1971 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 1971 Australian Drivers’ Championship was a
CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 racing cars.[1] It was the fifteenth Australian Drivers' Championship[2] and the first to feature cars complying with a new for 1971 Australian Formula 1[3] which permitted cars with production based V8 engines of up to 5 litre capacity (commonly known as Formula 5000 cars) or racing engines of up to eight cylinders and up to 2 litre capacity.[4] The championship winner was awarded the 1971 CAMS Gold Star and the title of Australian Champion Driver.[1]
The championship was won by Max Stewart from Kevin Bartlett, Alan Hamilton and John McCormack, with only two points separating first from fourth after the final race.[5]
Calendar
Waggott
The championship was contested over a six race series.[6] Races were staged concurrently with those of the 1971 Australian Formula 2 Championship[1]
| Race | Race name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Car |
| 1[7] | Governor's Trophy[7] | Lakeside[7] | 6 June[7] | Kevin Bartlett[7] | McLaren M10B Chevrolet
|
| 2 | Angus & Coote Diamond Trophy[8] | Oran Park Raceway[9] | 27 June[8] | Max Stewart | Waggott
|
| 3 | Glynn Scott Memorial Trophy[10] | Surfers Paradise International Raceway[10] | 29 August[11] | Frank Matich | Repco Holden
|
| 4 | Victoria Trophy[12] | Sandown [13]
|
12 September[14] | Kevin Bartlett | McLaren M10B Chevrolet
|
| 5 | Examiner 1000[15] | Symmons Plains[16]
|
25 September[16] | Tony Stewart | Elfin 600B England
|
| 6 | Rothmans Trophy[17] | Mallala Race Circuit[17]
|
11 October[5] | John McCormack | Repco Holden
|
Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six placegetters in each race.[1] Each driver could retain points only from his/her best five race results.[1] Only holders of a General Competition License issued by CAMS were eligible to compete for the title.[1]
Championship standings
Elfin 600C
) contesting the opening race of the 1971 Australian Drivers' Championship| Position | Driver[12] | Car[5][7][8][11][14][16][17] | Entrant[5][7][8][11][14][16][17] | Lak[12] | Ora[12] | Sur[12] | San[12] | Sym[12] | Mal[12] | Total[12] |
| 1 | Max Stewart | Waggott
|
Alec Mildren Racing Max Stewart Motors |
6 | 9 | 3 | - | 1 | 4 | 23 |
| 2 | Kevin Bartlett | McLaren M10B Chevrolet | Kevin Bartlett Shell Racing | 9 | - | 4 | 9 | - | - | 22 |
| = | Alan Hamilton | McLaren M10B Chevrolet | Porsche Distributors Racing | 4 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 6 | 22 |
| 4 | John McCormack | Repco Holden
|
Elfin Sports Cars | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | 9 | 21 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | Elfin 600B England Ford
|
Paul England Pty Ltd | 3 | 3 | - | - | 9 | 1 | 16 |
| 6 | Henk Woelders | Waggott
|
Bill Patterson Racing | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | 2 | 11 |
| 7 | Warwick Brown | McLaren M4A Cosworth | Pat Burke Racing | - | - | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | 10 |
| 8 | Frank Matich | Repco Holden
|
Rothmans Team Matich | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | 9 |
| 9 | Jack Bono | Elfin 600B Ford
|
Graham Collier | - | 2 | - | 2 | 2 | - | 6 |
| 10 | Garrie Cooper | Lotus
|
Elfin Sports Cars | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| = | Colin Hyams | Lola T192 Chevrolet
|
Colin Hyams | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Ivan Tighe | Ivan Tighe | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| 13 | John Walker | Elfin 600C Ford
|
City State Racing Team | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| = | John Ampt | Elfin Mono IIB Ford
|
John Ampt | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
New Zealander Graeme Lawrence (Brabham BT30 Ford) placed second at Oran Park, but not being an Australian resident he did not qualify for championship points.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Conditions for Australian Titles, 1971 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 79-83
- ^ Records, Titles and Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
- ^ The official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, 1986, pages 348&354
- ^ Pedr Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 171
- ^ a b c d John Brownsea, Stewart is Gold Star Champ, Racing Car News, November 1971, pages 58-59
- ^ Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 66-67
- ^ a b c d e f g Des White, F5000 on the way, Racing Car News, June 1971, pages 26-28
- ^ a b c d e Max Stahl, Stewart Leads Gold Star, Racing Car News, August 1971, pages 34-35
- ^ Program, Oran Park Raceway, Sunday, June 27, 1971
- ^ a b Official Programme, Surfers Paradise International Raceway, Sunday, August 29, 1971
- ^ a b c Des White, Matich Win Opens Score, Racing Car News, October 1971, pages 56-57
- ^ a b c d e f g h i John Wallis, Topsy Turvy Thriller, Australian Motor Racing Annual 1972, pages 38 to 43 & page 80
- ^ Official Programme, Sandown, September 11 & 12 1971
- ^ a b c Tom Naughton, Bartlett’s Game Comeback, Racing Car News, October 1971, pages 68-69
- ^ Examiner "1000", Symmons Plains, 26 Sep 1971, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 4 May 2020
- ^ a b c d Steven Chopping, Stewart Strikes Gold, Racing Car News, November 1971, pages 44-45
- ^ a b c d Official Programme, Mallala Race Circuit, 11 October 1971
- ^ Governors Trophy, Lakeside, 6 June 1971, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 4 May 2020
External links
- Australian Gold Star 1971, www.oldracingcars.com
- 1971 Oran Park Gold Star…, primotipo.com
- Images from the Oran Park race at forums.autosport.com
