The 1981 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula Pacific motor race held at Calder Park Raceway in Victoria, Australia on 8 November 1981.
| 1981 Australian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Pacific race | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 8 November 1981 | ||
| Official name | XLVI National Panasonic Australian Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.609 km (1.000 miles) | ||
| Distance | 100 laps, 160.9 km (100 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ralt-Ford | ||
| Time | 0'39.2 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Roberto Moreno | Ralt-Ford | |
| Time | 0'39.8 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ralt-Ford | ||
| Second | Ralt-Ford | ||
| Third | Ralt-Ford | ||
It was the forty sixth Australian Grand Prix and the first to be restricted to Formula Pacific racing cars. It was the first AGP since 1968 to feature two or more current or past World Drivers' Champions with reigning 1981 World Champion Nelson Piquet of Brazil and Australia's 1980 World Champion Alan Jones both in the field.
The race was won by 22-year-old Roberto Moreno by over a lap from Nelson Piquet with Australian Geoff Brabham finishing third. The top three drivers all drove Ralt RT4's (13 of the 20 starters were in fact driving the 1.6L Ford powered RT4's). To actually be able to compete in the Grand Prix Moreno needed five endorsements before the race to be able to obtain his FIA Super Licence, the first endorsement coming from Calder Park Clerk of Course Ken Smith.
Defending race winner Alan Jones failed to finish after transmission failure in his RT4 six laps from the finish while in second place. The first resident Australian driver home was another ex-Formula One driver and future touring car star Larry Perkins who finished fourth, one lap behind Moreno.
Classification edit
Results as follows:[1]
Qualifying edit
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Qual | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Roberto Moreno
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.2 | — |
| 2 | 27 |  Alan Jones
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.2 | +0.0 |
| 3 | 9 | Nelson Piquet
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.3 | +0.1 |
| 4 | 4 | John Bowe
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.6 | +0.4 |
| 5 | 62 | Bruce Allison
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.8 | +0.6 |
| 6 | 26 |  Jacques Laffite
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.8 | +0.6 |
| 7 | 12 | Geoff Brabham
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.9 | +0.7 |
| 8 | 71 | John Smith
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:39.9 | +0.7 |
| 9 | 3 | Larry Perkins
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:40.0 | +0.8 |
| 10 | 6 |  Ray Mallock
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:40.2 | +1.0 |
| 11 | 5 | Andrew Miedecke
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:40.2 | +1.0 |
| 12 | 84 | Alfredo Costanzo
|
Tiga FA81 Ford | 0:40.3 | +1.1 |
| 13 | 2 | Charlie O'Brien
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:40.4 | +1.2 |
| 14 | 18 |  David Oxton
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | 0:40.6 | +1.4 |
| 15 | 16 | Lucio Cesario
|
Ralt RT3 Volkswagen Golf | 0:40.7 | +1.5 |
| 16 | 83 | Peter Larner
|
Kaditcha Ford | 0:40.7 | +1.5 |
| 17 | 7 | Peter Williamson
|
Toleman TA860 Toyota | 0:40.9 | +1.7 |
| 18 | 77 | Mike Quinn
|
Galloway HG1 Ford | 0:41.4 | +2.2 |
| 19 | 11 | Ron Barnacle
|
Ralt RT1 Ford | 0:41.8 | +2.6 |
| 20 | 48 | Ray Hangar
|
March 77B Ford | 0:42.5 | +3.3 |
| 21 | 36 | Bob Creasy
|
Birrana 273 Ford | 0:43.1 | +3.9 |
Race edit
| Pos | No. | Driver | Car | Entrant[2] | Laps | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Roberto Moreno
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | Graham Watson Motor Racing Pty Ltd | 100 | 1h 07m 39.2s |
| 2 | 9 | Nelson Piquet
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | Graham Watson Motor Racing Pty Ltd | 99 | |
| 3 | 12 | Geoff Brabham
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | G Brabham | 99 | |
| 4 | 3 | Larry Perkins
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | L Perkins | 99 | |
| 5 | 5 | Andrew Miedecke
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | AW Miedecke | 99 | |
| 6 | 18 | David Oxton
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | Oxton Motors | 98 | |
| 7 | 6 | Ray Mallock
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | Cliff Smith Racing | 98 | |
| 8 | 62 | Bruce Allison
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | B Allison | 98 | |
| 9 | 2 | Charlie O'Brien
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | Citizen Watches Australia | 98 | |
| 10 | 84 | Alfredo Costanzo
|
Tiga FA81 Ford | Porsche Cars Australia | 97 | |
| 11 | 83 | Peter Larner
|
Kaditcha Ford | Paul England | 97 | |
| 12 | 71 | John Smith
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | OSCL | 96 | |
| 13 | 11 | Ron Barnacle
|
Ralt RT1 Ford | Nissalco Garage Equipment | 90 | |
| 14 | 48 | Ray Hangar
|
March 77B Ford | R Hanger | 87 | |
| Ret | 27 | Alan Jones
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | Theodore Racing | 93 | transmission |
| Ret | 26 | Jacques Laffite
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | J Laffite | 43 | oil line |
| Ret | 7 | Peter Williamson
|
Toleman TA860 Toyota | Toyota Dealer Team | 40 | accident |
| Ret | 4 | John Bowe
|
Ralt RT4 Ford | Chris Leach Racing | 15 | water pump belt |
| Ret | 16 | Lucio Cesario
|
Ralt RT3 Volkswagen Golf | Formula One Automotive | 10 | broken valve spring |
| Ret | 36 | Bob Creasy
|
Birrana 273 Ford | R Creasy | 6 | spin |
| DNS | 77 | Mike Quinn
|
Galloway HG1 Ford | Peter Williamson Pty Ltd | gearbox input shaft |
Notes edit
- Pole position: Roberto Moreno – 0'39.2[1]
- Fastest lap: Roberto Moreno – 0'39.8 (145.6 km/h, 90.5 mph)[1]
- Winner's average speed: 142.8 km/h, 88.7 mph[1]