Wikipedia

1971 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1971 Australian Drivers’ Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 racing cars.[1] It was the fifteenth Australian Drivers' Championship[2] and the first to feature cars complying with a new for 1971 Australian Formula 1[3] which permitted cars with production based V8 engines of up to 5 litre capacity (commonly known as Formula 5000 cars) or racing engines of up to eight cylinders and up to 2 litre capacity.[4] The championship winner was awarded the 1971 CAMS Gold Star and the title of Australian Champion Driver.[1]

The championship was won by Max Stewart from Kevin Bartlett, Alan Hamilton and John McCormack, with only two points separating first from fourth after the final race.[5]

Calendar

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Max Stewart won the 1971 championship driving a Mildren Waggott

The championship was contested over a six race series.[6] Races were staged concurrently with those of the 1971 Australian Formula 2 Championship[1]

Race Race name Circuit Date Winning driver Car
1[7] Governor's Trophy[7] Lakeside[7] 6 June[7] Kevin Bartlett[7] McLaren M10B Chevrolet
2 Angus & Coote Diamond Trophy[8] Oran Park Raceway[9] 27 June[8] Max Stewart Mildren Waggott
3 Glynn Scott Memorial Trophy[10] Surfers Paradise International Raceway[10] 29 August[11] Frank Matich McLaren M10B Repco Holden
4 Victoria Trophy[12] Sandown [13] 12 September[14] Kevin Bartlett McLaren M10B Chevrolet
5 Examiner 1000[15] Symmons Plains[16] 25 September[16] Tony Stewart Elfin 600B England
6 Rothmans Trophy[17] Mallala Race Circuit[17] 11 October[5] John McCormack Elfin MR5 Repco Holden

Points system

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Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six placegetters in each race.[1] Each driver could retain points only from his/her best five race results.[1] Only holders of a General Competition License issued by CAMS were eligible to compete for the title.[1]

Championship standings

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Henk Woelders (Elfin 600C) contesting the opening race of the 1971 Australian Drivers' Championship
Position Driver[12] Car[5][7][8][11][14][16][17] Entrant[5][7][8][11][14][16][17] Lak[12] Ora[12] Sur[12] San[12] Sym[12] Mal[12] Total[12]
1 Max Stewart Mildren Waggott Alec Mildren Racing
Max Stewart Motors 		6 9 3 - 1 4 23
2 Kevin Bartlett McLaren M10B Chevrolet Kevin Bartlett Shell Racing 9 - 4 9 - - 22
= Alan Hamilton McLaren M10B Chevrolet Porsche Distributors Racing 4 6 6 - - 6 22
4 John McCormack Elfin MR5 Repco Holden Elfin Sports Cars - - - 6 6 9 21
5 Tony Stewart Elfin 600B England Ford Paul England Pty Ltd 3 3 - - 9 1 16
6 Henk Woelders Elfin 600C Waggott Bill Patterson Racing 1 4 1 3 - 2 11
7 Warwick Brown McLaren M4A Cosworth Pat Burke Racing - - 2 4 4 - 10
8 Frank Matich McLaren M10B Repco Holden Rothmans Team Matich - - 9 - - - 9
9 Jack Bono Elfin 600B Ford Graham Collier - 2 - 2 2 - 6
10 Garrie Cooper Elfin 600B Lotus Elfin Sports Cars - - - - 3 - 3
= Colin Hyams Lola T192 Chevrolet Colin Hyams - - - - - 3 3
12 Ivan Tighe Elfin 600B Ford[18] Ivan Tighe 2 - - - - - 2
13 John Walker Elfin 600C Ford City State Racing Team - 1 - - - - 1
= John Ampt Elfin Mono IIB Ford John Ampt - - - 1 - - 1

New Zealander Graeme Lawrence (Brabham BT30 Ford) placed second at Oran Park, but not being an Australian resident he did not qualify for championship points.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Conditions for Australian Titles, 1971 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 79-83
  2. ^ Records, Titles and Awards, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
  3. ^ The official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, 1986, pages 348&354
  4. ^ Pedr Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 171
  5. ^ a b c d John Brownsea, Stewart is Gold Star Champ, Racing Car News, November 1971, pages 58-59
  6. ^ Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 66-67
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Des White, F5000 on the way, Racing Car News, June 1971, pages 26-28
  8. ^ a b c d e Max Stahl, Stewart Leads Gold Star, Racing Car News, August 1971, pages 34-35
  9. ^ Program, Oran Park Raceway, Sunday, June 27, 1971
  10. ^ a b Official Programme, Surfers Paradise International Raceway, Sunday, August 29, 1971
  11. ^ a b c Des White, Matich Win Opens Score, Racing Car News, October 1971, pages 56-57
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i John Wallis, Topsy Turvy Thriller, Australian Motor Racing Annual 1972, pages 38 to 43 & page 80
  13. ^ Official Programme, Sandown, September 11 & 12 1971
  14. ^ a b c Tom Naughton, Bartlett’s Game Comeback, Racing Car News, October 1971, pages 68-69
  15. ^ Examiner "1000", Symmons Plains, 26 Sep 1971, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 4 May 2020
  16. ^ a b c d Steven Chopping, Stewart Strikes Gold, Racing Car News, November 1971, pages 44-45
  17. ^ a b c d Official Programme, Mallala Race Circuit, 11 October 1971
  18. ^ Governors Trophy, Lakeside, 6 June 1971, www.oldracingcars.com Retrieved 4 May 2020
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