1973 Australian Manufacturers' Championship Explained

The 1973 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for automobile manufacturers.^[1] It was the third Australian Manufacturers' Championship^[2] and the first to be contested with Group C Touring Cars.^[3]

Round	Race title	Circuit	State	Date	Winning driver(s)	Winning car	Report
1	Chesterfield 250	Adelaide International Raceway	South Australia	26 August	Fred Gibson^[4]	Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop	Report
2	Sandown 250	Sandown Park	Victoria	9 September	Peter Brock	Holden Torana LJ GTR XU1	Report
3	Hardie-Ferodo 1000	Mount Panorama	New South Wales	30 September		Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop	Report
4	Chesterfield 300	Surfers Paradise	Queensland	11 November	Peter Brock^[5]	Holden Torana LJ GTR XU1	Report
5	Phillip Island 500K	Phillip Island	Victoria	25 November	Peter Brock	Holden Torana LJ GTR XU1	Report

Class Structure

Cars competed in four engine capacity classes:

Up to 1300 cc
1301 to 2000 cc
2001 to 3000 cc
Over 3000 cc^[1]

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first nine positions in each class plus 4-3-2-1 for the first four outright positions for all rounds except the Bathurst round.^[1] For the Bathurst round only, championship points were awarded on an 18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2 basis for the first nine positions in each class plus 4-3-2-1 for the first four outright positions.^[1] Only the best placed car from each manufacturer in each class at each round was eligible to score points.^[1]

Results

Position	Manufacturer	Car	Class	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total^[6]
1	Holden	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1	Over 3000 cc	5	13	19	13	13	63
2	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV	1301 to 2000 cc	9	9	18	10	9	55
3	Mazda	Mazda Capella RX-2	2001 to 3000 cc	9	9	18	9	8	53
4	Ford	Ford XA Falcon GT	Over 3000 cc	13	9	22	5	2	51
	Datsun	Datsun 1200 Coupe	Up to 1300 cc	6	9	18	9	9	51
6	Leyland	Morris Clubman GT & Morris Cooper S	Up to 1300 cc	9	8	14	6	7	44
7	Mazda	Mazda RX-3	1301 to 2000 cc	-	8	16	-	8	32
8	Holden	Holden LC Torana GTR	2001 to 3000 cc	-	8	14	-	9	31^[7]
9	Honda	Honda Civic	Up to 1300 cc	4	5	12	-	8	29
10	Ford	Ford Escort Twin Cam & GT1600	1301 to 2000 cc	8	6	14	-	-	28^[8]
11	Datsun	Datsun 180B SSS	1301 to 2000 cc	7	7	12	-	-	26
12	Chrysler	Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T	Over 3000 cc	7	1	8	-	-	16
	Fiat	Fiat 128 Coupe	Up to 1300 cc	-	-	16	-	-	16
14	Datsun	Datsun 240K	2001 to 3000 cc	-	-	-	8	7	15
15	Toyota	Toyota Corolla	Up to 1300 cc	8	-	-	-	-	8
	Subaru	Subaru 1400 GSR	1301 to 2000 cc	-	-	8	-	-	8
17	Renault	Renault R8 Gordini	Up to 1300 cc	-	-	4	-	-	4

References

1973 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, Australian Title Conditions, page 95
Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, Manufacturers Championship, page 120
Web site: 1973 Falcon GT By The Years. Unique Cars & Parts. 17 December 2014. UniqueCars1.
News: Holdens scoop pool. 17 December 2014. The Age. 12 November 1973. Age1. page 27
Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, Manufacturers Championship, Top Ten Placings, page 140
14 points for the Bathurst round reflects 3rd in class by the Taylor, Smith GTR. From 1973 Results as published in Official Programme, 1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000, page 39
Points calculated from race positions shown in Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, Manufacturers Championship, pages 120-143