1973 Australian Drivers' Championship
| 1973 Australian Drivers' Championship | |||
| Previous: | 1972 | Next: | 1974 |
The 1973 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title open to drivers of Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 cars.[1] It was the seventeenth Australian Drivers' Championship [2] and the championship winner was awarded the 1973 CAMS "Gold Star".[1]
Schedule
The championship was contested over a five round series with one race per round.[3]
| Round [3] | Name | Circuit [3] | Date [3] | Winner [3] | Car [3] | Report |
| 1 | Surfers Paradise | 2 September | John McCormack | Elfin MR5 Repco Holden | ||
| 2 | Channel 7 Trophy [4] | Adelaide International Raceway | 7 October | John McCormack | Elfin MR5 Repco Holden | |
| 3 | Phillip Island | 14 October | Johnnie Walker | Lola T330 Repco Holden | ||
| 4 | Australian Grand Prix [3] | Sandown | 4 November | Graham McRae | McRae GM2 Chevrolet | Report |
| 5 | Phillip Island | 25 November | Johnnie Walker | Lola T330 Repco Holden |
Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the top six places in each round [3] with all rounds counting towards each driver's points total.[1] Only drivers holding a CAMS General Competition License were eligible to score points.[1]
Results
| Position [3] | Driver [3] | No. | Car [3] | Entrant [4] | Sur [3] | Ade [3] | Phi [3] | San [3] | Phi [3] | Total [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John McCormack | 3 | Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden | Ansett Team Elfin | 9 | 9 | - | 9 | 6 | 33 |
| 2 | Johnnie Walker | 25 | Lola T330 Repco-Holden | John Walker Motor Racing | - | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 30 |
| 3 | Garrie Cooper | 2 | Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden | Ansett Team Elfin | 6 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| 4 | Leo Geoghegan | 9 | Birrana 273 Ford | Grace Bros - 5AD City State Racing Team | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 6 |
| Bruce Allison | 62 | Bowin P6 Ford | Hobby and Toyland Racing | 3 | - | 3 | - | - | 6 | |
| Enno Busselmann | 18 | Birrana 273 Ford | Bob and Marj Brown | 2 | 3 | - | 1 | - | 6 | |
| 7 | Max Stewart | 6 | Lola T330 Chevrolet | Seiko Service Centre | - | 4 | - | - | - | 4 |
| Kevin Bartlett | 5 | Lola T330 Chevrolet | Chesterfield Racing | - | - | 4 | - | - | 4 | |
| Howie Sangster | 14 | McLaren M22 Repco-Holden | - | - | - | 4 | - | 4 | ||
| Chas Talbot | Elfin 600E Ford | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | 4 | |||
| 11 | Paul Feltham | Birrana 273 Ford | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | ||
| 12 | John Leffler | 34 | Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Chris Farrell | 36 | Dolphin 732 Ford | Chris Farrell | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | |
| 14 | Bob Minogue | Elfin 600 Ford | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Note: The Australian Grand Prix was won by New Zealander Graham McRae.[3] However, as the Australian Drivers' Championship was open only to holders of a CAMS General Competition License,[1] 9 points were awarded to the highest placed eligible driver, John McCormack, 6 points to the second highest placed eligible driver etc.[3]
Championship name
Conditions for the championship were promulgated by CAMS under the name "Australian Formula 1 Championship - Gold Star Award",[1] with mention of the requirement for the phrase “Australian Champion Driver” to be reserved exclusively for the winner of the CAMS Gold Star.[1] Historic records published by CAMS use the term Australian Drivers' Championship [2] and that title has been used here.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Conditions for Australian Titles, 1973 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 92 to 93
- 1 2 Records, Titles and Awards : Australian Drivers’ Championship - CAMS Gold Star, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Australian Formula One Championship, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, pages 60 to 77
- 1 2 Official Programme, Adelaide International Raceway, 7 October 1973