The 1971 Trans-American Championship was the sixth running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The format was altered to an over 2500cc class and an under 2500cc class, up 500cc from past years. All races used split classes except where noted. The year marked the rise of Datsun as a competitive brand, with the Japanese company winning several races throughout the season. American Motors, led by Mark Donohue's 7 wins, and Datsun, led by John Morton's 6 wins, won the manufacturers' championships.
Schedule Rnd Date Circuit Distance Over 2.5 Winning Car Under 2.5 Winning Car Over 2.5 Winning Driver Under 2.5 Winning Driver 1 May 8 Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTV Mark Donohue Horst Kwech 2 May 31 Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire (U2L) (O2L) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo George Follmer Gaston Andrey 3 June 6 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (U2L) (O2L) Ford Mustang Datsun 510 George Follmer John Morton 4 June 20 Edmonton International Speedway, Edmonton, Alberta (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Datsun 510 Mark Donohue John Morton 5 July 4 Donnybrooke International Speedway, Brainerd, Minnesota (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTA Mark Donohue Bert Everett 6 July 17 Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Datsun 510 Mark Donohue John Morton 7 July 25 Naval Air Station Olathe, Olathe, Kansas not contested Datsun 510 John Morton 8 August 1 Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite, Quebec AMC Javelin not contested Mark Donohue 9 August 15 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTV Mark Donohue Horst Kwech 10 September 6 Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan AMC Javelin not contested Mark Donohue 11 October 3October 4 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Datsun 510 George Follmer John Morton 12 October 16 Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California not contested Datsun 510 John Morton
Horst Kwech won the race on track, but was disqualified for an oversize fuel tank.
Championships Points were awarded according to finishing position. Only the highest-placed car scored points for the manufacturer. Only the best 8 finishes counted toward the championship. Drivers' championships were not awarded in Trans-Am until 1972.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 9 6 4 3 2 1
Over 2.5L manufacturers Pos Manufacturer LRP BRY MOH EDM DON ELK MTB WGL MIC RIV Pts 1 American Motors 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 82 2 Ford 2 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 4 61 3 Chevrolet 3 5 7 3 5 7 7 5 6 5 17 4 Pontiac 19 4 5 28 25 15 5 7
Under 2.5L manufacturers Pos Manufacturer LRP BRY MOH EDM DON ELK OLA WGL RIV LAG Pts 1 Datsun 7 6 1 1 5 1 1 3 1 1 60 (62) 2 Alfa Romeo 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 60 (72) 3 BMW 2 2 5 10 7 5 6 4 6 3 25 4 Ford of Britain 13 20 7 4 12 13 7 3 5 British Leyland 21 12 10 6 6 11 14 23 23 17 2
Tie broken based on Datsun's higher number of wins.
See also 1971 Can-Am season
References