similar Formula Mondial cars. The championship winner was awarded the 1985 CAMS Gold Star.
Tasmanian driver John Bowe successfully defended his 1984 Australian Drivers' Championship crown in his Ralt RT4 Ford. Bowe dominated, winning the first four rounds of the series to take a twelve-point victory over Peter Hopwood (Ralt RT4 Ford). Peter Macrow (Cheetah Mk.8 Ford) was a very distant third in the series, only moving into the position when he won the final round at Sandown Park.
Calendar
The championship was contested over a five-round series with one race per round.Barry Catford, Australian Drivers Championship, Australian Motor Racing Year 1985/86, pages 208 to 219 Round Round name Circuit1985 Championship Results, Australian Motor Racing Year 1985/86, pages 314 to 315 Date Winner CarFormula Mondial regulations as published in the 1985 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 259 to 268, state that only the "Ford BDA" engine was approved for the category 1 Wanneroo Park 31 March John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford 2 Amaroo Park 26 May John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford 3 Lakeside 21 July John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford 4 Oran Park 18 August John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford 5 Victoria TrophyOfficial Programme, Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit, 14 and 15 September 1985, page 33 Sandown Park 15 September Peter Macrow Cheetah Mk8 Ford
Points system Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six placegetters at each round.
Championship results Position Driver No. Car Entrant Wan Ama Lak Ora San Total 1 John Bowe 1 Ralt RT4/85 Ford Chris Leach Enterprises 9 9 9 9 - 36 2 Peter Hopwood 22 Ralt RT4/85 Ford Manage Racing Team 6 6 6 6 - 24 3 Peter Macrow 25 Cheetah Mk8 Ford Peter Macrow - - - 2 9 11 4 Brian Sampson 78 Cheetah Mk8 Ford & Ralt RT4 Ford Brian Sampson - - - 3 6 9 5 Terry Ryan 36 Ralt RT4 Ford Terry Ryan Automotive - 3 - 4 - 7 = Bob Creasy 6 Ralt RT4/81 Ford 3 - - - 4 7 7 Keith McClelland 16 Ralt RT4 Ford Manage Racing Team - 2 4 - - 6 = Ross Zampatti 2 Ralt RT4/81 Ford Ross Zampatti 4 - 2 - - 6 9 Bruce Connolloy Ralt RT4 Ford - 4 - - - 4 10 Chris Hocking 74 Ralt RT4 Ford Chris Hocking - - 3 - - 3 = Peter Boylan 21 & 7 Ralt RT4/81 Ford Peter Boylan 1 - 1 - 1 3 = Geoff Nicol Ralt RT4/81 Ford - - - - 3 3 = Brett Fisher 13 Liston BF1 Ford 2 - - 1 - 3 14 Max Freeland 15 Ralt RT4 Ford Jeff Sherriff - - - - 2 2 15 Graham Watson 8 Ralt RT4 Ford Watson Motor Racing - 1 - - - 1
References
External links Image of the Ralt RT4/85 of championship winner John Bowe at the Oran Park round, primotipo.com, as archived at web.archive.org