1980 Australian Touring Car Championship

Motor racing competition March 2021 April 2011 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship 1979 1981 thumb|right|Peter Brock's championship winning Holden VB Commodore on display at Sandown in 2009 The 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Group C Touring Cars.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1980 Authorised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as a National Title, it was the 21st Australian Touring Car Championship. The championship was won by Peter Brock driving a Holden Commodore VB. Season summary Peter Brock won his third and final ATCC title, driving a Holden VB Commodore for the Marlboro Holden Dealer Team which he had purchased from team owner/manager John Sheppard in late 1979 after Holden had pulled out of the sport following the domination by the Toranas in 1978 and 1979. After buying the team, Brock, backed by Adelaide based Holden dealer Vin Keane, actually went around Australia to the Holden dealers in a successful attempt to help finance the team which also saw the launch of the HDT Special Vehicles which built "hotter" versions of the road-going Holden Commodore. This effectively meant that for the first time since being founded by Harry Firth in 1969, the HDT was actually a Dealers Team rather than a backdoor factory operation. Brock and Sheppard had been secretly testing a VB Commodore in late 1979 in readiness for the rule changes enforced by CAMS. These rule changes aimed at reducing engine emissions, mostly sparked by the 1970s Oil Crisis, effectively made the Toranas and Falcon Hardtops of the previous years ineligible. By the start of the ATCC, Brock and the HDT were the only team anywhere near ready to race, and it showed in the results. Brock won four of the eight rounds, including the opening three rounds. He also put his Commodore on pole position at each round of the championship. Former twice CAMS Gold Star winner and 1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 winner Kevin Bartlett recovered from his 1979 Formula 5000 crash and finished second in the championship in his Channel 9 sponsored Chevrolet Camaro Z28 (financed by Nine's owner, media magnate and one of the richest people in Australia, Kerry Packer). Bartlett broke Brock's winning run, using the superior power of the 5.7-litre Chevrolet to win at Sandown, and would later win the penultimate round in Adelaide. Bartlett's win at Sandown was the first non-Ford or Holden outright ATCC win since Bob Jane took his championship winning Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 to victory in Round 6 of the 1972 ATCC at Surfers Paradise. Sydney based Toyota dealer Peter Williamson finished third in the championship in his Class B Toyota Celica, benefiting from class wins and generally poor or small fields (especially in the outright Class A) resulting from teams rushing to get the new generation cars race ready. Reigning champion Bob Morris had lost his major sponsor when Ron Hodgson had pulled out at the end of 1979, so Morris entered into an uneasy relationship with Allan Grice's Craven Mild Racing which was run by Morris' former Bathurst co-driver Frank Gardner. Grice drove one of the 1979 Toranas to victory at Wanneroo in Perth. The Torana, with drum brakes at the rear as well as the required "low emission" heads, had seen a drop in horsepower from 1979's 380 bhp kW PS 0 on to just on 300 bhp kW PS 0 on. Grice only competed in four rounds and finished eighth in the title. Morris endured an unhappy championship trying to develop the teams Commodore and could only finish fifth on points, though he did win the final round at Oran Park. After Ford Australia pulled out of racing at the end of 1978, and being forced to go it alone as a privateer in 1979, the 1980 ATCC was the first time since 1968 that triple champion Allan Moffat did not contest the championship, with the Canadian born driver instead winning the Australian Sports Car Championship in a Porsche 930 Turbo. After winning four ATCC titles during the 1970s, this would prove to be the only ATCC won by a Holden driver during the 1980s. The next win would not be until 1994. Teams and drivers The following drivers and teams competed in the 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship. TeamCarNoDriver Ron Dickson Chevrolet Camaro Z28 2 AUS Ron Dickson Cadbury-Schweppes Racing Holden LX Torana A9X SS Hatchback 3 NZL Peter Janson Wayne Negus Holden VB Commodore 4 AUS Wayne Negus Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Holden VB Commodore 05 AUS Peter Brock Craven Mild Racing Holden LX Torana A9X SS Hatchback 6 AUS Allan Grice Holden VB Commodore 7 AUS Bob Morris Garry Willmington Ford XD Falcon 8 AUS Garry Willmington Nine Network Racing Team Chevrolet Camaro Z28 9 AUS Kevin Bartlett Gary Cooke Holden VB Commodore 11 AUS Gary Cooke John French Alfa Romeo 2000 GTVGraham Howard, Stewart Wilso, David Greenhalgh, The official history - Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years, page 209 12 AUS John French Fred Geissler Holden VB Commodore 16 AUS Fred Geissler Murray Carter Ford XD Falcon 18 AUS Murray Carter Roadways Racing Holden VB Commodore 21 AUS Charlie O'Brien Australia Garth Wigston Re-Car Racing Holden VB Commodore 