1983 Australian Endurance Championship

The 1983 Australian Endurance Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group C Touring Cars.[1] The championship was contested over a six round series with all rounds run concurrently with those of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes.[2]

Wollongong based Peter McLeod's consistent run over the series which saw him score points in all but the Castrol 400 at Sandown, won his first (and only) touring car championship driving his Slick 50 sponsored Mazda RX-7. Second was the JPS Team BMW 635 CSi of triple Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, with Nissan Motorsport driver George Fury third in his Bluebird Turbo.

Fury, who won the opening two rounds of the series, and the Holden Dealer Team's star driver Peter Brock, who won the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst and the final round in Adelaide, were the only multiple winners in the 1983 AEC (though Brock received no points from his Bathurst win due to it being in the team's second car and not his nominated one; also surprisingly one of his co-drivers, Larry Perkins, did receive points for the win). The other winners were 1983 ATCC winner Allan Moffat who drove his Mazda RX-7 to victory in the Castrol 400, and Allan Grice who drove his Roadways Commodore to victory at Surfers Paradise.

Calendar
Rd. Race title Circuit City/Town Date Winner/s Car Team Number Report
1 Silastic 300 Amaroo Park Annangrove 7 August Australia George Fury Nissan Bluebird Turbo Nissan Motor Co.
2 Oran Park 250 Oran Park Narellan 21 August Australia George Fury Nissan Bluebird Turbo Nissan Motor Co.
3 Castrol 400 Sandown Melbourne 11 September Canada Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing 43 Report
4 James Hardie 1000 Mount Panorama Bathurst 2 October Australia John Harvey
Australia Peter Brock
Australia Larry Perkins		 Holden VH Commodore SS Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 25 Report
5 Motorcraft 300 Surfers Paradise Gold Coast 30 October Australia Allan Grice Holden VH Commodore SS STP Roadways Racing 6
6 Humes Guardrail 300 Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide 20 November Australia Peter Brock Holden VH Commodore SS Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 05 Report

Class structure

Cars competed in two engine displacement classes:

  • Up to 3000cc
  • Over 3000cc

Points structure

Championship points were awarded to the top twenty finishers at each round according to the outright position attained. If two drivers shared a car the points were split between the two drivers, except at Round 4 where two driver combinations were mandated by regulations, removing the single driver option. Full points to both drivers were awarded. The exception appears to have been made for third drivers however as Peter Brock received no points for winning Round 4 alongside Larry Perkins and John Harvey.:

Outright Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Up to 3000cc 30 27 24 21 19 17 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Over 3000cc 25 23 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 0

Results
Peter Brock and Larry Perkins placed joint eighth in the championship having driven a Holden Commodore VH for the Marlboro Holden Dealer Team
Position[2] Driver No. Car Entrant Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4 Rd5 Rd6 Points
1 Australia Peter McLeod 50 Mazda RX-7 Petrolon Slick 50 10 10 - 15 20 17 72
2 New Zealand Jim Richards 31 BMW 635 CSi JPS Team BMW 15 5 23 - 11 13 67
3 Australia George Fury 55 & 15 Nissan Bluebird Turbo Nissan Motor Co. Australia 25 25 - - - - 50
4 Canada Allan Moffat 43 Mazda RX-7 Peter Stuyversant International Racing - - 25 23 - - 48
5 Australia Allan Grice 6 Holden VH Commodore SS STP Roadways Racing - - - 20 25 - 45
6 Australia Gregg Hansford 34 Mazda RX-7 Peter Stuyversant International Racing - 15 6.5 - 23 - 44.5
7 Australia Terry Finnigan 10 Holden VH Commodore SS Terry Finnigan 8.5 13 - - 17 - 38.5
=8 Australia Larry Perkins 05 & 25 Holden VH Commodore SS Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 11.5 - - 25 - - 36.5
=8 Australia Peter Brock 05 Holden VH Commodore SS Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 11.5 - - - - 25 36.5

References
  1. CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1983, page 95
  2. Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1983/84, pages 288 - 311
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