| 1984 Australian GT Championship season | |
| Previous: 1983 | Next: 1985 |
The 1984 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title and was the seventh Australian GT Championship to be awarded.[1] It was a series open to grand tourer cars complying with CAMS Group D regulations with Group B Sports Sedans competing by invitation. The series was contested over six rounds from 15 April to 9 September 1984.
Some of the cars that competed in the series included Chevrolet Monza, Jaguar XJ-S, Porsche Carrera RSR, Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV, Porsche 935, BMW 318i Turbo and Holden Monaro.
Regular ATCC driver Allan Grice won the series driving the ex-Bob Jane 6.0L Monza from Queenslander Mark Trenoweth driving the ex-John McCormack XJS Jag and Series Production ace Peter Fitzgerald in his Porsche Carrera RSR. Fitzgerald, the only driver other than Grice to win a race in the championship, did not enter the first two races of the series at Lakeside and Adelaide*. Going into the last round of the series at the then new 3.9km International circuit at Sandown, only Grice and Trenoweth could win the championship but with the Sydney based driver winning both heats and the Queenslander only finishing 4th and 3rd, the title was Grice's. It was Grice's third (and ultimately last) national title win after also capturing the 1978 and 1979 Australian Sports Sedan Championships (the SS Championship was merged into the GT Championship in 1982).
Despite his final winning margin being only 12.5 points, Grice and the Monza dominated the series. He sat on pole position for every round, his biggest pole margin over the field being a full 4 seconds at Sandown, and not only did he win all bar one race in the championship he also set the fastest lap for every race except for the first heat in the first round at Lakeside and the first heat of the last round at Sandown. Bryan Thompson in his twin-turbo Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC Chev V8 (the Merc was reportedly more powerful than the Monza but not as reliable) was credited with the fastest race lap in both races.
* Fitzgerald won at Calder after race leader Grice retired with just over a lap remaining with no fuel pressure. Grice held an 8 second lead at the time of his retirement. Bryan Thompson suffered turbo failure in the Merc on the warmup lap and took over Tino Leo's Holden Monaro to finish 9th.
Contents |
| Rd. | Circuit | City / State | Date | Winner Race 1 | Winner Race 2 | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Qld | 15 April | Allan Grice | ||
| 2 | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide, SA | 6 May | Allan Grice | Allan Grice | |
| 3 | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Vic | 29 July | Peter Fitzgerald | ||
| 4 | Winton Motor Raceway | Winton, Vic | 12 August | Allan Grice | Allan Grice | |
| 5 | Surfers Paradise Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Qld | 26 August | Allan Grice | Allan Grice | |
| 6 | Sandown Raceway | Melbourne, Vic | 9 September | Allan Grice | Allan Grice |
Points were awarded on a 30-27-24-21-19-17-15-14-13-12 basis to the top ten outright finishers in each round. For rounds that featured two heats, the points were halved for each heat. All scores counted towards the championship.
Only the top 20 drivers are listed.
| Pos | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allan Grice | 4 | Chevrolet Monza | Re-Car Racing | 30 | 30 | - | 30 | 30 | 30 | 150 |
| 2 | Mark Trenoweth | 8 | Jaguar XJ-S | Mark Trenoweth/Jaguar Racing | 24 | 25.5 | 19 | 21 | 25.5 | 22.5 | 137.5 |
| 3 | Series Production | 3 | Porsche Carrera RSR | Peter Fitzgerald/Stanilite Electronics | - | - | 30 | 27 | 21 | 25.5 | 103.5 |
| 4 | Bryan Thomson | 17 | Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC-Chevrolet |
Thomson-Fowler Motorsport Tino Leo |
27 | 13.5 | 13 | 12 | - | 13.5 | 79 |
| 5 | John Bourke | 77 | Toyota Celica Turbo | Biran Hilton Toyota | 21 | - | 17 | - | 19 | - | 57 |
| 6 | Bob Jolly | 31 | Holden Commodore | Bob Jolly | - | 21.5 | 21 | 12 | - | - | 54.5 |
| 7 | Robin Doherty | 18 | Holden Torana LX Hatchback | Robin Doherty | - | 6.5 | 24 | 15.5 | - | - | 46 |
| 8 | Jeff Barnes | 3 & 6 | Chevrolet Monza | Lithgow VHS Video | - | 20 | - | - | 25.5 | - | 45.5 |
| 9 | Doug Clark | 78 | Toyota Celica | Brian Hilton Toyota | 19 | - | - | - | 16 | - | 35 |
| 10 | Mick Monterosso | 2 | Ford Escort Mk I | Garry Sloper | - | 17 | - | 17.5 | - | - | 34.5 |
| 11 | Tino Leo | 86 | Holden Monaro HQ | Tino Leo | - | 17 | - | 16 | - | - | 34 |
| 12 | Tony Hubbard | 15 | Ford Falcon XC Hardtop | Scandia Heaters | - | - | 27 | - | - | - | 27 |
| 13 | Cos Monterosso | Ford Escort Mk II | - | - | 15 | 7 | - | - | 22 | ||
| 13 | Ray Ellis | Holden Torana | - | - | - | 6 | - | 16 | 22 | ||
| 15 | John Chambers | Holden Gemini | - | - | 12 | 6 | - | 18 | |||
| 16 | Gerry Bezett | Holden Commodore SS | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | 27 | ||
| 17 | Simon Harrex | Holden Commodore SS | - | - | - | - | 15.5 | - | 15.5 | ||
| 18 | Bonny Cameron | Holden Torana LC | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | ||
| 19 | Larry Kogge | Mazda R100 | - | - | - | 7.5 | - | 7 | 14.5 | ||
| 19 | Luigi Deluca | 22 | Ford Anglia | DWU Australia | - | 14.5 | - | - | - | - | 14.5 |
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