1976_Australian_Drivers'_Championship
The 1976 Australian Drivers' Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to Australian Formula 1 cars and Australian Formula 2 cars.[1] It was authorised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian National Title with the winner awarded the CAMS Gold Star.[1] The title was the 20th Australian Drivers' Championship.[2]
The championship was won by John Leffler driving a Lola T400.[3]
The championship was contested over a four-round series.[4]
| Round[4] | Round/race name | Circuit[4] | State | Date[4] | Round format[4] | Winner[4] | Car[4] | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix[4] | Sandown Park | Victoria | 12 September | One race | John Goss | Matich A51/53[5] Repco Holden | Report |
| 2 | Oran Park | New South Wales | 19 September | One race | Max Stewart | Lola T400 Chevrolet | ||
| 3 | Calder Raceway | Victoria | 17 October | Two Heats | John McCormack | McLaren M23 Leyland | ||
| 4 | Mirafiori 5000[6] | Phillip Island | Victoria | 28 November | One race | Alf Costanzo | Lola T332 Chevrolet |
Championship points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first six place-getters at each round.[1] For Round 3 only, round placings were determined by allocating points to the first fourteen place-getters in each heat on a 20–16–13–11–10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis.[1] Championship points were then awarded on the standard 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six drivers for that round.[1] Only holders of current and valid full General Competition Licenses issued by CAMS were eligible for the championship.[1]
| Position | Driver[4] | Car[4] | Entrant[7] | San.[4] | Ora.[4] | Cal.[4] | Phi.[4] | Total[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Leffler | Lola T400 Chevrolet | Grace Bros Racing | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 22 |
| 2 | Max Stewart | Lola T400 Chevrolet | M Stewart | – | 9 | 3 | – | 12 |
| 3 | John McCormack | McLaren M23 Leyland | J McCormack Budget Rent-a-Car[8] |
– | – | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 4 | Bruce Allison | Lola T332 Chevrolet | B Allison Hobby & Toyland[9] |
– | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 | John Goss | Matich A51/53[5] Repco Holden | John Goss Racing Pty Ltd | 9 | – | – | – | 9 |
| Alf Costanzo | Lola T332 Chevrolet | Stock 84 Brandy A. Costanzo [10] |
– | – | – | 9 | 9 | |
| 7 | Garrie Cooper | Elfin MR8 Chevrolet | Ansett Team Elfin[9] | – | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 8 | Kevin Bartlett | Lola T400 Chevrolet | Shellsport[9] | – | 6 | – | – | 6 |
| 9 | Chris Milton | McLaren M22 Chevrolet | John Martin's / Shellsport | 4 | – | – | – | 4 |
| 10 | Andrew Miedecke | Brabham BT36 Ford | Grace Bros Racing | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
| 11 | Chris Farrell | Elfin 622 Ford[9] | C. Farrell [11] | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Gil Cameron | McLaren M10B Chevrolet | VYI's Fashion Sunglasses | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | |
| John Edmonds | Elfin MR5B Repco Holden | Hi-Way Denims[8] J. Edmonds [10] |
– | – | – | 1 | 1 |
Note:
- There were only five classified finishers at the Sandown Park round.[4]
- Vern Schuppan (Elfin MR8 Chevrolet) placed second at the Sandown Park round but was not eligible to score championship points.[4]
The championship has been referred to by various names including the 1976 Australian Formula 1 Championship,[1] the 1976 Gold Star Championship,[6] the 20th Australian Formula 1 Drivers Championship for the 1976 C.A.M.S. Gold Star Award[11] and the 1976 Australian Drivers' Championship.[4] The latter term is used by CAMS in historical records[2][12] and has been used in this article.
- Conditions for Australian Titles, The Australian Formula 1 Championship, 1976 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 80–81
- Australian Drivers' Championship – CAMS Gold Star, 2002 CAMS Manual of Australian Motor Sport, page 14-4
- Evan Green, Evan Green's World of Motor Sport, page 15
- Australian National Formula One Review, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1977 Edition, pages 84 to 93
- Matich A51/53, The official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, 1986, pages 402 to 404
- Paul Harrington, Alf's second in a row – Leffler's crown at last, Australian Auto Action, 9 December 1976, page 11
- Event 4, Marlboro presents the Australian Grand Prix, Official Programme, Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit, 12 September 1976
- Mirafiori 5000, Phillip Island, 28 Nov 1976, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 14 April 2014
- Australian Gold Star Race, Oran Park, 19 Sep 1976, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved on 14 April 2014
- Official Souvenir Programme, Phillip Island, Sunday, November 21, 1976 and Sunday, November 28, 1976
- Official Programme, Oran Park, 19th September 1976
- Australian Drivers’ Championship – CAMS Gold Star, docs.cams.com.au As archived at www.webcitation.org on 14 April 2014