1981 World Sportscar Championship
The 1981 World Sportscar Championship season was the 29th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1981 FIA World Endurance Championship which was contested over a fifteen race series which ran from 31 January to 27 September. The former World Challenge for Endurance Drivers was renamed to the World Endurance Championship of Drivers for 1981 and the World Championship of Makes was renamed to the World Endurance Championship of Makes. Bob Garretson won the World Endurance Championship of Drivers and Lancia was awarded the World Endurance Championship of Makes.
Schedule
World Endurance Championship of Drivers was contested over all fifteen races however only six of the races counted towards the World Endurance Championship of Makes.Drivers Rd. | Makes Rd. | Race | Circuit | Date |
1 | 1 | ![]() | Daytona International Speedway | 31 January 1 February |
2 | - | ![]() | Sebring International Raceway | 21 March |
3 | - | ![]() | Mugello Circuit | 12 April |
4 | 2 | ![]() | Autodromo Nazionale Monza | 26 April |
5 | - | ![]() | Riverside International Raceway | 26 April |
6 | 3 | ![]() | Silverstone Circuit | 10 May |
7 | 4 | ![]() | Nürburgring | 24 May |
8 | 5 | ![]() | Circuit de la Sarthe | 13 June 14 June |
9 | - | ![]() | Autodromo di Pergusa | 28 June |
10 | - | ![]() | Daytona International Speedway | 2 July |
11 | 6 | ![]() | Watkins Glen International | 12 July |
12 | - | ![]() | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 26 July 27 July |
13 | - | ![]() | Mosport Park | 16 August |
14 | - | ![]() | Road America | 23 August |
15 | - | ![]() | Brands Hatch | 27 September |
Season results
Although various classes of cars contested the championship races, only the overall race winners are listed in the table below.Rnd | Circuit | Overall Winning Team | Results |
Rnd | Circuit | Overall Winning Drivers | Results |
Rnd | Circuit | Overall Winning Car | Results |
1 | Daytona | ![]() | Results |
1 | Daytona | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Results |
1 | Daytona | Porsche 935 | Results |
2 | Sebring | ![]() | Results |
2 | Sebring | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Results |
2 | Sebring | Porsche 935 | Results |
3 | Mugello | ![]() | Results |
3 | Mugello | ![]() ![]() | Results |
3 | Mugello | Osella PA9 BMW | Results |
4 | Monza | ![]() | Results |
4 | Monza | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Results |
4 | Monza | Porsche 935 | Results |
5 | Riverside | ![]() | Results |
5 | Riverside | ![]() ![]() | Results |
5 | Riverside | Porsche 935 K3 | Results |
6 | Silverstone | ![]() | Results |
6 | Silverstone | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Results |
6 | Silverstone | Porsche 935 | Results |
7 | Nürburgring | ![]() | Results |
7 | Nürburgring | ![]() ![]() | Results |
7 | Nürburgring | BMW M1 | Results |
8 | La Sarthe | ![]() | Results |
8 | La Sarthe | ![]() ![]() | Results |
8 | La Sarthe | Porsche 936/81 | Results |
9 | Pergusa | ![]() | Results |
9 | Pergusa | ![]() ![]() | Results |
9 | Pergusa | Lola T600 Ford Cosworth DFV | Results |
10 | Daytona | ![]() | Results |
10 | Daytona | ![]() ![]() | Results |
10 | Daytona | Mazda RX-7 | Results |
11 | Watkins Glen | ![]() | Results |
11 | Watkins Glen | ![]() ![]() | Results |
11 | Watkins Glen | Lancia Beta Montecarlo | Results |
12 | Spa | ![]() | Results |
12 | Spa | ![]() ![]() | Results |
12 | Spa | Mazda RX-7 | Results |
13 | Mosport | ![]() | Results |
13 | Mosport | ![]() ![]() | Results |
13 | Mosport | Porsche 935 | Results |
14 | Road America | ![]() | Results |
14 | Road America | ![]() ![]() | Results |
14 | Road America | Porsche 935 | Results |
15 | Brands Hatch | ![]() | Results |
15 | Brands Hatch | ![]() ![]() | Results |
15 | Brands Hatch | Lola T600 Ford Cosworth DFL | Results |
- The 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix and the Road America 500 were also rounds of the 1981 IMSA GT Championship.
- The 6 Hours of Daytona was restricted to Racing Stock class cars .
- The 24 Hours of Spa was restricted to Belgian Touring Cars .
World Endurance Championship of Drivers
Drivers Championship points were awarded on a 20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first twenty overall finishers at each round.
Bonus points were also awarded as follows:
- 0 points for Category 1
- 1 point for Category 2
- 2 points for Category 3
- 3 points for Category 4
- 4 points for Category 5
- 5 points for Category 6
Results
A total of 371 drivers scored points in the 1981 World Endurance Championship of Drivers.World Endurance Championship of Makes
The World Endurance Championship of Makes was open FIA Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4 and Group 5 cars and to IMSA GTX cars.Cars from all eligible groups were combined, and then divided into two Divisions based on engine capacity.
Points were awarded on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the top ten places in each Division at each race.
Only the best placed car of each make in each division at each race was eligible to score points.
Cars from groups not included in the championship were disregarded when assessing divisional positions for championship purposes.
Only half points were awarded for the shortened Nurburgring race.
The best five round results could be retained by each make.