26 AUS Alan BrowneAustralia Brian Sampson Bill O'Brien Ford XC Falcon 30 AUS Bill O'Brien Masterton Homes Ford Capri Mk.II 31 AUS Steve Masterton AUS Colin Bond Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.III 35 AUS Don Smith Barry Jones Mazda RX-3 39 AUS Barry Jones Peter McLeod Mazda RX-7 40 AUS Peter McLeod Larry Kogge Mazda RX-3 41 AUS Larry Kogge John Faulkner Ford Escort Mk.II 43 NZL John Faulkner Toyota Dealer Team Toyota Corolla 44 AUS Mike Quinn Graham Mein Ford Escort Mk.II 45 AUS Graham Mein Ross Burbidge Mazda RX-3 46 AUS Ross Burbidge Wally Scott Toyota Celica 47 AUS Wally Scott Evan Thomas Mazda RX-3 48 AUS Evan Thomas Martin Power Triumph Dolomite Sprint 49 AUS Martin Power Chickadee Chicken Toyota Celica 51 AUS Graeme Bailey Maurice Spalding Toyota Celica 55 AUS Maurice Spalding Lawrie Nelson Ford Capri Mk.III 58 AUS Lawrie Nelson Frank Porter Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 59 AUS Frank Porter Jim Faneco Holden Gemini 60 AUS Jim Faneco Ray Gulson Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 67 AUS Ray Gulson John Bundy Mazda RX-3 69 AUS John Bundy Toyota Dealer Team Toyota Celica 77 AUS Peter Williamson Race calendar The championship was contested over eight rounds, each comprising either one race or two heats. Rd.Race titleCircuitCity / stateDateWinnerTeamReport 1 Launceston Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 2 March Peter Brock Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 2 Calder Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 15 March Peter Brock Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 3 Lakeside Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 30 March Peter Brock Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 4 Sandown Sandown Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 13 April Kevin Bartlett Nine Network Racing Team 5 Perth Wanneroo Park Perth, Western Australia 27 April Allan Grice Craven Mild Racing 6 Surfers Paradise Surfers Paradise Raceway Surfers Paradise, Queensland 18 May Peter Brock Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 7 Adelaide Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide, South Australia 1 June Kevin Bartlett Nine Network Racing Team 8 Oran Park Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 16 June Bob Morris Craven Mild Racing Classes Cars competed in two displacement classes: Up to and including 3000cc 3001 to 6000cc The up to and including 3000cc class was contested by Alfa Romeo Alfetta, Ford Capri, Ford Escort, Isuzu Gemini, Mazda RX-3, Mazda RX-7, Toyota Celica and Toyota Corolla.Howard Graham Wilson Stewart Australian Touring Car Championship: 25 Fabulous Years 1986 R&T Publishing Gordon 0-9590378-2-9 208–218 1980: Commodore's Debut Win The 3001 to 6000cc class was contested by Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore and Holden Torana. Points system Points were awarded for the first four outright places at each round on a 4-3-2-1 basis. In addition, points were awarded for the first six places in each class at each round on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis. Drivers had to drop their worst score from the eight rounds.http://www.v8central.com/wiki/index.php?title=Points_Systems#1980 Points systems V8Central website 28 April 2008 2008-12-14http://www.v8central.com/wiki/index.php?title=1980_Australian_Touring_Car_Championship 1980 Australian Touring Car Championship V8Central website 7 April 2008 2008-12-14 Championship standings Pos DriverCar Sym. Cal. Lak. San. Wan. Sur. Ade. Ora. Pts 1 Peter Brock Holden VB Commodore 13 13 13 9 9 13 9 Ret 79 2 Kevin Bartlett Chevrolet Camaro Z28 9 9 4 13 4 Ret 13 DSQ 52 3 Peter Williamson Toyota Celica 4 7 6 10 9 11 47 4 Murray Carter Ford XD Falcon 6 9 6 2 6 1 2 32 5 Bob Morris Holden VB Commodore 2 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 4 13 25 6 Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.III 11 6 6 23 7 Lawrie Nelson Ford Capri Mk.III 9 9 Ret 2 Ret 20 8 Allan Grice Holden LX Torana SS 6 Ret 13 Ret 19 9 Steve Masterton Ford Capri Mk.II 6 6 4 16 10 Charlie O'Brien Holden VB Commodore 9 6 15 11 Mike Quinn Toyota Corolla 4 4 4 12 11 Garry Willmington Ford XD Falcon 4 4 0 1 3 12 13 Wally Scott Toyota Celica 9 2 11 14 Barry Jones Mazda RX-3 Ret 9 9 14 Gary Cooke Holden VB Commodore 9 9 14 Larry Kogge Mazda RX-3 2 3 4 9 14 Bill O'Brien Ford XC Falcon 1 2 4 2 9 14 John Bundy Mazda RX-3 1 3 3 2 9 19 Maurice Spalding Toyota Celica 6 6 19 Colin Bond Ford Capri Mk.II 6 6 19 Ross Burbidge Mazda RX-3 2 4 6 22 Brian Sampson Holden VB Commodore 5 5 23 John Faulkner Ford Escort Mk.II 3 1 4 24 John French Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV 3 3 24 Evan Thomas Mazda RX-3 3 3 24 Fred Geissler Holden VB Commodore 3 3 24 Graeme Bailey Toyota Celica 3 3 24 Alan Browne Holden VB Commodore 1 2 3 24 Peter McLeod Mazda RX-7 Ret 2 1 3 30 Martin Power Triumph Dolomite Sprint 2 0 2 30 Peter Janson Holden LX Torana SS 2 2 30 Frank Porter Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV 1 1 2 33 Ron Dickson Chevrolet Camaro Z28 1 1 33 Wayne Negus Holden VB Commodore 1 1 33 Graham Mein Ford Escort Mk.II 1 1 Pos Driver Car Sym. Cal. Lak. San. Wan. Sur. Ade. Ora. Pts References Category:Australian Touring Car Championship seasons Touring Car Championship