1983 Australian Rally Championship

Last updated

1983 Australian Rally Championship
Previous: 1982 Next: 1984

The 1983 Australian Rally Championship was a series of four rallying events held across Australia. It was the 16th season in the history of the competition.

Australian Rally Championship

The Australian Rally Championship (ARC) is Australia's leading off-road motor rally competition. A multi-event national championship has been held each year since 1968.

Rallying form of motorsport where modified or specially built road-legal compete not on a circuit, but instead in a point-to-point format

Rally is a form of motorsport that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars. It is distinguished by running not on a circuit, but instead in a point-to-point format in which participants and their co-drivers drive between set control points, leaving at regular intervals from one or more start points. Rallies may be won by pure speed within the stages or alternatively by driving to a predetermined ideal journey time within the stages.

Contents

Ross Dunkerton won the 1983 Drivers Championship and Geoff Jones took out the navigators honours for the year.

Ross Dunkerton Rally Driver, Media presenter

Ross Dunkerton is an Australian rally driver. Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, he was previously a councillor for the Town of Bassendean, but moved with his family to Cairns in Far North Queensland in late 2007.

Season review

The 16th Australian Rally Championship was held over four events across Australia, the season consisting of one event each for Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and West Australia. With the series being reduced to four events for the year, the field split between two categories with the introduction of Group A cars and the lack of any factory backed teams, things did not look promising. This was compounded when the second round in Queensland was postponed twice due to inclement weather. However it was an interesting and hard fought season with Dunkerton taking out his fifth title and using three different cars and two navigators to do so. The navigator's title went to Geoff Jones who was with runner up to the driver's title Peter Johnson for all four events.

Queensland North-east state of Australia

Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, with Papua New Guinea located less than 200 km across it from the mainland. The state is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity, with an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi).

Victoria (Australia) State in Australia

Victoria is a state in south-eastern Australia. Victoria is Australia's smallest mainland state and its second-most populous state overall, making it the most densely populated state overall. Most of its population lives concentrated in the area surrounding Port Phillip Bay, which includes the metropolitan area of its state capital and largest city, Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. Victoria is bordered by Bass Strait and Tasmania to the south, New South Wales to the north, the Tasman Sea, to the east, and South Australia to the west.

New South Wales State of Australia

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In March 2019, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

The Rallies

The five events of the 1983 season were as follows. [1] [2]

RoundRallyDate
1The Sunday Times Safari (WA)4–5 June 1983
2The James Hardie National Rally (QLD)16–17 July 1983
3Dunlop 2GO Rally (NSW)13–14 August 1983
4The Enka-Fill Alpine Rally (VIC)19–20 November 1983

Round One – The Sunday Times Safari

PositionDriverNavigatorCarPenalties
1 Greg Carr Fred Gocentas Fiat 131 Abarth 219.37
2John MacaraDavid Hatley Datsun 1600 228.31
=3 Ross Dunkerton Steve McKimmie Datsun 1600 229.05
=3David OfficerKate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 229.05
5Ken JossLeo Iriks Datsun 1600 234.08
6Peter ThompsonSimon Scott Datsun Stanza 243.33

Group A

PositionDriverNavigatorCarPenalties
1Chris BrownNoel Richards Holden Commodore SS 251.48
2Caroline O’ShannesyJill Davies Fiat 131 Superbrava 322.05

Round Two – The James Hardie National Rally

PositionDriverNavigatorCarPenalties
1 Ross Dunkerton David Kortlang Datsun Stanza 206.38
2Peter GlennieBrian Smith Datsun 200B 209.24
3David OfficerKate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 211.22
4Peter ThompsonSimon Scott Datsun Stanza 216.53
5Murray CooteBrian Marsden Datsun 1200 218.03
6Wayne BellDave Boddy Toyota T18 221.02

Group A

PositionDriverNavigatorCarPenalties
1Peter JohnsonGeoff Jones Mazda RX-7
2Peter LockhartJohn Hall Isuzu Gemini PF50

Round Three – The Dunlop 2GO Rally

PositionDriverNavigatorCarPenalties
1Ian HillPhil Bonser Ford Escort RS 181.18
2Murray CooteBrian Marsden Datsun 1200 181.40
3David OfficerKate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 182.18
4Graham WiseJohn Williams Datsun 1600 184.18
5Clive SlaterAlan Stafford Toyota Celica 184.23
6Ron CremmenM Verrall Datsun Stanza 184.45

Group A

PositionDriverNavigatorCarPenalties
1Peter JohnsonGeoff Jones Mazda RX-7 198.36
2Russell WorthingtonSimon Kabel Mazda 626 199.30

