From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1979 Australian Touring Car Championship
Motor racing competition
Motor racing competition
The 1979 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group C Touring Cars. It began at Symmons Plains and ended at Adelaide International Raceway after eight rounds. The title, which was the 20th Australian Touring Car Championship, was won by Bob Morris driving a Holden Torana.
1979 was the first time since the ATCC went to a championship series in 1969 rather than the single race it had been previously that a single make and model car had won all rounds of the championship with all 8 rounds being won by the Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback. Including the current season (2016), such a single car domination has only happened once since in the series, that being when the Ford Sierra RS500 won all rounds of the 1988 championship.
Calendar
The 1979 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over an eight-round series.
| Rd. | Race title | Circuit | City / state | Date | Winning driver | Car | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Symmons Plains* | Symmons Plains | Launceston, Tasmania | 4 March | John Harvey | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | |||||||||
| *Calder* | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 18 March | Peter Brock | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | |||||||||
| *Oran Park* | Oran Park | Sydney, New South Wales | 25 March | Bob Morris | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing | |||||||||
| *Sandown* | Sandown Park | Melbourne, Victoria | 7 April | Bob Morris | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing | |||||||||
| *Wanneroo* | Wanneroo Park | Perth, Western Australia | 6 May | Peter Brock | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | |||||||||
| *Surfers Paradise* | Surfers Paradise | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 20 May | Peter Brock | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | |||||||||
| *Lakeside* | Lakeside | Brisbane, Queensland | 22 June | Bob Morris | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing | |||||||||
| The Breville Trophy | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide, South Australia | 28 July | Bob Morris | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing |
- Round 3 of the championship at Oran Park featured two separate races, the first for Under 3 litre cars and the second for Over 3 litre cars.
Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1979 Australian Touring Car Championship.
| Team | Car | No | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| King George Tavern | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 2 | AUS Fred Gibson |
| Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 4 | Australia Wayne Negus |
| 05 | AUS Peter Brock | ||
| 76 | AUS John Harvey | ||
| Craven Mild Racing | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 6 | Australia Allan Grice |
| Ron Hodgson Channel 7 Racing | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 7 | Australia Bob Morris |
| Citizen Watches | Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X | 11 | Australia Gary Cooke |
| Pioneer Car Stereo | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | 12 | Australia Ron Dickson |
| Cadbury-Schweppes | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 15 | New Zealand Peter Janson |
| Bryan Byrt Ford | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 17 | Australia Dick Johnson |
| Brian Wood Ford Pty Ltd | Ford XC Falcon | 18 | Australia Murray Carter |
| Ford XC Falcon | 66 | Australia Rod Stevens | |
| Ford Escort RS2000 | 69 | Rod Stevens | |
| Gown-Hindaugh | |||
| Roadways Racing | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 20 | Australia Garth Wigston |
| Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X | 21 | Australia Charlie O'Brien | |
| Colin Hall | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 21 | Australia Colin Hall |
| Tim Slako | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 22 | Australia Tim Slako |
| Warren Cullen | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 23 | Warren Cullen |
| Alan Browne | Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X | 24 | Australia Alan Browne |
| Allan Moffat Racing | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 25 | Canada Allan Moffat |
| Marshall Brewer | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 27 | Australia Marshall Brewer |
| Ron Wanless | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 27 | Australia Ron Wanless |
| Ray Allford | Ford XC Falcon Cobra | 28 | Ray Allford |
| Rod Donovan | Ford XC Falcon | 28 | Rod Donovan |
| Garry Willmington | Ford XC Falcon | 29 | Australia Garry Willmington |
| Bill O'Brien | Ford XC Falcon | 30 | Australia Bill O'Brien |
| Greater Pacific Finance | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 33 | Australia Garry Rogers |
| Bill Evans | Ford Escort | 36 | Australia Bill Evans |
| Scotty Taylor Holden | Holden LH Torana SLR5000 L34 | 37 | Alan Taylor |
| Greg Smelt | Holden LH Torana SLR5000 L34 | 38 | Greg Smelt |
| Terry Shiel | Mazda RX-3 | 39 | Australia Terry Shiel |
| Ross Burbidge | Mazda RX-3 | 40 | Australia Ross Burbidge |
| Larry Kogge | Mazda RX-3 | 41 | Larry Kogge |
| Geoff Leeds | Ford Capri V6 | 43 | Australia Geoff Leeds |
| Alan Bryant | Mazda RX-3 | 45 | Alan Bryant |
| Ray Farrar | Ford Capri V6 | 46 | Ray Farrar |
| Barry Jones | Mazda RX-3 | 47 | Australia Barry Jones |
| K.Kemp | Mazda RX-3 | 48 | K.Kemp |
| Capri Components | Ford Capri Mk I | 50 | Australia Lawrie Nelson |
| Terry Daly | Ford Capri V6 | 51 | Terry Daly |
| Masterton Homes | Ford Capri V6 | 52 | Australia Steve Masterton |
| Ray Cutchie | Ford Capri Mk I | 53 | Australia Ray Cutchie |
| Roger Cartwright | Ford Escort RS2000 Mk 1 | 54 | Australia Roger Cartwright |
| Craig Volkers | Ford Capri V6 | 55 | Australia Craig Volkers |
| Martin Power | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | 56 | Australia Martin Power |
| David Cannon | Ford Escort RS2000 | 58 | Australia David Cannon |
| T.Homeyer | Ford Capri V6 | 59 | T.Homeyer |
