1985 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1985 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to racing cars complying with Formula Mondial.[1] It was the 29th Australian Drivers' Championship and the fourth to be contested by Formula Pacific-based Australian Formula 1 cars or by the similar Formula Mondial cars. The championship winner was awarded the 1985 CAMS Gold Star.[1]

Tasmanian driver John Bowe successfully defended his 1984 Australian Drivers' Championship crown in his Ralt RT4 Ford.[2] Bowe dominated, winning the first four rounds of the series to take a twelve-point victory over Peter Hopwood (Ralt RT4 Ford). Peter Macrow (Cheetah Mk.8 Ford) was a very distant third in the series, only moving into the position when he won the final round at Sandown Park.

Calendar

John Bowe won the championship driving a Ralt RT4, similar to the example pictured above

The championship was contested over a five-round series with one race per round.[3]

Round[3] Round name Circuit[4] Date[4] Winner[4] Car[4][5]
1   Wanneroo Park 31 March John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford
2   Amaroo Park 26 May John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford
3   Lakeside 21 July John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford
4   Oran Park 18 August John Bowe Ralt RT4/85 Ford
5 Victoria Trophy[6] Sandown Park 15 September Peter Macrow Cheetah Mk8 Ford

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six placegetters at each round.[1]

Championship results

Position Driver[3] No.[3] Car[3][5] Entrant[6] Wan[3] Ama[3] Lak[3] Ora[3] San[3] Total[3]
1 John Bowe 1 Ralt RT4/85 Ford Chris Leach Enterprises 9 9 9 9 - 36
2 Peter Hopwood 22 Ralt RT4/85 Ford Manage Racing Team 6 6 6 6 - 24
3 Peter Macrow 25 Cheetah Mk8 Ford Peter Macrow - - - 2 9 11
4 Brian Sampson 78[6] Cheetah Mk8 Ford & Ralt RT4 Ford Brian Sampson - - - 3 6 9
5 Terry Ryan 36[6] Ralt RT4 Ford Terry Ryan Automotive - 3 - 4 - 7
= Bob Creasy 6 Ralt RT4/81 Ford   3 - - - 4 7
7 Keith McClelland 16 Ralt RT4 Ford Manage Racing Team - 2 4 - - 6
= Ross Zampatti 2 Ralt RT4/81 Ford Ross Zampatti 4 - 2 - - 6
9 Bruce Connolloy   Ralt RT4 Ford   - 4 - - - 4
10 Chris Hocking 74 Ralt RT4 Ford Chris Hocking - - 3 - - 3
= Peter Boylan 21 & 7 Ralt RT4/81 Ford Peter Boylan 1 - 1 - 1 3
= Geoff Nicol   Ralt RT4/81 Ford   - - - - 3 3
= Brett Fisher 13 Liston BF1 Ford   2 - - 1 - 3
14 Max Freeland 15[6] Ralt RT4 Ford Jeff Sherriff - - - - 2 2
15 Graham Watson 8 Ralt RT4 Ford Watson Motor Racing - 1 - - - 1

References

  1. ^ a b c Conditions for Australian Titles, 1985 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 86 to 88
  2. ^ "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barry Catford, Australian Drivers Championship, Australian Motor Racing Year 1985/86, pages 208 to 219
  4. ^ a b c d 1985 Championship Results, Australian Motor Racing Year 1985/86, pages 314 to 315
  5. ^ a b Formula Mondial regulations as published in the 1985 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 259 to 268, state that only the "Ford BDA" engine was approved for the category
  6. ^ a b c d e Official Programme, Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit, 14 and 15 September 1985, page 33