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
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
- ^ a b c Conditions for Australian Titles, 1985 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 86 to 88
- ^ "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d 1985 Championship Results, Australian Motor Racing Year 1985/86, pages 314 to 315
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e Official Programme, Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit, 14 and 15 September 1985, page 33
