The 1978 Australian Sports Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title[1] for Group D Production Sports Cars.[2] The title, which was the tenth Australian Sports Car Championship,[3] was won by Ross Mathiesen,[4] driving a Porsche Carrera.[3]
The championship was contested over a four-round series.[4]
Round[4] | Circuit[4] | State | Date[4] | Format[4] | Round winner[4] | Car |
1 | Calder | Victoria | 10 March | Two heats | Ross Bond | Bolwell Nagari |
2 | Lakeside | Queensland | 2 April | Two heats | Ross Mathiesen | Porsche Carrera |
3 | Amaroo Park | New South Wales | 21 May | One race | Ross Bond | Bolwell Nagari |
4 | Winton | Victoria | 20 August | Two heats | Ross Mathiesen | Porsche Carrera |
Cars competed in two engine displacement classes.[1]
Championship points were awarded at each round on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six finishers in each class, and on a 4-3-2-1 to the first four finisher outright, irrespective of class.[1]
At rounds which were contested over two heats, round placings were determined by allocating "points" to the first fourteen placegetters in each heat on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.[1] Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant round placing was awarded to driver gaining the higher place in the last heat.[1] Actual championship points were then awarded based on the calculated round placings.[1]
Position | Driver[4] | Car[4] | Class[4] | Calder[5] | Lakeside[5] | Amaroo[5] | Winton[5] | Total[4] |
1 | Ross Mathiesen | Porsche Carrera[1] | Over 2000cc | 9 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 44 |
2 | Bill Evans | Triumph TR7 | Up to 2000cc | 9 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 32 |
Ross Bond | Bolwell Nagari | Over 2000cc | 13 | 6 | 13 | - | 32 | |
4 | Allan Hanns | Datsun 2000 | Up to 2000cc | 6 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 21 |
5 | John Latham | Porsche Carrera | Over 2000cc | - | 9 | - | 9 | 18 |
6 | Allan Edwards | Bolwell Nagari | Over 2000cc | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
7 | Ray Julien | Datsun 2000 | Up to 2000cc | 1 | 6 | 6 | - | 13 |
8 | Neil Swingler | Triumph GT6 | Up to 2000cc | 3 | 2 | - | 6 | 11 |
Warwick Henderson | Chevrolet Corvette (C3) | Over 2000cc | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 | |
10 | Peter Fitzgerald | Porsche 911S | Over 2000cc | - | - | 6 | 3 | 9 |
11 | Fernando D'Alberto | Datsun 260Z | Over 2000cc | 2 | - | - | 6 | 8 |
12 | Bob Kennedy | Triumph TR5 | Up to 2000cc[6] | 4 | 3 | - | - | 7 |
13 | Chris Swingler | Triumph Spitfire | Up to 2000cc | 2 | - | - | 3 | 5 |
14 | Rex Colliver | Lotus 47 | Up to 2000cc | - | - | - | 4 | 4 |
15 | Anthony Timmins | Austin-Healey Sprite | Up to 2000cc | - | - | 3 | - | 3 |
Ellen Reed | MG Midget | Up to 2000cc | - | 1 | 2 | - | 3 | |
17 | Bernard van Elsen | Bolwell | Over 2000cc | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
Michael Finnis | Jaguar E-Type | Over 2000cc | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | |
Matt Pintar | Bolwell Mark 7[7] | Over 2000cc | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | |
Gary Ryan | Triumph Spitfire | Up to 2000cc | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |