1978 World Championship for Makes

The 1978 World Sportscar Championship season was the 26th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1978 World Championship for Makes, which was contested from 4 February to 3 September 1978 over an eight race series. The 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1000 km Nürburgring were part of the inaugural FIA World Challenge for Endurance Drivers.[1]

The championship was open to cars in Groups 1 to 5,[2] i.e.:

• Group 1 Series Touring Cars[3][4]
• Group 2 Touring Cars[3][4]
• Group 3 Series Grand Touring Cars[3][4]
• Group 4 Grand Touring Cars[3][4]
• Group 5 Special Production Cars[3][4]

Porsche was awarded the overall championship [5] and the Division 2 title for cars with an engine capacity of over 2 litres.[6] BMW was awarded the Division 1 title for cars with an engine capacity of up to 2 litres [6] and Porsche won the GT Cup.[6]

Schedule

Porsche won the championship with their 935 model (pictured in 1977)

BMW placed first in Division 1 with the 320i

Rnd	Race name	Circuit	Date
1	24 Hours of Daytona	Daytona International Speedway	4 February 5 February
2	6 Hours of Mugello	Mugello Circuit	19 March
3	6 Hours of Dijon	Dijon-Prenois	16 April
4	6 Hours of Silverstone	Silverstone Circuit	14 May
5	1000km Nürburgring	Nürburgring	28 May
6	Misano 6 Hours	Misano Circuit	25 June
7	Watkins Glen 6 Hours	Watkins Glen International	8 July
8	6 Hours of Vallelunga	Vallelunga	3 September

Round results

Rnd	Circuit	Over 2.0 Winning Team	Under 2.0 Winning Team	GT Cup Winning Team	Results
		Over 2.0 Winning Drivers	Under 2.0 Winning Drivers	GT Cup Winning Drivers
		Over 2.0 Winning Car	Under 2.0 Winning Car	GT Cup Winning Car
1	Daytona	#99 Brumos Porsche	None	None	Results
		Peter Gregg Rolf Stommelen Toine Hezemans	None	None
		Porsche 935-77A	None	None
2	Mugello	#12 Gelo Racing Team	#31 Faltz Preparation	#4 Jolly Club	Results
		Hans Heyer Toine Hezemans John Fitzpatrick	Dieter Quester Derek Bell	Fulvio Bacchelli Claudio Magnani
		Porsche 935-77A	BMW 320i	Lancia Stratos
3	Dijon	#2 Porsche Kremer Racing	#21 BMW Italia-Osella	#31 Meccarillos Racing Team	Results
		Bob Wollek Henri Pescarolo	Giorgio Francia Eddie Cheever	Angelo Pallavicini Peter Bernhard Enzo Calderari
		Porsche 935-77A	BMW 320i	Porsche 934
4	Silverstone	#1 Martini Racing	#53 BMW Belgium	#25 Wrangler Racing Team	Results
		Jochen Mass Jacky Ickx	Harald Grohs Eddy Joosen	Eberhard Sindel Preben Kristoffersen
		Porsche 935-78	BMW 320i	Porsche 934
5	Nürburgring	#3 Gelo Racing Team	#34 BMW Motorsport GmbH	#48 Norddeutscher Automobilclub	Results
		Hans Heyer Klaus Ludwig Toine Hezemans	Hans-Joachim Stuck Markus Höttinger	Gerhard Happel Götz von Tschirnhaus
		Porsche 935-77A	BMW 320i	Porsche Carrera RSR
6	Misano	#7 Porsche Kremer Racing	#2 BMW Belgium	#18 Angelo Pallavicini	Results
		Bob Wollek Henri Pescarolo	Harald Grohs Patrick Nève	Angelo Pallavicini Edi Kofel Marco Vanoli
		Porsche 935-77A	BMW 320i	Porsche 934
7	Watkins Glen	#30 Gelo Racing Team	#10 BMW Faltz	#29 Billy J. Hagan	Results
		Peter Gregg Toine Hezemans John Fitzpatrick	Hans-Joachim Stuck Dieter Quester	Hoyt Overbagh Billy Hagan
		Porsche 935-77A	BMW 320i	Chevrolet Monza 350
8	Vallelunga	#3 Porsche Kremer Racing	#34 BMW Schweiz	#12 Angelo Pallavicini	Results
		Bob Wollek Henri Pescarolo	Marc Surer Freddy Kottulinsky	Angelo Pallavicini Marco Vanoli
		Porsche 935-77A	BMW 320i	Porsche 934

Points system

Points were awarded to the top 10 finishers in each division on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis. Manufacturers were only allocated points for their highest finishing car with no points awarded for positions filled by any other car from that manufacturer.

Only the best six points finishes could be retained towards the championship, with any other points earned not included in the total.[6]

Championship results

The overall championship was awarded to the winner of Division 2 (Over 2000cc),[5] Porsche thus scoring their third straight World Championship for Makes victory.

Division 1 (Up to 2000cc)

Position [5]	Manufacturer [5]	Total [5]
1	BMW	120
2	Porsche	12
3	Fiat	10
4	Alpine	8
5	Volkswagen	6
6	Ford	4

Division 2 (Over 2000cc)

Position [5]	Manufacturer [5]	Total [5]
1	Porsche	120
2	De Tomaso	8
3	Chevrolet	4
4	Ferrari	3
=	Lancia	3

GT Cup

Position [5]	Manufacturer [5]	Total [5]
1	Porsche	115
2	Lancia	20
=	Chevrolet	20
4	Fiat	10
5	Alpine	8

References

1. "World Challenge for Endurance Drivers - Championships - Racing Sports Cars". www.racingsportscars.com. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
2. János Wimpffen, 1978 - A German International Championship, Time and Two Seats, 1999, pages 1144 to 1145
3. Contents, 1977 FIA Yearbook
4. Contents, 1979 FIA Yearbook
5. János Wimpffen, 1978 Summary, Time and Two Seats, 1999, pages 1179 to 1180
6. World Championship for Makes 1978, 1979 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 87 & 88

External links

• 1978 World Championship for Makes race results at wsrp.ic.cz