The 1981 Australian Grand Prix was a
Formula Pacific Formula Pacific was a motor racing category which was used in the Pacific Basin area from 1977 to 1982. It specified a single-seat, open-wheeler chassis powered by a production-based four-cylinder engine of under 1600cc capacity. The formula was bas ...
motor race held at
Calder Park Raceway
Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clo ...
in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
on 8 November 1981.
It was the forty sixth
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...
and the first to be restricted to
Formula Pacific Formula Pacific was a motor racing category which was used in the Pacific Basin area from 1977 to 1982. It specified a single-seat, open-wheeler chassis powered by a production-based four-cylinder engine of under 1600cc capacity. The formula was bas ...
racing cars. It was the first AGP since
1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
to feature two or more current or past
World Drivers' Champions with reigning
1981 World Champion Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to . Piquet won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , , and , and won 23 ...
of
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
and Australia's
1980 World Champion Alan Jones both in the field.
The race was won by 22-year-old
Roberto Moreno
Roberto Pupo Moreno (born 11 February 1959), usually known as Roberto Moreno and also as Pupo Moreno, is a Brazilian former auto racing, racing driver. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 c ...
by over a lap from Nelson Piquet with
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
Geoff Brabham
__NOTOC__
Geoffrey John Brabham (born 20 March 1952) is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States.
Racing career
CART
He raced successfully in CART early in his career, finishing 8th in ...
finishing third. The top three drivers all drove
Ralt
Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under ...
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 FIA Super Licence is a driver's qualification allowing the holder to compete in the Formula One World Championship. It is issued and managed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
Requirements Super Licence
To qualify for ...
, 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
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
driver and future
touring car
Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...
star
Larry Perkins
Larry Clifton Perkins (born 18 March 1950) is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.
Biography Early years
Growing up on a farm in Cowangie in the Mallee region of Victoria, Larry, the son of racing driver Edd ...
who finished fourth, one lap behind Moreno.
Classification
Results as follows:
Qualifying
Race
Notes
*
Pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
: Roberto Moreno – 0'39.2
[
*]Fastest lap
In motorsports, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. In some racing series, like NASCAR, the fastest lap award championship points for a driver or team. In Formula One and MotoGP no point is awarded for the fastest lap.
Formula O ...
: Roberto Moreno – 0'39.8 (145.6 km/h, 90.5 mph)[
* Winner's average speed: 142.8 km/h, 88.7 mph][
]
References
External links
autopics.com.au
{{s-end
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
Australian Grand Prix
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...