1980 Australian Touring Car Championship

1980 Australian Touring Car Championship
Previous: 1979 Next: 1981
Peter Brock's championship winning Holden VB Commodore on display at Sandown in 2009

The 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 21st running of the Australian Touring Car Championship.

Peter Brock won his third and final ATCC title, driving a Holden VB Commodore for the Holden Dealer Team. Brock and the HDT had been testing a VB Commodore in late 1979 in readiness for the rule changes enforced by CAMS. These rule changes aimed at reducing engine emissions (mostly sparked by the 1970s oil crisis) effectively made the Toranas and Falcons of the previous years ineligible. By the start of the ATCC, Brock and the HDT were the only team anywhere near ready to race, and it showed in the results. Brock won four of the eight rounds, including the opening three rounds. He also put his Commodore on pole position at each round of the championship.

Former twice CAMS Gold Star winner and 1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 winner Kevin Bartlett recovered from his 1979 Formula 5000 crash and finished second in the championship in his Channel 9 sponsored Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (financed by Nine's owner, media magnate Kerry Packer). Bartlett broke Brock's winning run, using the Camaro's superior power to win at Sandown, and would later win the penultimate round in Adelaide. Bartlett's win at Sandown was the first non-Ford or Holden outright ATCC win since Bob Jane took his championship winning Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 to victory in Round 6 of the 1972 ATCC at Surfers Paradise.

Sydney based Toyota dealer Peter Williamson finished third in the championship in his Class B Toyota Celica, benefiting from class wins and generally poor or small fields (especially in the outright Class A) resulting from teams rushing to get the new generation cars race ready.

Reigning champion Bob Morris had lost his major sponsor when Ron Hodgson had pulled out at the end of 1979, so Morris entered into an uneasy relationship with Allan Grice's Craven Mild Racing. Grice drove one of the 1979 Toranas (with drum brakes at the rear as well as the required "low emission" heads) to victory at Wanneroo in Perth. Grice only competed in four rounds and finished eighth in the title. Morris endured an unhappy championship in the teams Commodore and could only finish fifth on points, though he did win the final round at Oran Park Raceway.

After Ford Australia pulled out of racing at the end of 1978, and being forced to go it alone as a privateer in 1979, the 1980 ATCC was the first time since 1968 that triple champion Allan Moffat did not contest the championship.

Teams and drivers

The following drivers and teams competed in the 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Team Manufacturer Car model No Driver
Cadbury-Schweppes Racing Holden LX Torana A9X SS Hatchback 3 New Zealand Peter Janson
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Holden VB Commodore 05 Australia Peter Brock
Craven Mild Racing Holden LX Torana A9X SS Hatchback 6 Australia Allan Grice
VB Commodore 7 Australia Bob Morris
Garry Willmington Ford XD Falcon 8 Australia Garry Willmington
Nine Network Racing Team Chevrolet Camaro Z28 9 Australia Kevin Bartlett
Murray Carter Ford XD Falcon 18 Australia Murray Carter
Roadways Racing Holden VB Commodore 21 Australia Charlie O'Brien
Australia Garth Wigston
Re-Car Racing Holden VB Commodore 26 Australia Alan Browne
Australia Brian Sampson
Ford Falcon XC Hardtop 30 Australia Bill O'Brien
Lawrie Nelson Ford Capri Mk.III 58 Australia Lawrie Nelson
Toyota Dealer Team Toyota Celica 77 Australia Peter Williamson
Corolla 44 Australia Mike Quinn
Chickadee Chicken Toyota Celica 51 Australia Graeme Bailey
Mazda RX-3 69 Australia John Bundy
Mazda RX-3 46 Australia Ross Burbidge
Holden VB Commodore 11 Australia Gary Cooke
Ron Dickson Chevrolet Camaro Z28 2 Australia Ron Dickson
Ford Ford Escort Mk.II 43 New Zealand John Faulkner
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 12 Australia John French
Holden VB Commodore 16 Australia Fred Geissler
Bob Holden Motors Ford Ford Escort Mk.II 65 Australia Bob Holden
Terry Shiel Mazda RX-3 17 Australia Dick Johnson
Barry Jones Mazda RX-3 39 Australia Barry Jones
Mazda RX-3 41 Australia Larry Kogge
Masterton Homes Ford Capri Mk.II 31 Australia Steve Masterton
Australia Colin Bond
Mazda RX-7 40 Australia Peter McLeod
Ford Ford Escort Mk.II 45 Australia Graham Mein
Holden VB Commodore 14 Australia Wayne Negus
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 59 Australia Frank Porter
Triumph Dolomite Sprint 49 Australia Martin Power
Toyota Celica 47 Australia Wally Scott
Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.III 35 Australia Don Smith
Toyota Celica 55 Australia Maurice Spalding
Mazda RX-3 Australia Evan Thomas

