1984 Australian GT Championship

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The 1984 Australian GT Championship was an CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title and was the seventh Australian GT Championship to be awarded. [1] It was a series open to grand tourer cars complying with CAMS Group D regulations with Group B Sports Sedans competing by invitation. The series was contested over six rounds from 15 April to 9 September 1984.

Some of the cars that competed in the series included the Chevrolet Monza, Jaguar XJ-S, Porsche Carrera RSR, Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV, Porsche 935, BMW 318i Turbo, Holden Commodore and Holden Monaro and Ford Falcon. Other than the 5.6 L V12 Jaguar, the turbo Porsche 935 and BMW 318i and the 3.2 L Flat-6 Porsche RSR, most of the top cars were powered by 5.0 L or 6.0 L Chevrolet V8 engines, though Bryan Thompson's Mercedes was powered by a twin turbo 4.2 L Chevrolet V8.

Australian Touring Car Championship and Bathurst 1000 regular Allan Grice (probably the only full-time professional driver in the field), won the series driving the ex-Bob Jane 6.0 L Chevrolet Monza from Queenslander Mark Trenoweth driving the ex-John McCormack Jaguar XJ-S and Series Production ace Peter Fitzgerald in his Porsche Carrera RSR. Fitzgerald, the only driver other than Grice to win a race in the championship*, did not enter the first two races of the series at Lakeside and Adelaide, thus his win at Calder was his first points for the season. Going into the last round of the series at the then new 3.9 km (2.4 mi) International circuit at Sandown, only Grice and Trenoweth could win the championship, but with the Sydney based driver winning both heats and the Queenslander only finishing 4th and 3rd, the title was Grice's. It was Grice's third (and ultimately last) national title win after also capturing the 1978 and 1979 Australian Sports Sedan Championships (the SS Championship was merged into the GT Championship in 1982). The expected challenge from dual Australian Sports Sedan champion Tony Edmonson in the Don Elliot owned Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Chevrolet (upgraded from 5.0 to 6.0 L) was hamstrung by reliability problems with the Chevrolet V8. On occasion Edmonson showed the speed to match Grice and indeed set the category lap record at Winton (which still stands as of 2016) while leading Grice in the first heat, but he rarely finished a race due to engine dramas.

Despite his final winning margin being only 12.5 points, Grice and the Monza dominated the series. He sat on pole position for every round, his biggest pole margin over the field being a full 4 seconds at Sandown, and not only did he win all bar one race in the championship he also set the fastest lap for every race except for the first heat in the first round at Lakeside and the first heat of the last round at Sandown. Bryan Thompson in his Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC Chev V8 was credited with the fastest race lap in both races (the Mercedes reportedly had over 900 bhp (671 kW; 912 PS) compared to the Monza's 650 bhp (485 kW; 659 PS), but was not as reliable, often retiring with turbo failure).

* Fitzgerald won at Calder after race leader Grice retired with just over a lap remaining with no fuel pressure. Grice held an eight second lead at the time of his retirement. Bryan Thompson suffered turbocharger failure in the Mercedes-Benz on the warmup lap and took over Tino Leo's Holden Monaro to finish 9th.

Schedule

RoundCircuitDateFormatRace winnersRound winnerCarReport
1 Lakeside International Raceway 15 AprilOne race Allan Grice Allan Grice Chevrolet Monza
2 Adelaide International Raceway 6 MayTwo heats Allan Grice
Allan Grice
Allan Grice Chevrolet Monza [2]
3 Calder Park Raceway 29 JulyOne racePeter FitzgeraldPeter Fitzgerald Porsche Carrera RSR [3]
4 Winton Motor Raceway 12 AugustTwo heats Allan Grice
Allan Grice
Allan Grice Chevrolet Monza
5 Surfers Paradise Raceway 26 AugustTwo heats Allan Grice
Allan Grice
Allan Grice Chevrolet Monza
6 Sandown Raceway 9 SeptemberTwo heats Allan Grice
Allan Grice
Allan Grice Chevrolet Monza

Results

Points were awarded on a 30-27-24-21-19-17-15-14-13-12 basis to the top ten outright finishers in each round. For rounds that featured two heats, the points were halved for each heat. All scores counted towards the championship.

Only the top 20 drivers are listed.

PosDriverNo.CarEntrantRd 1Rd 2Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Total
1 Allan Grice 4 Chevrolet Monza Re-Car Racing3030-303030150
2Mark Trenoweth8 Jaguar XJ-S Mark Trenoweth/Jaguar Racing2425.5192125.522.5137.5
3Peter Fitzgerald3 Porsche Carrera RSR Peter Fitzgerald/Stanilite Electronics--30272125.5103.5
4Bryan Thomson17
86
Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC-Chevrolet
Holden Monaro HQ
Thomson-Fowler Motorsport
Tino Leo
2713.51312-13.579
5John Bourke77 Toyota Celica Turbo Biran Hilton Toyota21-17-19-57
6Bob Jolly31 Holden Commodore Bob Jolly-21.52112--54.5
7Robin Doherty18 Holden Torana LX Hatchback Robin Doherty-6.52415.5--46
8Jeff Barnes3 & 6Chevrolet MonzaLithgow VHS Video-20--25.5-45.5
9Doug Clark78Toyota CelicaBrian Hilton Toyota19---16-35
10Mick Monterosso2 Ford Escort Mk I Garry Sloper-17-17.5--34.5
11Tino Leo86Holden Monaro HQTino Leo-17-16--34
12Tony Hubbard15 Ford Falcon XC Hardtop Scandia Heaters--27---27
13Cos Monterosso69 Ford Escort Mk II --157--22
13Ray Ellis38 Holden Torana ---6-1622
15John Chambers91 Holden Gemini --126-18
16Gerry Bezett74Holden Commodore SS17-----27
17Simon Harrex49Holden Commodore SS----15.5-15.5
18Bonny Cameron110 Holden Torana LC 15-----15
19Larry Kogge41 Mazda R100 ---7.5-714.5
19Luigi Deluca22 Ford Anglia DWU Australia-14.5----14.5

References

Further reading