1978 Australian Drivers' Championship


The 1978 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Racing Cars complying with Australian Formula 1. It was the 22nd Australian Drivers' Championship to be awarded by CAMS. The title winner, Graham McRae, was awarded the 1978 CAMS Gold Star.

Calendar

The championship was contested over a three-round series.
RoundRound nameCircuitDateFormatWinnerCarReport
1Oran Park30 JulyOne raceJohn McCormackMcLaren M23 Leyland
2Australian Grand PrixSandown10 SeptemberOne raceGraham McRaeMcRae GM3 ChevroletReport
3Calder15 OctoberTwo heatsGraham McRaeMcRae GM3 Chevrolet

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six place-getters at each round.
Where a round was contested in two heats, points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first 14 place-getters in each heat.
The six drivers attaining the highest aggregate from both heats were then awarded the championship points for that round.
Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant placing was awarded to the driver who was higher placed in the last heat.

Championship results

Championship name

The regulations for the championship were published by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport under the name Australian Formula 1 Championship, and the Official Souvenir Program for the 1978 Australian Grand Prix listed the race as "Round 2, 1978 Australian Formula One Championship". However it was reported in the Australian Competition Yearbook as the Australian Drivers' Championship and is recognized by CAMS as the 1978 Australian Drivers' Championship and the latter term has been used for this article.