Results and Standings

Race Calendar

The 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship consisted of eight rounds. The series consisted of eight rounds several of which were held with two heats, others with a single race per round.

Rd. Race Title Circuit City / State Date Winner Team Report
1 Australia Launceston Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 2 Mar Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team
2 Australia Calder Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 15 Mar Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team
3 Australia Lakeside Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 30 Mar Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team
4 Australia Sandown Sandown Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 13 Apr Kevin Bartlett Nine Network Racing Team
5 Australia Perth Barbagallo Raceway Perth, Western Australia 27 Apr Allan Grice Craven Mild Racing
6 Australia Surfers Paradise Surfers Paradise Raceway Surfers Paradise, Queensland 18 May Peter Brock Holden Dealer Team
7 Australia Adelaide Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide, South Australia 1 Jun Kevin Bartlett Nine Network Racing Team
8 Australia Oran Park Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 16 Jun Bob Morris Craven Mild Racing

Drivers Championship

Points were awarded 4-3-2-1 based on top 4 race position, and then 9-6-4-3-2-1 for the top 6 of each of two engine capacity based classes (essentially under and over three litres). Drivers had to drop their worst score from the eight rounds.[1][2]

Class A consisted of Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore and Holden Torana.
Class B consisted of Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Ford Capri, Ford Escort, Isuzu Gemini, Mazda RX-3, Mazda RX-7, Toyota Celica and Toyota Corolla.[3]

Pos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Pts
1 Peter Brock 13 13 13 9 9 13 9 Ret 79
2 Kevin Bartlett 9 9 4 13 4 Ret 13 DSQ 52
3 Peter Williamson 4 7 6 10 9 11 47
4 Murray Carter 6 9 6 2 6 1 2 32
5 Bob Morris 2 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 4 13 25
6 Don Smith 11 6 6 23
7 Lawrie Nelson 9 9 Ret 2 Ret 20
8 Allan Grice 6 Ret 13 Ret 19
9 Steve Masterton 6 6 4 16
10 Charlie O'Brien 9 6 15
11 Mike Quinn 4 4 4 12
11 Garry Willmington 4 4 0 1 3 12
13 Wally Scott 9 2 11
14 Barry Jones Ret 9 9
14 Gary Cooke 9 9
14 Larry Kogge 2 3 4 9
14 Bill O'Brien 1 2 4 2 9
14 John Bundy 1 3 3 2 9
19 Maurice Spalding 6 6
19 Colin Bond 6 6
19 Ross Burbidge 2 4 6
22 Brian Sampson 5 5
23 John Faulkner 3 1 4
24 John French 3 3
24 Evan Thomas 3 3
24 Fred Geissler 3 3
24 Graeme Bailey 3 3
24 Alan Browne 1 2 3
24 Peter McLeod Ret 2 1 3
30 Martin Power 2 0 2
30 Peter Janson 2 2
30 Frank Porter 1 1 2
33 Ron Dickson 1 1
33 Wayne Negus 1 1
33 Graham Mein 1 1
Pos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate
Excluded (EX)

References

  1. ↑ "Points systems". V8Central website. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  2. ↑ "1980 Australian Touring Car Championship". V8Central website. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  3. ↑ Howard, Graham; Wilson, Stewart (1986). "1980: Commodore's Debut Win". Australian Touring Car Championship: 25 Fabulous Years. Gordon: R&T Publishing. pp. 208–218. ISBN 0-9590378-2-9.