1984 Australian Drivers' Championship


The 1984 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title open to drivers of racing cars complying with Formula Mondial regulations.
The winner of the title, which was the 28th Australian Drivers' Championship, was awarded the 1984 CAMS Gold Star. John Bowe won the championship driving a Ralt RT4 Ford. It would be the first of two such titles for the Tasmanian driver. Finishing second in the championship was four-time defending champion Alfredo Costanzo in his Porsche Cars Australia team Tiga FA81 Ford, while the 1983 Australian Sports Car Champion Peter Hopwood driving his Ralt RT4 Ford finished in third place in his first full season of open wheel racing.
After finishing 4th and being the first resident Australian driver home in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Calder Park Raceway in November, Alfie Costanzo effectively retired from open wheel racing when his Porsche Cars Australia team boss Alan Hamilton closed the race team.

Calendar

The championship was contested over a seven-round series with each round held as a single race. Winton Raceway was originally intended to host the final round of the series on 14 October but that meeting was cancelled. Negotiations between track secretary Michael Ronke and CAMS saw the round re-instated to 2 months earlier than planned becoming Round 4 instead of Round 7. This rescheduling ultimately cost Alfredo Costanzo any chance he had of successfully retaining his championship as he had booked business with Porsche in West Germany for the weekend of the rescheduled race. John Smith would take his place in the Tiga FA/83 for the race.
RoundCircuitEventCity / StateDateWinnerCarTeam
Rd 1Adelaide International RacewayPorsche Cars Australia TrophyAdelaide, South Australia1 JulyAlfredo CostanzoTiga FA81 FordPorsche Cars Australia
Rd 2Lakeside International RacewayBrisbane, Queensland22 JulyJohn BoweRalt RT4/84 FordChris Leach Racing
Rd 3Calder Park RacewayMelbourne29 JulyAlfredo CostanzoTiga FA81 FordPorsche Cars Australia
Rd 4Winton RacewayBenalla, Victoria12 AugustJohn BoweRalt RT4/84 FordChris Leach Racing
Rd 5Oran Park RacewaySydney19 AugustJohn BoweRalt RT4/84 FordChris Leach Racing
Rd 6Wanneroo Park RacewayPerth, Western Australia26 AugustJohn BoweRalt RT4/84 FordChris Leach Racing
Rd 7Sandown International RacewayEON FM CupMelbourne9 SeptemberJohn BoweRalt RT4/84 FordChris Leach Racing

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six classified finishers at each round.

Results

*John Smith subbed for Costanzo at Round 4 due to Costanzo being in Germany