1977 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1977 Australian Drivers' Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for racing cars complying with Australian Formula 1 or with Australian Formula 2.^[1] It was the 21st Australian Drivers' Championship to be awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.^[2]

1977 Australian Drivers' Championship

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1976

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1978

The championship winner, John McCormack, was awarded the 1977 CAMS Gold Star.^[3]

Calendar

John McCormack won the championship driving a McLaren M23, similar to the example pictured above, but fitted with a Repco modified Leyland V8 engine rather than a Ford Cosworth DFV.

The championship was contested over a four-round series.^[3]

Round[3]	Name	Circuit[3]	Date[3]	Format[3]	Round winner[3]	Car[3]
1	Glyn Scott Memorial Trophy[4]	Surfers Paradise	28 August	One race	John McCormack	McLaren M23 Repco-Leyland
2	Rothmans 10,000[5]	Sandown Park	11 September	One race	Alfredo Costanzo	Lola T332 Chevrolet
3		Calder	16 October	Two heats	Jon Davison	Lola T332 Chevrolet
4		Phillip Island	13 November	One race	John Leffler	Lola T400 Chevrolet

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six place-getters^[1] at each round.

Where a round was contested over 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.^[1] The six drivers attaining the highest aggregate from both heats were then awarded the championship points for that round.^[1] 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.^[1]

Championship standings

Position	Driver[3]	No.[3]	Car[3]	Entrant[4]	Sur.[3]	San.[3]	Cal.[3]	Phi.[3]	Total[3]
1	John McCormack	77	McLaren M23 Repco-Leyland	Budget F1 Team	9	-	6	4	19
2	John Leffler	1	Lola T400 Chevrolet	Grace Bros. Racing	4	3	-	9	16
3	Alan Hamilton	9	Lola T430 Chevrolet	Alan Hamilton	-	6	3	6	15
4	Alfredo Costanzo	84	Lola T332 Chevrolet	Auto Sprint Motors	-	9	4	-	13
5	Jon Davison	4	Lola T332 Chevrolet	Jon Davison	-	-	9	-	9
6	Kevin Bartlett	5	Lola T400 Chevrolet	Kevin Bartlett	3	4	-	1	8
7	Garrie Cooper	12	Elfin MR8 Chevrolet	Ansett Team Elfin	6	-	-	-	6
=	Peter Edwards	11[5]	Lola T332 Chevrolet	P.J. Edwards[5]	-	2	1	3	6
9	Terry Hook	15	Lola T332 Chevrolet	Terry Hook	2	-	2	-	4
10	Chas Talbot	17[4] & 20[5]	Begg FM5 Chevrolet	Chas Talbot	1	1	-	-	2
=	Graeme Smith[6]		Birrana 274 Ford[7]	Graeme Smith Trucks [8]	-	-	-	2[6]	2[9]

Championship name

Sources vary as to the actual name of the championship.

• The 1977 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport refers to the Australian Formula 1 Championship - Gold Star Award, stating that "The phrase "Australian Champion Driver" shall be reserved exclusively for the winner of the CAMS Gold Star".^[1]
• Australian Competition Yearbook, 1978 Edition uses the term Australian Drivers' Championship.^[3]
• Historical records published by CAMS use the term Australian Drivers' Championship.^[10][2]