1974 Australian Manufacturers' Championship

The 1974 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Group C Touring Cars.[1] It was authorised by Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian National Title.

The championship, which was the fourth Australian Manufacturers' Championship, was won by General Motors-Holden's.[2]

Calendar

Holden won the championship, with the Torana SL/R 5000 L34 model being its main pointscorer. The example above contested the Bathurst round of the 1974 championship

A reproduction of the Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop with which John Goss & Kevin Bartlett won the Bathurst round of the championship

The championship was contested over a five round series with each round being a single race staged over a minimum distance of 250 km.[1][3]

Round[3]	Race title	Circuit[3]	State	Date[3]	Winning driver(s)[3]	Winning car[3]	Entrant	Report
1	Chesterfield 250[4]	Adelaide International Raceway	South Australia	25 August	Colin Bond	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team[4]
2	Sandown 250[5]	Sandown Park	Victoria	8 September	Allan Moffat	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Allan Moffat Racing[5]	Report
3	Hardie-Ferodo 1000[3]	Mount Panorama, Bathurst	New South Wales	6 October	John Goss Kevin Bartlett	Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop	McLeod Ford-2UW[6]	Report
4	Chesterfield 300[7]	Surfers Paradise	Queensland	10 November	Colin Bond	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team[7]
5	RE-PO 500K[8]	Phillip Island	Victoria	24 November	Colin Bond	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000	Marlboro Holden Dealer Team[9]	Report

Class Structure

Cars competed in four engine capacity classes.[1]

• Up to and including 1300 cc[1]
• 1301 to 2000 cc[1]
• 2001 to 3000 cc[1]
• Over 3000 cc[1]

Points system

For all rounds except the Bathurst round, championship points were awarded on a 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first nine positions in each class plus 4-3-2-1 for the first four positions outright.[1] For the Bathurst round only, championship points were awarded on an 18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2 basis for the first nine positions in each class plus 4-3-2-1 for the first four positions outright.[1] Only the best placed car from each manufacturer was eligible to score points.[1]

Results

Position	Manufacturer[10]	Ade.[10]	San.[10]	Bat.[10]	Sur.[10]	Phi.[10]	Total.[10]
1	Holden	13	11	15	13	13	65
2	Ford	11	13	22	4	9	59
3	Mazda	11	9	18	9	9	56
4	Alfa Romeo	9	9	18	9	9	54
5	Leyland	7	8	18	6	-	39
=	Datsun	9	9	12	-	9	39
7	Honda	8	6	12	4	6	36
8	Chrysler	-	6	-	-	-	6

References

1. Conditions for Australian Titles, 1974 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 84 to 89
2. Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
3. Manufacturers Championships Review, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1975 Edition, pages 120-145
4. Official Programme, Chesterfield 250, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, August 25th 1974
5. Official Programme, Sandown 250, Manchamps Round 2, September 8th (1974)
6. 1974 Official Programme, Hardie-Ferodo 1000
7. Des White, Toranas Top-score, Racing Car News, December 1974, pages 54 to 57
8. Tom NcNaughton, K.B. stops Stewart’s run, Racing Car News, January 1975, page 60
9. Official Souvenir Programme, The Re-Po Meeting of Champions, Phillip Island Auto Racing Club, November 24, 1974
10. Championship Pointscores, Chequered Flag, December 1974 / January 1975, Page Seventy Six