1977 Australian Sports Car Championship
Appearance
The 1977 Australian Sports Car Championship was a motor racing competition for Group D Production Sports Cars.[1][2] It was authorised as an Australian National Title by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS).[1] It was the ninth Australian Sports Car Championship to be awarded by CAMS.[3]
The championship was won jointly by Alan Hamilton and John Latham driving a Porsche 934 Turbo and a Porsche Carrera RSR respectively.
Calendar
[edit]The championship was contested over a six-round series.[4]
Round [4] | Circuit [4] | State | Date | Format | Winning driver | Winning car |
1 | Calder | Victoria | 15 January [5] | Two heats [5] | Rusty French [5] | de Tomaso Pantera [5] |
2 | Adelaide International Raceway [6] | South Australia | 3 April [7] | One race [7] | Alan Hamilton [7] | Porsche 934 [7] |
3 | Amaroo Park | New South Wales | 29 May [8] | One race [8] | John Latham [8] | Porsche Carrera [8] |
4 | Lakeside International Raceway [9] | Queensland | 24 July [10] | One race [10] | Alan Hamilton [10] | Porsche 934 [10] |
5 | Oran Park | New South Wales | 30 October [11] | One race [11] | Alan Hamilton [11] | Porsche 934 [11] |
6 | Phillip Island | Victoria | 20 November [12] | One race [12] | Alan Hamilton [12] | Porsche 934 [12] |
Classes
[edit]Cars competed in two engine capacity classes.[1]
- Up to and including 2000cc
- Over 2000cc
Results
[edit]Position [13] | Driver [13] | No.[6] | Car[4][6][14] | Entrant[6][14] | Points [13] |
1 | Alan Hamilton | 9 | Porsche 934 Turbo | Porsche Distributors | 58 |
= | John Latham | 64 | Porsche Carrera RSR | Kodak Film | 58 |
3 | Peter Hopwood | 77 | Lotus Elan | Peter Hopwood | 33 |
4 | Rusty French | 2 & 3 [4] | de Tomaso Pantera | Rusty French | 31 |
5 | Tim Trevor | 47 | Lotus 47 | Tim Trevor Motors Pty Ltd | 21 |
6 | Warwick Henderson | 99 | Chevrolet Corvette (C3) | Warwick Henderson | 15 |
7 | Bernard Bisseling | 65 | Turner | Bernard Bisseling | 13 |
8 | Fernando D'Alberto | 33 | Datsun 260Z | Fernando D'Alberto | 12 |
9 | Alan Hannis | 54 | Datsun 2000 | Bolwell Car Club | 10 |
= | Matt Pintar | MGB | Matt Pintar | 10 | |
11 | Ray Winter | MGB | Peter McCabe | 9 | |
12 | Bob Kennedy | 60 | Triumph TR5 | Triumph Sports Owners Association | 7 |
13 | Peter Woodward | Lotus 47 | Peter Woodward | 6 | |
= | Bill Evans | 7 | Triumph TR7 | Playboy Racing | 6 |
= | Barry Main | 6 | Bolwell Nagari | Barry Main | 6 |
16 | Bob Rowntree | MG Midget | Bob Rowntree | 4 | |
= | Peter Beasley | MG Midget | Peter Beasley | 4 | |
18 | Robbie Rowland | 26 | Austin-Healey 3000 | Robbie Rowland | 3 |
= | Bob Johnston [8] | MG Midget | Bob Johnston | 3 | |
20 | David Henderson | MG Midget | NSSCC | 2 | |
= | Peter Fitzgerald | Porsche 911S | Peter Fitzgerald | 2 | |
22 | John Gourlay | 23 | Bolwell Nagari | John Gourlay | 1 |
Note: Hamilton achieved four round wins to Latham's one, however there was no countback process incorporated in the points system to act as a tiebreaker, so the two drivers shared the title.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Conditions for Australian Titles, 1977 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 86 to 88
- ^ 1977 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 203
- ^ Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS of Motor Sport, page 14-6
- ^ a b c d e f Sports Car Championship, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1978 Edition, pages 104-108
- ^ a b c d Greg Stanfield, Rusty's Revenge, Racing Car News, February 1977, pages 36 & 37
- ^ a b c d Entry list, official program, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, 3 April 1977
- ^ a b c d Ray Bell, Hopwood Hares Ahead, Racing Car News, May 1977, pages 48 & 49
- ^ a b c d e Ray Bell, Lucky Latham, Racing Car News, July 1977, page 28
- ^ Official Programme, Lakeside International Raceway, July 24 1977
- ^ a b c d Ray Bell, Turbo Too Good At Lakeside, Racing Car News, September 1977, pages 32 & 33
- ^ a b c d Ray Bell, Hamilton Closes The Gap, Racing Car News, December 1977, pages 54 & 55
- ^ a b c d Hamilton and Latham Tie, Racing Car News, January 1978, page 28
- ^ a b c Racing Car News Masters of Motor Sport '77, pages 24 & 25
- ^ a b Various Racing Car News round reports