The 1978 Australian Sports Car Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Group D Production Sports Cars. [1] It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian National Title [2] and it was the tenth Australian Sports Car Championship. [3]
The championship 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 International Raceway [5] | 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. [2]
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. [2]
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. [2] Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant round placing was awarded to the driver gaining the higher place in the last heat. [2] Actual championship points were then awarded based on the calculated round placings. [2]
| Position | Driver [4] | Car [4] | Entrant [6] | Class [4] | Calder [7] | Lakeside [7] | Amaroo [7] | Winton [7] | Total [4] |
| 1 | Ross Mathiesen | Porsche Carrera [2] | Ross Mathiesen | Over 2000cc | 9 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 44 |
| 2 | Bill Evans | Triumph TR7 | Playboy Racing Team | Up to 2000cc | 9 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 32 |
| = | Ross Bond | Bolwell Nagari | Ross Bond | Over 2000cc | 13 | 6 | 13 | - | 32 |
| 4 | Allan Hanns | Datsun 2000 | Allan Hanns | Up to 2000cc | 6 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 21 |
| 5 | John Latham | Porsche Carrera | John Latham | Over 2000cc | - | 9 | - | 9 | 18 |
| 6 | Alan Edwards [8] | Bolwell Nagari | Alan Edwards | Over 2000cc | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 7 | Ray Julian [9] | Datsun 2000 | Ray Julian | Up to 2000cc | 1 | 6 | 6 | - | 13 |
| 8 | Neal Swingler [10] | Triumph GT6 | Neal Swingler | Up to 2000cc | 3 | 2 | - | 6 | 11 |
| = | Warwick Henderson | Chevrolet Corvette (C3) | W. Henderson | Over 2000cc | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 |
| 10 | Peter Fitzgerald | Porsche 911S | Complan | Over 2000cc | - | - | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 11 | Fernando D'Alberto | Datsun 260Z | Fernando D'Alberto | Over 2000cc | 2 | - | - | 6 | 8 |
| 12 | Bob Kennedy | Triumph TR5 | Bob Kennedy | Up to 2000cc [11] | 4 | 3 | - | - | 7 |
| 13 | Chris Swingler | Triumph Spitfire | Autocarb | 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 | Ellen Reed | Up to 2000cc | - | 1 | 2 | - | 3 |
| 17 | Bernard van Elsen | Bolwell | Bernard van Elsen | Over 2000cc | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| = | Michael Finnis | Jaguar E-Type | Michael Finnis | Over 2000cc | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| = | Matt Pintar | Bolwell Mark 7 [12] | Over 2000cc | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | |
| = | Gary Ryan | Triumph Spitfire | Up to 2000cc | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Jim Shepherd, Australian Sports Car Championship, 1978, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 178 to 179