| Peter Kuebler | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | 62 | Australia Peter Kuebler |
| Ian Chilman | Mazda RX-3 | 62 | Australia Ian Chilman |
| Ray Gulson | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | 64 | Australia Ray Gulson |
| Graeme Hooley | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 71 | Graeme Hooley |
| John Gates | Mazda RX-3 | 72 | John Gates |
| Brian Hall | Toyota Celica | 74 | Australia Brian Hall |
| David Bail | Ford Escort RS2000 | 75 | Australia David Bail |
| Peter Williamson P/L | Toyota Celica | 77 | Australia Peter Williamson |
| John Faulkner | Ford Capri V6 | 79 | John Faulkner |
| Ric Rossiter | Holden LH Torana SLR5000 L34 | 87 | Ric Rossiter |
| Ray Kaleda | Holden LX Torana SS 5000 A9X | 97 | Ray Kaleda |
| Bob Shepherd | Holden LH Torana SLR5000 L34 | 99 | Bob Shepherd |
Classes
For championship points allocation purposes, cars competed in two displacement classes:
- Up to and including 3000 cc
- 3001 to 6000 cc
Points system
Championship points were awarded on a 9,6,4,3,2,1 basis to the first six placegetters in each class and on a 4,3,2,1 basis to the first four placegetters irrespective of class (at each round). Only the best seven results counted towards the total (for each driver).
Championship results
| Pos. | Driver | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Pts. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | Pos | Driver | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Morris | 4th(4) | 2nd(9) | 1st(13) | 1st(13) | 4th(4) | 4th((4)) | 1st(13) | 1st(13) | **69** (73) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter Brock | 5th(2) | 1st(13) | 3rd(6) | 3rd(6) | 1st(13) | 1st(13) | 5th((2)) | 2nd(9) | **62** (64) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Harvey | 1st{13) | 3rd(6) | 4th(4) | 6th((1)) | 2nd(9) | 3rd(6) | 2nd(9) | 3rd(6) | **53** (54) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter Williamson* | 8th(6) | DNS | (9) | 6th(9) | 8th(9) | **33** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlie O'Brien | 5th(2) | 2nd(9) | 2nd(9) | 3rd(6) | **26** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Roger Cartwright* | 9th(4) | (1) | 5th(2) | (4) | (6) | (9) | **26** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allan Grice | 3rd(6) | Ret | 2nd(9) | Ret | 3rd(6) | DNS | **21** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Garth Wigston | 2nd(9) | 6th(1) | 4th(4) | 4th(4) | **18** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lawrie Nelson* | 7th(9) | Ret | 1st{9) | DSQ | **18** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brian Hall* | (9) | (3) | **12** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Steve Masterton* | (6) | 2nd(6) | DNS | DSQ | **12** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Faulkner* | (4) | (6) | **10** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Craig Volkers* | (6) | (4) | **10** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bill Evans* | (9) | **9** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ray Cutchie* | (6) | **6** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter Janson | 4th(4) | 6th(1) | **5** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bill O'Brien | 4th(4) | **4** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geoff Leeds | 3rd(4) | **4** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| David Bail | 4 | **4** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ross Burbidge* | 4th(3) | 6th(1) | **1** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gary Cooke | 6th(1) | (2) | **3** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ray Gulson* | 10th(3) | **3** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barry Jones* | 4th(3) | **3** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Larry Kogge* | (3) | **3** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter Kuebler* | (3) | **3** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Martin Power* | (2) | (1) | **3** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Garry Rogers | 5th(2) | **2** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allan Moffat | Ret | Ret | 5th(2) | **2** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tim Slako | 5th(2) | **2** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dick Johnson | 5th(2) | 7th | **2** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ray Farrar* | (2) | **2** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ian Chilman* | (2) | **2** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rod Stevens | (1) | Ret | **1** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colin Hall | (1) | **1** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Garry Willmington | 6th(1) | **1** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Murray Carter | 6th(1) | **1** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| David Cannon* | (1) | **1** |
|}
- Drivers marked with a * competed in the under 3000 cc class.
References
References
- Conditions for Australian Titles, 1979 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pp. 96–97.
- Australian Touring Car Championship, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, pp. 68–87.
- Records, Titles & Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pp. 14-17.
- 2005 V8 Supercars TV Guide, p. 73.
- The Breville Trophy, Official Souvenir Programme, Adelaide International Raceway, 29 July 1979, pp. 44–45.
- Graham Howard, Stewart Wilson, David Greenhalgh, Privateer pips them, The official history – Australian Touring Car Championship – 50 Years, pp. 190–199.
- Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, p. 74.
- Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, p. 81.
- Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, p. 80.
- Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, p. 68.
- Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, p. 83.
- Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, p. 75.
- Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1979/80, p. 85.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1979 Australian Touring Car Championship — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report