Round Four – The Enka-Fill Alpine Rally

PositionDriverNavigatorCarPenalties
1Ian HillPhil Bonser Ford Escort RS 4:04.57
2Hugh BellPaul Paterson Datsun 1600 "Dazda" 4:05.06
3David OfficerKate Hobson Mitsubishi Galant 4:06.46
4Clive SlaterSteve Owers Toyota Celica 4:12.42
5John BerneBruce Fullerton Ford Escort RS 4:14.39
6Chris WallJim Maude Datsun 1600 4:14.46
7Rod JonesMark Blume Datsun 1600 4:15.39
8Peter GloverDavid Burns Ford Escort 4:16.13
9Steve AshtonBernard Peasley Datsun 1600 4:16.28
10Barry LoweTed Dobrzynski Datsun 1600 "Dazda" 4:18.09

1983 Drivers and Navigators Championships

Final pointscore for 1983 is as follows. [3]

Ross Dunkerton – Champion Driver 1983

PositionDriverCarPoints
1 Ross Dunkerton Datsun 1600
Datsun Stanza
Holden Commodore
56.5
2Peter Johnson Mazda RX-7 55
3David Officer Mitsubishi Galant 54.5
4Ian Hill Ford Escort 48
5Russell Worthington Mazda 626 39
6Caroline O'Shannesy Fiat 131 Superbrava 35
7Murray Coote Datsun 1200 26
8Greg Carr Fiat 131 Abarth 24
9Peter Lockhart Isuzu Gemini 23
10Chris Browne Holden Commodore 20

Geoff Jones – Champion Navigator 1983

PositionNavigatorCarPoints
1Geoff Jones(with Johnson)55
2Kate Hobson(with Officer)54 1/2
3Phil Bonser(with Hill)48
4David Kortlang(with Dunkerton)44
5Gary Kabel(with Worthington)39
6Meg Davis(with O'Shannesy)35
7Brian Marsden(with Coote)26
8Fred Gocentas(with Carr)24
9Stephen Treadwell(with Lockhart)23
10Noel Richards(with Brown)20

Related Research Articles

The 1993 Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Brabham regulations. The championship winner was awarded the 1993 CAMS Gold Star.

The 1983 Australian Formula 2 Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of racing cars complying with Australian Formula 2 regulations.

The 1989 Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Holden regulations. The championship winner was awarded the 1989 CAMS Gold Star as the Australian Drivers' Champion. It was the 33rd running of the Australian Drivers' Championship and the first to feature the Formula Holden class which had been developed during 1988, originally named Formula Australia.

The 1987 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title contested over a single race for Australian Formula 2 racing cars. The race, billed as the "Australia Cup for the 1987 CAMS Gold Star", was staged at the Adelaide Street Circuit in South Australia on Friday, 13 November 1987. This was the first year that the championship had been restricted to Australian Formula 2 cars and is the only year to date in which the title has been awarded on the results of a single race rather than a series of races.

1987 Wellington 500

The 1987 Nissan Mobil 500 was the tenth round of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. The race was held for cars eligible for Group A touring car regulations. It was held on October 26, 1987, at the Wellington Street Circuit in the docks area of Wellington, New Zealand.

The 1989 Pepsi 300 was an endurance race for Group 3A Touring Cars. The event was held at the Oran Park Raceway in New South Wales, Australia on 19 August 1989 over 115 laps of the 2.62 km circuit, a total distance of 301 km. This was the 11th and last touring car endurance race held at Oran Park.

The 1987 Fuji InterTEC 500 was the eleventh and final round of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship. The race was held for cars eligible for Group A touring car regulations. It was held on November 15, 1987, at the Fuji Speedway in Oyama, Japan.

Alfredo Costanzo is a retired Italian born Australian racing driver. From 1980–1983 Costanzo won a record four Australian Drivers' Championship in a row, equalling the record set by Bib Stillwell from 1962–1965.

The 1994 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Brabham regulations. The championship winner was awarded the 1994 CAMS Gold Star as the Australian Champion Driver. It was the 38th running of the Australian Drivers' Championship and the sixth to feature the Formula Holden / Formula Brabham category which had been developed during 1988. The championship began on 17 April 1994 at Eastern Creek Raceway and ended on 28 August at Oran Park Raceway after six rounds.

The 1976 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the ninth season in the history of the competition.

The 1977 Australian Rally Championship was a series of five rallying events held across Australia. It was the tenth season in the history of the competition.

The 1980 Australian Rally Championship was a series of five rallying events held across Australia. It was the 13th season in the history of the competition.

The 1985 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the 18th season in the history of the competition.

The 1984 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the 17th season in the history of the competition.

1982 Australian Rally Championship

The 1982 Australian Rally Championship was a series of five rallying events held across Australia. It was the 15th season in the history of the competition.

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.

The 1989 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the 22nd season in the history of the competition.

The 1988 Australian Rally Championship was a series of four rallying events held across Australia. It was the 21st season in the history of the competition.

The 1986 Australian Rally Championship was a series of six rallying events held across Australia. It was the 19th season in the history of the competition.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Australian Motor Racing Year 1983/84 ISSN 0158-4138
  3. Australian Motor Racing Year 1983/84 ISSN 0158-4138