1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship
The 1978 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was an Australian motor racing competition organised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport for Group B Sports Sedans.[1] It was the third Australian Sports Sedan Championship title to be awarded by CAMS.[2]
The championship was won by Allan Grice driving a Chevrolet Corvair for Craven Mild Racing.
Calendar[edit]
The championship was contested over a seven round series.[3]
| Round [3] | Name | Circuit [3] | State | Date [3] | Format [3] | Winning driver [3] | Car |
| 1 | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | Queensland | 21 May | Two heats | Allan Grice | Chevrolet Corvair | |
| 2 | The Advertiser Trophy [4] | Adelaide International Raceway | South Australia | 11 June | Two heats | Jim Richards | Ford XC Falcon Hardtop |
| 3 | Wanneroo Park | Western Australia | 18 June | Two heats | Jim Richards | Ford XC Falcon Hardtop | |
| 4 | Sandown Park | Victoria | 2 July | Two heats | Allan Grice | Chevrolet Corvair | |
| 5 | Lakeside | Queensland | 17 July | Two heats | Allan Grice | Chevrolet Corvair | |
| 6 | Calder | Victoria | 6 August | One race | Jim Richards | Ford XC Falcon Hardtop | |
| 7 | Symmons Plains | Tasmania | 17 September | Two heats | Allan Grice | Chevrolet Corvair |
Points system[edit]
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six places at each round.[1] Points from the six best round results could be retained by each driver.[1]
Where a round was contested over more than one heat, round points were awarded on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first 14 placegetters in each heat.[1] These points were then aggregated to determine the placings for the round.[1] Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant round placing was awarded to the driver with the highest placing in the last heat.[1]
Results[edit]
| Position | Driver[3] | No. | Car[3][5][4] | Entrant[4] | R1[3] | R2[3] | R3[3] | R4[3] | R5[3] | R6[3] | R7[3] | Total[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[6] | Allan Grice | 6 | Chevrolet Corvair | Craven Mild Racing | 9 | - | 6 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 45 |
| 2 | Jim Richards | 12 | Ford XC Falcon Hardtop | Jim Richards Motor Racing | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | (3) | 45 [7](48) |
| 3 | Bruce Gowans | 11 | Toyota Celica-Repco Holden | Ling Gowans Toyota | - | - | 3 | 4 | 4 | - | 6 | 17 |
| 4 | Ron Harrop | 2 | Holden LH Torana | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | - | 6 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | 13 |
| 5 | John Mann | 49 | Ford Cortina | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 2 | 8 | |
| 6 | Phil Lucas | 3 | Volvo | Wrigleys | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Tony Edmondson | 9 | Chrysler VK Charger-Repco Holden | Donald Elliott | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| 8 | Pat Crea | 300 | Ford Cortina | Pat Crea | 1 | 3 | - | - | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| 9 | Garry Rogers | 34 & 3 | Holden HQ Monaro | Greater Pacific Finance | 4 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 5 |
| 10 | Clem Smith | 15 | Chrysler VH Valiant Charger | Clem Smith | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | 4 |
| 11 | Geoff Russell | 35 | Holden LJ Torana | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 3 | |
| 12 | Phil Ward | 32 | Ford Escort Mark 1 | Wrigleys 2UW Racing Team | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2[8] |
| Murray Carter | 18 | Ford Falcon | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | 2 | ||
| Neil West | 97 | Hillman Imp | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | ||
| 15 | David Jarrett | 14 | Chevrolet Camaro | Shell Sport | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Ian Diffen | 98 | Holden Torana | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||
| Steve Land | 47 | Holden Torana | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | ||
| Andy McIntyre | 66 | Morris Cooper | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | ||
| Ken Hastings | 57 | Volkswagen Karmann Ghia | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Notes and references[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Conditions for Australian Titles, 1978 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 84-86
- ^ CAMS Online Manual of Motor Sport > About CAMS > Australian Titles Archived 3 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 2 July 2010
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Australian Competition Yearbook Number 8, pages 144-151
- ^ a b c Official Programme, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, 11 June 1978
- ^ Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 160-162
- ^ Jim Richards scored a total of 48 championship points compared to the 45 earned by Allan Grice. The "best six round results" rule meant that both drivers retained 45 points however Grice was awarded the championship title based on his four round wins to Richards' three.
- ^ The Final Points Score list in Australian Competition Yearbook shows 39 points for Richards but the accompanying text states that he finished equal with Grice on 45 points.
- ^ The Final Points Score list in Australian Competition Yearbook shows three points for Ward but the round results published with that list show a fifth at Surfers Paradise as Ward's only top six round placing.