The 1982 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group D GT cars and Group B Sports Sedans. It was the fifth Australian GT Championship,[1] the first to be awarded since 1963[1] and the first to be contested over a series of races rather than a single race. The GT championship replaced the Australian Sports Sedan Championship which had been awarded annually from 1976 to 1981. The 1982 title, which was contested over a nine-round series from 16 May to 10 October, was won by Alan Jones driving a Porsche 935/80 entered by Porsche Cars Australia.
The championship was dominated by Formula One World Drivers' Champion Alan Jones who went through the season undefeated. His closest on-track rival was multiple Bathurst winner and former Australian Touring Car Champion Peter Brock, driving a Bob Jane owned 6.0L V8 Chevrolet Monza. Brock placed fifth in the championship, having contested four of the nine rounds.[2] Brock and the Monza were often faster in qualifying than the turbocharged Porsche. However, he was rarely able to maintain his tyres for the entire race duration and subsequently always finished second best. Although Alan Jones won every round, his battles with Peter Brock are regarded by those who witnessed it as some of the closest and best racing seen to that point in Australian motor racing history.
Rusty French placed second in the championship driving a Porsche 935/77A, 45 points behind Jones. Jones' Porsche Cars Australia teammate Colin Bond placed third driving a turbocharged Porsche 944 (the car Jones was to originally drive in the series before it was decided he would have a better chance in the 935), with the 1981 Australian Sports Sedan Champion Tony Edmondson placed fourth in the championship winning Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV-Chevrolet (running a 5.0L Formula 5000 engine) owned by Don Elliot.
The championship was contested over a nine-round series.
| Round | Circuit | Date | Format | Round winner | Car | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winton Motor Raceway | 16 May | Two races | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 2 | Oran Park Raceway | 6 June | One race | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 3 | Lakeside International Raceway | 20 June | Two races | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 4 | Adelaide International Raceway | 4 July | One race | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 5 | Wanneroo Park | 11 July | Two races | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 6 | Calder Park Raceway | 1 August | Two races | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 7 | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | 29 August | Two races | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 8 | Symmons Plains Raceway | 19 September | Two races | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 | |
| 9 | Baskerville Raceway | 10 October | Two races | Alan Jones | Porsche 935/80 |
Points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six finishers in each round.[3] Where rounds were contested over two races, 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 race.[3] These points were then aggregated to determine the first six-round positions for the purpose of championship points allocation.[3]
| Pos | Driver[4] | No. | Car | Entrant | Win | Ora | Lak | Ade | Wan | Cal | Sur | Sym | Bas | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alan Jones | 27 | Porsche 935 | Porsche Cars Australia[5] | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 81[6] | |
| 2 | Rusty French | 10 | Porsche 935 | John Sands Racing | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 36 | |
| 3 | Colin Bond | 28 | Porsche 944 Turbo | Porsche Cars Australia | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | – | 4 | 31 | |
| 4 | Tony Edmondson | 1 | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV – Chevrolet | Donald Elliot | 6 | – | – | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 25 | |
| 5 | Peter Brock | 7 | Chevrolet Monza | Bob Jane Racing[7] | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | 6 | 6 | 18 | |
| 6 | Doug Clark | 78 | Toyota Celica | Brian Hilton Toyota | – | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 7 | |
| 7 | Tony Hubbard | 111 | Tony Hubbard | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | ||
| 8 | Bruce Lynton | 18 | BMW 318i Turbo | Bruce Lynton BMW | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | |
| 9 | Kerry Baily | 128 | Kerry Baily | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 9 | Gregory Wright | 52 | Holden LX Torana | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | ||
| 11 | Gordon Stephenson | 75 | Holden HQ Monaro | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | 2 | ||
| 11 | Graham Lusty | 44 | Toyota Celica | Lusty Engineering Pty. Ltd. | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 2 | |
| 13 | Peter Finch | 16 | Holden HQ Monaro | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||
| 13 | Peter Dane | 47 | Ford Escort | Thomson Ford | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
| 13 | Steve Land | 63 | Holden Torana | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||
| 13 | Clem Smith | 26 | Chrysler VH Valiant Charger | Clem Smith | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
| 13 | Brian Rhodes | 77 | Holden LX Torana | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | ||
| 13 | Jim Richards | 31 | BMW 318i Turbo | JPS Team BMW[8] | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | |
| 13 | Ian Beechey | 94 | Fiat 124 Coupe | Ian Beechey | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 |
Sources vary as to the actual name of the championship. The 1982 CAMS Manual uses "Australian Sports Sedan Championship" as does the Official Souvenir Programme for the 4th round of the championship at Adelaide International Raceway. Australian Motor Racing Yearbook 1982/93 uses "Australian GT/Sports Sedan Championship, as does Racing Car News, November 1982. The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport recognises Alan Jones as the winner of the "1982 Australian GT Championship" in its "Australian Titles" document.[1]