1981 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1981 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to racing cars complying with Australian Formula 1.[1] It was the 25th Australian Drivers' Championship.[2] The title winner, Alfredo Costanzo[3] was awarded the 1981 CAMS "Gold Star".[1]

Schedule

The championship was contested over a two-round series.[3]

Round[3]	Circuit[3]	Date[3]	Format[3]	Round winner[3]	Car[3]
1	Sandown Park	22 February	One race	Alfredo Costanzo	McLaren M26 Chevrolet
2	Amaroo Park	12 July	Two heats	Alfredo Costanzo	McLaren M26 Chevrolet

Classes

Car competed in two classes:[1]

• Up to 1600cc[1]
• Over 1600cc[1]

Points system

Championship points were awarded at each round on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers in each class.[1] Additional points were awarded at each round on a 4-3-2-1 basis to the first four finishers outright, regardless of class.[1]

Where rounds were contested over more than one heat, round placings were determined by allocating points to the first 14 placegetters in each heat on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis and then aggregating these points.[1] Where more than one driver earned the same number of points the relevant round placing was awarded to the driver who was higher placed in the last heat.[1]

Championship results

Bob Minogue contested the championship in Lola T430 HU1,[4] a sister car to HU2, pictured above

Position	Driver[5]	Car[3]	Class	Entrant[5]	San.[6]	Ama.[6]	Total
1	Alfredo Costanzo	McLaren M26 Chevrolet	Over 1600cc	Porsche Cars Australia	13	13	26[7][8]
2	Ray Hanger	March 77B Ford BDA[9]	Up to 1600cc[3]	Ray Hanger	9	10	19[7]
3	Rob Butcher	Lola T332 Chevrolet	Over 1600cc	John Blanden	6	9	15[7]
4	John Bowe	Elfin MR9 Chevrolet	Over 1600cc	Ansett Team Elfin	9	-	9
5	Ivan Tighe	Chevron B37 Chevrolet[10]	Over 1600cc	Ivan Tighe	-	6	6
6	Peter Edwards	Lola T332 Chevrolet	Over 1600cc	Peter Edwards	4	-	4
7	Bob Minogue	Lola T430 Chevrolet[10]	Over 1600cc	Bob Minogue	-	3	3
8	Colin Trengrove	Lola T332 Chevrolet	Over 1600cc	Colin Trengrove	2	-	2
=	John Wright	Lola T400 Chevrolet	Over 1600cc	John Wright	-	2	2
10	Peter Middleton[11]	Elfin MR8-C Chevrolet[9]	Over 1600cc	Peter Middleton	1	-	1
=	Barry Singleton	Gardos BL1 Repco Holden[10]	Over 1600cc	Barry Singleton	-	1	1

Championship name

The conditions for the 1981 championship were published by CAMS under the name "Australian Formula 1 Championship".[1] Australian Motor Racing Year 1981/82 uses both Australian Drivers Championship and Australian Formula One Championship in its review of the series.[3] Racing Car News, January 1982 uses Australian Drivers Championship.[5] CAMS uses Australian Drivers' Championship in its historical records[2] and that has been followed here.

References

1. Conditions for Australian Titles, 1981 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 91 to 93
2. Records Titles & Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
3. Australian Drivers Championship, Australian Motor Racing Year 1981/82, pages 130 to 135
4. Lola T430, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 13 April 2013
5. Aust. Drivers C'ship, Racing Car News, January 1982, page 36
6. Points for each round have been determined by applying the points system as published in the 1981 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport to the race results as published in Australian Motor Racing Year 1981/82
7. Australian Drivers Championship, Australian Motor Racing Year 1981/82, page 135
8. The championship table on page 131 of Australian Motor Racing Year 1981/82 shows Costanzo scoring 9 points for each of his two round wins for a total of 18 points. This conflicts with the text on page 135 of the same publication which shows his score after Amaroo Park as 26 points. It also conflicts with Racing Car News January 1982 which shows 26 points and with the points system as outlined in Conditions for Australian Titles, 1981 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, as referenced.
9. Australian Gold Star Race, Sandown Park, 22 Feb 1981, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 12 May 2020
10. Australian Gold Star Race, Amaroo Park, 12 Jul 1981, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 12 May 2020
11. Listed as Peter Middleton in Racing Car News and as Chris Middleton in Australian Motor Racing Year