1979 Australian Championship of Makes

The 1979 Australian Championship of Makes was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group C Touring Cars.[1] It was the ninth manufacturers’ title to be awarded by CAMS and the fourth to carry the Australian Championship of Makes name.[2] The title was awarded to General Motors-Holden.[2]

Calendar

The 1979 Australian Championship of Makes was contested over a three-round series with one race per round.[3]

Round [3] Race name [3] Circuit [3] State Date [3] Winning driver [3] Winning car [3] Report
1 Hang Ten 400 Sandown Park Victoria 9 September [4] Peter Brock Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback Report
2 Rothmans 250 [5] Adelaide International Raceway South Australia 21 October Allan Grice Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback
3 Rothmans 300 [6] Surfers Paradise Queensland 4 November Charlie O'Brien Holden LX Torana SLR 5000 A9X [7]

A fourth round, scheduled to be held at Oran Park on 18 November,[8] was cancelled.[3]

Classes

Cars competed in three classes:[1]

  • Up to 2000cc [1]
  • 2001 to 3000cc [1]
  • 3001 to 6000cc [1]

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the best six placed cars in each class.[1] Only the highest placed car of each make was awarded points and then only the points applicable to the position filled.[1] The title was awarded to the make of car gaining the highest number of points in the series with all points acquired in all races counted.[1] No drivers' title was allocated or permitted to be advertised in connection with the title.[1]

Results
Holden Torana was the dominant car in the series, winning all three rounds and the championship. Image from 2012.
Position [3] Make [3] Sandown [3] Adelaide [3] Surfers [3] Total [3]
1 Holden Torana 9 9 9 27
2 Toyota Celica 9 9 9 27
3 Mazda 9 9 4 22
4 Ford Falcon 3 6 6 15
5 Alfa Romeo 3 4 6 13
6 BMW 3 - - 3
7 Volkswagen 1 - - 1

Holden Torana and Toyota Celica both achieved maximum points, each winning its class at each of the three rounds.[3] The title was awarded to the former on the grounds that it also featured in the minor placings.[3]

The cars

The following models contributed to the championship pointscores.

It would appear that placings gained by other models from the same manufacturer were not considered in determining championship placings. The first place gained by Ford Capri in the 2001 to 3000cc class at the Surfers Paradise round [3] is an example of this.

Notes & references
  1. Conditions for Australian Titles, 1079 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 94 to 99
  2. Australian Titles, www.camsmanual.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org on 19 July 2008
  3. Australian Championship of Makes, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1979/80, pages 168 to 177
  4. Chris de Fraga, Brock leads Torana onslaught, The Age, Monday, 10 September 1979, page 29
  5. Official Souvenir Programme, The Rothmans 250, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday 21 October 1979
  6. Colin Young, The wait is over for Charlie, The Courier Mail, Monday, 5 November 1979, page 20
  7. The race report in Australian Motor Racing Yearbook lists the winning car simply as a Torana however an image of the vehicle accompanying the report show it to be a 4 -door sedan with reverse bonnet scoop, identfying it as an SLR 5000 A9X
  8. Official 1979 Calendar, Racing Car News, January 1979
  9. Stewart Wilson and Max Stahl, Ford, The racing History, 1989, page 302
  10. Official Souvenir Programme, The Rothmans 250, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday 21 October 1979, page 17
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