1981 Australian Rally Championship

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The 1981 Australian Rally Championship was a series of rallying events held across Australia. It was the 14th season in the history of the competition.

Geoff Portman and navigator Ross Runnalls in the Datsun Stanza won the 1981 Championship.

Season review

The 1981 season saw the Datsun Stanzas dominate the competition once more, taking out first, second and third places in the championship. It was the sixth championship for Datsun in seven years, with wins in all five rounds. The Nissan Rally Team were the only "works" supported team competing in the championship following the withdrawal of the Ford Rally and Holden Dealer teams at the end of the 1980 season. This was the final season for the Nissan Rally Team when Nissan transferred their interest to circuit racing with the turbo charged Nissan Bluebird.

The Rallies

The five events of the 1981 season were as follows. [1]

RoundRallyDate
1Rally of the West (WA)
2Lutwyche Village Rally (QLD)
3 Bega Valley Rally (NSW)
4Akademos Rally (VIC)
5Alpine Rally (VIC)

Round One – Commonwealth Bank Rally of the West

PositionDriverNavigatorCarTime
1 Ross Dunkerton Jeff Beaumont Datsun Stanza 262.41
2Clive SlaterRod van der Straaten Toyota Corolla 263.40
3Bob NicoliPeter McNeall Datsun P510 268.24
4Jim MardenAdrian Stafford Datsun P510 281.23
5Chris HakeVicki Hake Datsun P510 285.06
6Mark AndersonTim Hatley Datsun P510 288.44
7Frank JohnsonBrian Small Mazda 323 288.48
8Peter FloodGraham Romyn Holden Gemini 293.51
9Murray CooteBrian Marsden Mazda 626 296.43
10Ed MulliganGeoff Jones Escort BDA 298.21

Round Two – Lutwyche Village Rally

PositionDriverNavigatorCarTime
1Geoff PortmanRoss Runnalls Datsun Stanza SSS 5h 15m 31s
2 Ross Dunkerton Jeff Beaumont Datsun Stanza SSS 5h 16m 52s
3George FuryMonty Suffern Datsun Stanza SSS 5h 19m 47s
4Murray CooteBrian Marsden Mazda 626 5h 29m 13s
5Peter PhillipsPeter Garbett Datsun 1600 5h 39m 14s
6Mark HankinsonGraham Moule Toyota T-18 5h 53m 58s
7John BerneBruce Fullerton Ford Escort RS2000 5h 57m 35s
8Doug ThompsonRon Lugg Datsun Stanza SSS 5h 59m 33s
9Bruce GarlandAllan Brown Ford Escort 6h 02m 33s
10Peter KellyGreg Coonan Ford Escort 6h 04m 32s

Round Three – Bega Valley Rally

PositionDriverNavigatorCarTime
1Geoff PortmanRoss Runnalls Datsun Stanza SSS 4h 31m 22s
2Wayne BellCol Parry Holden Commodore 4h 41m 13s
3Chris BrownSimon Brown Datsun 180B 4h 43m 06s
4Gordon LevenRobbie Wilson Datsun Stanza SSS 4h 52m 26s
5Doug ThompsonRon Lugg Datsun Stanza SSS 4h 52m 47s
6Ian McKenzieMick Harker Datsun 1600 4h 55m 36s
7John FraserGuenter Nowacki Mitsubishi Lancer 4h 57m 44s
8Chris BerryJohn Robinson Datsun 5h 02m 31s
9Paul BrambleKelvin Hayes Mitsubishi Galant 5h 03m 49s
10Peter GlennieMike Ryan Datsun 200B 5h 04m 05s

Round Four – Akademos Rally

PositionDriverNavigatorCarTime
1Geoff PortmanRoss Runnalls Datsun Stanza SSS 2h 46m 13s
2George FuryMonty Suffern Datsun Stanza SSS 2h 48m 22s
3Wayne BellCol Parry Holden Commodore 2h 57m 34s
4Chris BrownSimon Brown Datsun 180B 2h 58m 32s
5John AtkinsonBob Comley Datsun Stanza SSS 3h 03m 36s
6John BrammanGeoff Cuttriss Ford Escort Twin Cam 3h 09m 38s
7Peter GloverSue Wiseman Ford Escort 3h 09m 51s
8Gordon LevenRobert Wilson Datsun Stanza SSS 3h 12m 03s
9Garry HarrowfieldIan Ellis Datsun 1600 3h 18m 29s
10Gary CrealyBarry Collins Datsun 1600 3h 18m 59s

Round Five – Alpine Rally

PositionDriverNavigatorCarTime
1Geoff PortmanRoss Runnalls Datsun Stanza SSS 5h 58m 12s
2George FuryMonty Suffern Datsun Stanza SSS 6h 07m 14s
3Doug ThompsonRon Lugg Datsun Stanza SSS 6h 14m 07s
4Alex FitcherNoel Richards Datsun 1600 6h 18m 24s
5John BerneDavid Pieti Ford Escort BDA 6h 25m 32s
6Ian SwanMike Prendergast Datsun Stanza SSS 6h 30m 23s
7Chris WallLloyd Minifie Datsun P510 6h 33m 42s
8Greg TrotterPhil Yeomans Mazda RX-3 6h 34m 53s
9Peter NelsonGraham Moule Datsun H510 SSS 6h 40m 41s
10John AtkinsonBob Comley Datsun Stanza SSS 6h 41m 09s

1981 Drivers and Navigators Championships

Final pointscore for 1981 is as follows.

Geoff Portman – Champion Driver 1981

PositionDriverCarPoints
1Geoff Portman Datsun Stanza SSS 80
2George Fury Datsun Stanza SSS 42
3 Ross Dunkerton Datsun Stanza SSS 35
4Wayne Bell Holden Commodore 25
5Chris Brown Datsun 180B 24
6Doug Thompson Datsun Stanza SSS 23
7Clive Slater Toyota Corolla 15
8Gordon Leven Datsun Stanza SSS 14
=9Ed Mulligan Escort BDA 12
=9John Berne Ford Escort BDA 12
11Murray Coote Mazda 929 11
=12Bob Nicoli Datsun 1600 10
=12Allan Fitcher Datsun 1600 10
14John Atkinson Datsun Stanza SSS 9
15Jim Martin Datsun 1600 8

Ross Runnalls – Champion Navigator 1981

PositionNavigatorCarPoints
1Ross Runnalls Datsun Stanza SSS 80
2Monty Suffern Datsun Stanza SSS 42
3Jeff Beaumont Datsun Stanza SSS 35
4Col Parry Holden Commodore 25
5Simon Brown Datsun 180B 24
6Ron Lugg Datsun Stanza SSS 23
7Rod van der Straaten Toyota Corolla 15
8Robert Wilson Datsun Stanza SSS 14
9Geoff Jones Escort BDA 12
10Brian Marsden Mazda 929 11
=11Noel Richards Ford Escort BDA 10
=11Peter McNeil Datsun 1600 10
13Bob Comley Datsun 1600 9
=14Adrian Stafford Datsun Stanza SSS 8
=14Peter Garbett Datsun 1600 8

References

  1. ↑ Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1981/82 ISSN 0158-4138
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