The 1981 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for

Group B Sports Sedans A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1981, Page 94 It was sanctioned by the

Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport in Australia. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'A ...

and was the sixth

Australian Sports Sedan Championship The National Series for Sports Sedans, formerly the Australian Sports Sedan Championship, is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars complying with Australian Sports Sedan regulations. This class, essentially a silhou ...

. Reigning champion Tony Edmonson, won his second consequtive title in the Don Elliot-owned Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV, this time fitted with an ex-

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

5.0L

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

instead of the Repco Holden V8 used in 1980. His closest competition came from the 6.0 litre

Chevrolet Monza The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact automobile produced by Chevrolet for the 1975 through 1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width, and standard inline-four engine. The car was designed to accommoda ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

's John Briggs, who finished second, with

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's Phil Ward third in his

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

sponsored Holden Monaro HQ. Both the Alfa Romeo and the Chevrolet were built by Adelaide-based K&A Engineering. The championship was the last for Australian driver / businessman

Bob Jane Robert Frederick Jane (18 December 1929 – 28 September 2018) was an Australian race car driver and prominent entrepreneur and business tycoon. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a ...

, who drove his Pat Purcell-built

to equal ninth in the series. Jane, who had won the

Bathurst 500 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rec ...

on four occasions in the 1960s and had also won four

Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...

s, retired from driving at the end of 1981 due to an ongoing back injury. The Sports Sedan Championship was discontinued with the introduction of the

Australian GT Championship The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race a ...

in 1982. Some Sports Sedans were converted to GT specifications and others competed in the new championship with the GT cars. The GT Championship itself lasted only until

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

before also being disbanded. Although there would be minor Sports Sedan series contested in various Australian states, the Australian Sports Sedan Championship itself would not return to the Australian calendar until

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Calendar

The championship was contested over eleven rounds.

Points

Championship points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six placegetters in each round. Only the best nine round performances were counted towards each driver's championship total. For rounds run over two heats, round points were awarded on a 20–16–13–11–10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis to the top 14 placegetters in each heat. The six drivers attaining the highest aggregate from the two heats were then awarded the championship points for that round. If more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant round placing was awarded to the driver who achieved the higher placing in the second heat.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1981, pages 91–92

Results

{, class="wikitable" generated with :de:Wikipedia:Helferlein/VBA-Macro for EXCEL tableconversion V1.4<\hiddentext> , - style="font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold" ! Position ! Driver ! No. ! Car ! Entrant ! Rd 1 ! Rd 2 ! Rd 3 ! Rd 4 ! Rd 5 ! Rd 6 ! Rd 7 ! Rd 8 ! Rd 9 ! Rd 10 ! Rd 11 ! Total , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 1 , Tony Edmondson , align="center" , 1 , Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV

, Donald Elliott , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , 67 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 2 , John Briggs , align="center" , 9 ,

, John Roberts , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 43 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 3 , Phil Ward , align="center" , 2 , Holden Monaro HQ , Australian Penthouse Racing , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 35 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 4 , Garry Rogers , align="center" , 34 , Holden Torana LX ,

Garry Rogers Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the te ...

, align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 26 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 5 ,

Allan Grice Allan Maxwell Grice (born 21 October 1942), known to motor-racing fans as "Gricey", is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 (1986 and 1990), and as a privateer driver o ...

, align="center" , 11 , BMW 318i ,

JPS Team BMW JPS Team BMW is a former Australian motor racing team that ran from 1981–1987. The team's main focus was touring car racing but also ran in sports sedans and GT cars as well. The team, under the management of former British Touring Car Cham ...

, align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 9 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 22 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 6 , Tony Parkinson , align="center" , 28 & 12 , Holden Commodore VB , QH – Adelaide Brake Service , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , 18 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 7 , Clem Smith , align="center" , 16 , Chrysler Valiant Charger VH , Clem Smith , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , 8 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 8 , Peter Finch , align="center" , 16 , Holden Monaro HQ , Peter Finch , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 6 , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 7 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! rowspan=3 , 9 ,

, align="center" , 10 & 7 ,

Bob Jane T-Marts Bob Jane T-Marts is a chain of tyre stores founded by former race car driver Bob Jane in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1965. The company has grown to encompass over 100 franchises across Australia. Overview The company remains an independe ...

, align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , 5 , - style="font-size:10pt" , John English , align="center" , 14 , Ford Escort Mk 1 Mazda , Bryan Byrt Ford , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 5 , - style="font-size:10pt" , John Tesoriero , align="center" , 32 , Volvo 242 , John Tesoriero , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 5 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! rowspan=2 , 12 , Geoff Boyd , align="center" , 29 , Holden Torana , Carling Constructions , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Gordon Mitchell , align="center" , 57 , Alfa Romeo GTV , Cechelle Motors , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 4 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! rowspan=2 , 14 , Ken James , align="center" , 49 ,

Mazda RX-3 The is an automobile which was produced by Mazda in Japan from 1971 to 1978. It was sold as the Mazda 808 in some export markets including Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and as the Mazda 818 in many others - this was mostly due to Peugeot hav ...

, , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Dick Ward , align="center" , 27 ,

Fiat Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a styliz ...

, Go Gear-rotomotion , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 3 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! rowspan=6 , 16 , Jeff Groves , align="center" , 97 , Ford Escort , Jeff Groves , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Bob Stevens , align="center" , 17 , Holden Monaro HQ , Bob Stevens , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Paul Jones , align="center" , 64 ,

, Paul Jones , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Rusty French , align="center" , 23 , Ford Falcon XD , Rusty French Racing , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Craig Marsland , align="center" , 56 , Chrysler Valiant Charger , Pizza Hut , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Rob Davies , align="center" , 44 , Ford Escort Mk 1 , , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! 22 , Kent Youlden , align="center" , 55 , Ford Cortina TE , Dowsett Engineering , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 2 , - style="font-size:10pt" ! rowspan=6 , 23 , John White , align="center" , 65 ,

, John White , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , - style="font-size:10pt" ,

Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia. Biography Early years Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Eddi ...

, align="center" , 69 ,

Holden Commodore VC The Holden Commodore (VC) is a mid-size car that was produced by Holden, from 1980 to 1981. It was the second iteration of the first generation of the Holden Commodore. Overview The VC Commodore was launched on 30 March 1980 and is prima ...

, Launceston Hotel , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Gordon Stephenson , align="center" , 75 , Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT , Gordon Stephenson , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Kerry Baily , align="center" , 58 ,

Holden Torana GTR XU-1 The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car that was manufactured by Holden from 1967 to 1980. The name apparently comes from an word meaning "to fly" in an unconfirmed Aboriginal Australian language. The original HB series Torana was released in 1 ...

, , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Richard Purtell , align="center" , 62 ,

, , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , - style="font-size:10pt" , Luigi DeLuca , align="center" , 22 ,

Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Anglias ...

, DWU Australia Pty Ltd , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , – , align="center" , 1 , align="center" , 1 * Note: The top six results in the above table are based on those published in Australian Motor Racing Year, 1981, Page 164 however additional positions below the top six have been calculated from results for Rounds 1 through 10 in the same publication and results for the final round in Racing Car News, November 1981, page 35.

References

External links

Records,Titles and Awards at www.camsmanual.com.au

Sports Sedan Championship National Sports Sedan Series

Calendar

Points

Results

References

Further reading

External links