Australian Grand Prix

Calder, 7 Nov 1982

All cars are 1.6-litre F/Pac unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Ralt RT4/81 [263] (Alain Prost): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Bob Jane, without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/119; Gearbox FT1480; Fuel cell: JM36736 6/81] Chassis number given in NZMA report for the car of Alan Jones at the 1981 Australian G.P, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. A note in A/S concerning Bruce Allison's entry at the Australian Gold Star Round at Calder [1 Aug 82] says that Allison used 'the car run by Jones at the Australian GP' at that race. Chassis number given for Alain Prost's car at the 1982 AGP. [CT]
2. Ralt RT4/81 [262] (Jacques Laffite): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Bob Jane, without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/118; Gearbox FT1356; Fuel cell: JM36679 5/81] Chassis number noted in NZMA report as on the car of Geoff Brabham at the AGP 1981, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. Chassis number given for Jacques Laffite's car at 1982 AGP. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Ken Smith at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. A separate note by Dave McKinney says that this was the car used by Brabham 1981 AGP and Jacques Laffite 1982 AGP. [CT]
3. Ralt RT4/81 [267] (Dave McMillan): Ralt sales record says sold to Theodore Racing, delivered 16 Oct 81. [Tub no: 81/135; gearbox FT1488; fuel cell JM37176 10/81] Dave McMillan's car at Bay Park 3 Jan 82 is described by NZMN as Lees's car from Macau, 1981. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Dave McMillan at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. Presumed to be the car used by McMillan for the first part of the 1982 North American season, before he was given a 1982 specification car to use [alternatively this may have been RT4-205]. Chassis number given for McMillan's car at 1982 AGP, [AMSYB-82 p167]. [CT]
4. Ralt RT4/81 [255] (John Bowe): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/John Bowe, without delivery date. [Tub no: 80/109; gearbox: FT1469; fuel cell: JM34734 11/80]. Chassis number given for Bowe's car in report of 1981 AGP, 6 Nov 81 [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4] and presumed to be Bowe's car earlier in the Australian season. Retained by Bowe for the 1982 season and taken by him to the race at Long Beach as well. Report of the Gold Star round at Oran Park says Bowe 'rushed getting car ready after Long Beach' [NZMA 7 May 82 p20]. Chassis number given for Bowe's car at 1982 AGP. [CT]
5. Ralt RT4/82 [81-276] (Robert Handford): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson for Rob Handford, without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/131; gearbox: FT1487; fuel cell: JM36739 6/81] Chassis number noted on the car of Larry Perkins, entered by Robert Handford Racing, at AGP, 1981 [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. A note in the race report says that the car had been given a new tub after a testing accident. AMSYB-82 notes 'the RT4 Larry Perkins drove in the 1981 AGP' [AMSYB-82 p149] for the car used by Handford throughout the 1982 Australian Gold Star season; chassis number given for Handford's car at 1982 AGP. [CT]
6. Ralt RT4/81 [264-2] (John Smith): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Smith without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/122; gearbox: FT1475; fuel cell: JM36405 4/81]. The car of John Smith: chassis number given for Smith's car in NZMA report of 1981 AGP, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. Retained by Smith for the 1982 Gold Star season, but very badly damaged in testing before the Adelaide round. [A/S 15 Jul 82 p49; AMSYB-82 p152]. The car was rebuilt around a new Ralt tub. Chassis number given by AMSYB for Smith's car at 1982 AGP so presumably kept the plate. [CT]
7. Ralt RT4/81 [265] (Phillip Revell): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Pwee, no delivery date. [Tub no: 81/126; gearbox: FT1478; JM36735 6/81] "Pwee" is Gregg 'Peewee' Siddle, who ran the teams of first Nelson Piquet in F3, and then Roberto Moreno in all junior formulae. Chassis number noted in NZMA report on the car of Nelson Piquet at Australian GP 1981 [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. Chassis number given for Moreno's car in NZMA report of the Bay Park race, 3 Jan 82, and presumed to be the car run by Moreno throughout the NZ series. Chassis number given for Phillip Revell's car at the 1982 AGP and presumed to be the car used by Revell in the 1982 Australian Gold Star series. Revell's car also described by AMSYB-82 p166 as 'ex Piquet 1981 AGP'. [CT]
8. Ralt RT4/81 [258] (Richard Davison): Ralt sales record says sold to Bruce Allison, without delivery date. [Tub no: EDA002, a unique style of number in the record; gearbox: FT1426; fuel cell: JM34731 12/80]. Chassis number given for Allison's car at Selangor GP 29 Nov 81 [NZMA 11 Jan 82 p3] and presumed to be Allison's car in the 1981 Australian and South East Asian races. Chassis number given for Allison's car in NZMA report of 1981 AGP [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. Sold to Richard Davison for 1982 Australian season - Davison's car at the Calder race of 28 Feb 82 is described in NZMA as 'ex Allison'. Chassis number given for Davison's car at the 1982 AGP. [CT]
9. Cheetah Mk8 [81-1] (Chris Hocking): Built to Formula Pacific (AF1) specification and delivered to Chris Hocking on 2 June 1982. Hocking raced the car in Formula Pacific in 1982 and early 1983. It was then converted to ANF2 using a VW Golf engine. Sold to Ray Bond (Wangaratta, Victoria) in August 1984 and raced in ANF2 until November 1991. It was then retained unused until sold to Kevin Lewis in November 2003. Sold to Edward Gavin (NSW) in December 2005, and used by him in Australian historic racing.
10. Cheetah Mk8 [81-2] (Brian Sampson): Built to Formula Pacific (AF1) specification and delivered to Brian Sampson in October 1982. Sampson raced the car in Formula Pacific in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Sold to Barry Johnson in August 1985, and raced by him in ANF1 series in 1986, and then in the ANF2 series in 1987 and 1988 using a VW engine. To Alan Watts in October 2003, and raced by him in Australian historic racing.
11. Ralt RT4/82 [81-269] (Paul Radisich): Ralt sales record says sold to Theodore Racing, delivered 2 Oct 81. [Tub no: 81/123; gearbox FT1482; fuel cell JM36678 6/81] Chassis number given by NZMA for the car of Mike Rosen at Bay Park 3 Jan 82. Described by NZMA report as ex-Jarier, so presumed to be Jarier's car at Macau 1981. A note for Paul Radisich's car at the Bay Park Union Travel Championship race 11 Apr 82 [A/S 15 Apr 82 p48] says that this was the car used earlier in the year by Mike Rosen. Paul Radisich's car at Adelaide 4 Jul 82 is described as 'ex Mike Rosen' [AMSYB-82 p153] Chassis number given for Paul Radisich's car at 1982 AGP, and presumed to be the car used by him throughout the 1982 Australian Gold Star series. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Paul Radisich at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. [CT]
12. Ralt RT4/81 [273] (Ray Hanger): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Bob Jane, without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/132; Gearbox FT1486; Fuel cell: JM37174 10/81] Chassis number given in NZMA report for the car of Jacques Laffite at the 1981 AGP, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. The car of Ray Hanger at 1982 AGP is described as 'ex Laffite 1981 AGP' [AMSYB-82 p166] and presumed to be the car used by Hanger earlier in the Australian Gold Star series. [CT]
13. Ralt RT4/82 [81-274] (Lucio Cesario): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson for Charlie O'Brien, delivered 29 Sep 81. O'Brien's car at Shah Alam GP 16-18 Oct 81 is described as 'new' by NZMA. Chassis number given for O'Brien's car in NZMA report of 1981 AGP [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4].
14. Toleman TA860 [HU2] (Peter Williamson): Invoiced to Peter Williamson 16 Sep 1981. Fitted with a Toyota 2T-G Formula Pacific engine, and raced in Williamson in Australian F/Pacific and in some Southeast Asian Formula Pacific events. In 1982 it was crashed heavily at Oran Park, and rebuilt on a new monocoque produced by Liston & Fisher. Williamson raced the car until the end of 1984 when he crashed the car during practice for the Australian Grand Prix, and abruptly announced his retirement from racing. The Toleman was sold to Ken Shirvington who raced it in 1985. Retained by Shirvington thereafter.
15. Ralt RT4/81 [261] (Willie Stobart): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson, for own use, no delivery date, but appears in UK August 1981. [Tub no: 81/120; gearbox FT1474; fuel cell: JM36677 4/81]. Chassis number observed on Roberto Moreno's car at Australian GP, 1981, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. According to Dave McKinney's report of that race, this was the car raced by Watson in the latter stages of the 1981 British season. Chassis number given for Watson's car in NZMA report of the Bay Park race, 3 Jan 82 with a note that it was Moreno's AGP car. AMSYB-82, p167 says that car of Willy Stobart [chassis given as 261] is the car 'Moreno crashed in Macau after the 1981 AGP'. The NZMA report of the Selangor GP says that the car had been rebuilt around a new tub, but it may be that Moreno ran 265 there instead. [CT]
16. Ralt RT1/77 [91] (Brett Fisher): New to Larry Perkins (Victoria, Australia) for the 1978 New Zealand Formula Pacific series. Then to John Smith (NEW, Australia) and raced in the 1979 New Zealand series. Smith used the car in some Rothmans International and Gold Star races later in 1979, still with its BDA engine, before converting it to single cam ANF2 specification for the Australian ANF2 series. Again raced by Smith in New Zealand in January 1980, then in ANF1 and ANF2 events in Australia. Retained for a third season in 1981, and used in the New Zealand series and in the National Panasonic Formula Pacific series in Australia. Smith then bought a new Ralt RT4/81, but the RT1 was retained as a spare car, and loaned to Brett Fisher for the 1982 Australian GP. Raced by Terry Ryan in ANF2 in 1984.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

The Australian race results have been provided by Chris Townsend based on material in Autosport and Motoring News reports plus the information supplied by a wide range of contributors.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.

Individual sources for this event

Chris Townsend's sources include Australian Motor Sport Yearbook 1982 pp166-167.