The 1981 Australian Formula 2 Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to Australian Formula 2 racing cars.[1] It was the 14th Australian Formula 2 Championship to be awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.[2]
The title was won by John Smith driving a Ralt RT1 Ford.
The championship was contested over a six-round series.[3]
| Rd | Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Car | |
| 1 | Winton | 1 March | John Smith | Ralt RT1 Ford | ||
| 2 | Oran Park | 3 May | John Smith | Ralt RT1 Ford | ||
| 3 | Amaroo Park | 24 May | John Smith | Ralt RT1 Ford | ||
| 4 | Sandown Park | 5 July | Russell Norden | Arbyen 793 Volkswagen | ||
| 5 | Adelaide International Raceway | 25 October | Lucio Cesario | Ralt RT3 Volkswagen | ||
| 6 | EON FM Trophy[4] | Calder | 8 November | Lucio Cesario | Ralt RT3 Volkswagen |
All rounds were staged over two heats except for the final round at Calder, which was contested as a single race.[3]
Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six positions at each round.[1]
Where a round was contested over two heats, points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first 14 positions in each heat and then aggregated for each driver to determine the first six positions for the round.[1]
| Position | Driver | No.[5] [6] | Car[7] | Entrant | Win | Ora | Ama | San | Ade | Cal | Total | |
| 1 | John Smith | 71 | Ralt RT1 Ford | Ralt Australia | 9 | 9 | 9 | 4 | - | - | 31 | |
| 2 | Richard Davison | 1 | Hardman JH1 Ford | Paragon Shoes Pty Ltd | 1 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 6 | 19 | |
| = | Peter Macrow | 25 | Cheetah Mk 7 Isuzu | Peter Macrow | 2 | - | 4 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 19 | |
| 4 | Lucio Cesario | 16 | Ralt RT3 Volkswagen | Formula 1 Automotive | - | - | - | - | 9 | 9 | 18 | |
| 5 | Bob Prendegast | 40 | Cheetah Mk 7 Volkswagen | Rugolo Motor Body Works | 6 | - | 2 | 6 | 3 | - | 17 | |
| 6 | Russell Norden | 5 | Arbyen 793 Volkswagen | Bonds Coats Patons Ltd | 3 | - | - | 9 | 4 | - | 16 | |
| 7 | Graham Watson | 9 | Ralt RT3 Volkswagen | Ralt Australia | - | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | 7 | |
| = | Bob Power | 79 | Kaditcha A80B Ford | Bob Power | 4 | 1 | - | - | 2 | - | 7 | |
| 9 | John Bowe | 33 | Elfin GE Two-25 Volkswagen | Chris Leach Racing | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | |
| 10 | Peter Glover | 13 | Cheetah Mk 7 Isuzu | Peter Glover | - | - | - | - | - | 3[8] | 3[9] | |
| = | Hugh Gartley | 92 | Cheetah Mk 7 Toyota | Hugh Gartley | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 12 | Andrew Newton | 7 | Hardman JH1 Ford | Clive Millis Motors | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 2 | |
| = | Chris Hocking | 74 | Cheetah Mk 7 Volkswagen | Chris Hocking | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
| 14 | Grahame Blee | 2 | Cheetah Mk 6 GE Ford | Grahame Blee | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | |
| = | Peter Hopwood | 22 | Cheetah Mk 6 Ford | John Thompson Sports Cars | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |