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The 1979 Australian Championship of Makes consisted of three events taking place at Sandown International Raceway, Adelaide International Raceway and the
original Surfers Paradise road course. The initial schedule called for four race meets. But the final event at Oran Park was cancelled when it became
evident that Australian Touring car stars such as Pete Brock, Allan Moffat, Allan Grice, John Harvey and Bob Morris would not compete.
The series consisted of three classes which were determined by
engine displacement. Class A - 3001 to 6000 cc engines saw the Holden Torana and Ford Falcon competing for top honours. The Ford
Capri and Mazda RX-3 were the most popular cars in Class B for cars with an engine displacement of 2001 to 3000 cc. The final class was for cars
under 2-litres and included makes such as the Toyota Celica, Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Ford Escort. In the end, Holden Torana and Toyota Celica achieved the
maximum points in the three events but because there were more Toranas scoring points they were awarded the title.
The images below are from that final round at Surfers Paradise. The Rothmans 300 was the last race of the track's Speedweek which ran from October 27 to
November 4 and included Motorcycle and Drag Racing.
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Qualifying second for the Rothmans 300 was Australian racing legend Dick Johnson in a Ford Falcon XC.
Johnson was very competitive in the early going but his promising start ended when he suffered
distributor problems. This resulted in damage to the engine, however, he was able to return to
the race. Johnson retired in 1999 after a career which included three Bathurst 1000 wins.
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The Torana A9X was Holden's performance model and although it used the same engine as the L34 optioned LH it had some special
features such as rear disc brakes, heavy duty axles and a 10-bolt differential.
This Holden Torana A9X was driven Joe Moore. Moore just missed making the podium when he finished fourth overall
and in Class A.
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This Ford Falcon XC was entered by John Donnelly and driven by John English. The XC model was produced by Ford Australia
between 1976 and 1979. The Class A Fords used a 5.8L V8 while their competition at Holden used 5.0L engines.
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Colin Bond drove the Thompson Ford Falcon. He finished second overall and a lap behind race winner
Charlie O'Brien. Early in his career Bond competed in Hillcimbs and Rallying. He won several
Australian championships before retiring in 1994. His involvement in the sport continued as a driving
standards observer for the V8 Supercar series.
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Peter Williamson and his Toyota Celica dominated the 1979 season for under 2-litre class cars.
At Surfers Paradise, he qualified at 1:23.8 to take the pole. Despite a 1-minute penalty for a pit speed violation,
he finished 1-lap ahead of his competition
to take the class win. His performance in the previous rounds and that of his teammate Mick
Quinn in a Corolla gave Toyota the championship.
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Queenslander Charlie O'Brien in Torana won the final round of the Australian Championship of Makes
at Surfers Paradise. O'Brien qualified on the pole and finished one lap ahead Colin Bond in a Ford
Falcon with Barry Seton third. O'Brien's win is
credited with giving Holden their sixth Australian Championship of Makes.
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Unipart Australia entered a Torana A9X which was driven by Barry Seton. He was the third-fastest
qualifier with a time of 1:18.5s - just a couple of tenths quicker than Colin Bond. At the start, Seton
jumped out front but one lap later Charlie O'Brien took the lead and Dick Johnson relegated
him to third the following lap. At the end of 300-kilometers, Seton was third behind O'Brien
and Bond.
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Warwick Henderson raced this Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV. He completed 80-laps which resulted in an
overall finish of twenty-first and a seventh in the under 2-litre class. This was quite a contrast
to his results at Adelaide where he finished third in class.
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Phil McDonnell ran the Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV for Brian Foley. He finished ninth overall
and second in Class C. He was unable to match the speed of the very quick Toyota Celica
of series champion Peter Williamson.
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The 3-litre class was won by Steve Masterton driving a Ford Capri. After a race long battle Peter
Hopwood in the No. 45 Capri MKIIS finished second in Class B and eighth overall.
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| POS. | DRIVER | CAR | CLASS | LAPS |
| 1 | Charlie O'Brien | Holden Torana A9X | A | 95 |
| 2 | Colin Bond | Ford Falcon | A | 94 |
| 3 | Barry Seton | Holden Torana A9X | A | 93 |
| 4 | Joe Moore | Holden Torana A9X | A | 92 |
| 5 | Allan Taylor | Holden Torana A9X | A | 91 |
| 6 | Steve Masterton | Ford Capri | B | 91 |
| 7 | Peter Williamson | Toyota Celica | C | 91 |
| 8 | Peter Hopwood | Ford Capri | B | 90 |
| 9 | Phil McDonnell | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV | C | 90 |
| 10 | Murray Carter | Ford Falcon GT | A | 90 |
| 11 | Barry Jones | Mazda RX-3 | B | 90 |
| 12 | Graeme Bailey | Toyota Celica | C | 89 |
| 13 | Cam Worner | Ford Capri | B | 88 |
| 14 | Graham Smelt | Holden Torana A9X | A | 87 |
| 15 | Arthur Hardwick | Mazda RX-3 | B | 86 |
| 16 | Ray Gulson | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV | C | 85 |
| 17 | Evan Thomas | Mazda RX-3 | B | 85 |
| 18 | Bob Holden | Ford Escort | C | 85 |
| 19 | Alf Grant | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV | C | 84 |
| 20 | Ron Wanless | Ford Falcon XC | A | 81 |
| 21 | Warwick Henderson | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV | C | 80 |
| 22 | Alan Browne | Holden Torana A9X | A | 79 |
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