1983 Australian Endurance Championship
The 1983 Australian Endurance Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars.[1] The championship was contested over a six-round series with all rounds run concurrently with those of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes.[2]
Wollongong based Peter McLeod's consistent run over the series which saw him score points in all but the Castrol 400 at Sandown, won his first (and only) touring car championship driving his Slick 50 sponsored Mazda RX-7. Second was the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of triple Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, with Nissan Motorsport driver George Fury third in his Bluebird Turbo.
Fury, who won the opening two rounds of the series, and the Holden Dealer Team's star driver Peter Brock, who won the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst and the final round in Adelaide, were the only multiple winners in the 1983 AEC (though Brock received no points from his Bathurst win due to it being in the team's second car and not his nominated one; also surprisingly one of his co-drivers, Larry Perkins, did receive points for the win). The other winners were 1983 ATCC winner Allan Moffat who drove his Mazda RX-7 to victory in the Castrol 400, and Allan Grice who drove his Roadways Commodore to victory at Surfers Paradise.
Calendar
[edit]Rd. | Race title | Circuit | City/Town | Date | Winner/s | Car | Team | Number | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Silastic 300 | Amaroo Park | Annangrove | 7 August | George Fury | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | Nissan Motor Co. | ||
2 | Oran Park 250 | Oran Park | Narellan | 21 August | George Fury | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | Nissan Motor Co. | ||
3 | Castrol 400 | Sandown | Melbourne | 11 September | Allan Moffat | Mazda RX-7 | Peter Stuyvesant International Racing | 43 | Report |
4 | James Hardie 1000 | Mount Panorama | Bathurst | 2 October | John Harvey Peter Brock Larry Perkins |
Holden VH Commodore SS | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | 25 | Report |
5 | Motorcraft 300 | Surfers Paradise | Gold Coast | 30 October | Allan Grice | Holden VH Commodore SS | STP Roadways Racing | 6 | |
6 | Humes Guardrail 300 | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide | 20 November | Peter Brock | Holden VH Commodore SS | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | 05 | Report |
Class structure
[edit]Cars competed in two engine displacement classes:
- Up to 3000cc
- Over 3000cc
Points structure
[edit]Championship points were awarded to the top twenty finishers at each round according to the outright position attained. If two drivers shared a car the points were split between the two drivers, except at Round 4 where two driver combinations were mandated by regulations, removing the single driver option. Full points to both drivers were awarded. The exception appears to have been made for third drivers however as Peter Brock received no points for winning Round 4 alongside Larry Perkins and John Harvey.:
Outright Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Up to 3000cc | 30 | 27 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Over 3000cc | 25 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Results
[edit]Position[2] | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Rd1 | Rd2 | Rd3 | Rd4 | Rd5 | Rd6 | Points |
1 | Peter McLeod | 50 | Mazda RX-7 | Petrolon Slick 50 | 10 | 10 | - | 15 | 20 | 17 | 72 |
2 | Jim Richards | 31 | BMW 635 CSi | JPS Team BMW | 15 | 5 | 23 | - | 11 | 13 | 67 |
3 | George Fury | 55 & 15 | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | Nissan Motor Co. Australia | 25 | 25 | - | - | - | - | 50 |
4 | Allan Moffat | 43 | Mazda RX-7 | Peter Stuyversant International Racing | - | - | 25 | 23 | - | - | 48 |
5 | Allan Grice | 6 | Holden VH Commodore SS | STP Roadways Racing | - | - | - | 20 | 25 | - | 45 |
6 | Gregg Hansford | 34 | Mazda RX-7 | Peter Stuyversant International Racing | - | 15 | 6.5 | - | 23 | - | 44.5 |
7 | Terry Finnigan | 10 | Holden VH Commodore SS | Terry Finnigan | 8.5 | 13 | - | - | 17 | - | 38.5 |
=8 | Larry Perkins | 05 & 25 | Holden VH Commodore SS | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | 11.5 | - | - | 25 | - | - | 36.5 |
=8 | Peter Brock | 05 | Holden VH Commodore SS | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | 11.5 | - | - | - | - | 25 | 36.5 |