1971 Trans-American Sedan Championship

The 1971 Trans-American Championship was the sixth running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series. The format was altered to an over 2500cc class and an under 2500cc class, up 500cc from past years. All races used split classes except where noted. The year marked the rise of Datsun as a competitive brand, with the Japanese company winning several races throughout the season. American Motors, led by Mark Donohue's 7 wins, and Datsun, led by John Morton's 6 wins, won the manufacturers' championships.

Schedule

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Rnd Date Circuit Distance Over 2.5 Winning Car Under 2.5 Winning Car
Over 2.5 Winning Driver Under 2.5 Winning Driver
1 May 8 Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut 130 mi (210 km) (U2L)
200.43 mi (322.56 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTV
  Mark Donohue   Horst Kwech
2 May 31 Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire 112 mi (180 km) (U2L)
152 mi (245 km) (O2L)
Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo
  George Follmer   Gaston Andrey
3 June 6 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 106 mi (171 km) (U2L)
180 mi (290 km) (O2L)
Ford Mustang Datsun 510
  George Follmer   John Morton
4 June 20 Edmonton International Speedway, Edmonton, Alberta 106 mi (171 km) (U2L)
180 mi (290 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin Datsun 510
  Mark Donohue   John Morton
5 July 4 Donnybrooke International Speedway, Brainerd, Minnesota 150 mi (240 km) (U2L)
210 mi (340 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTA
  Mark Donohue   Bert Everett
6 July 17 Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 108 mi (174 km) (U2L)
200 mi (320 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin Datsun 510
  Mark Donohue   John Morton
7 July 25 Naval Air Station Olathe, Olathe, Kansas 120 mi (190 km) not contested Datsun 510
  John Morton
8 August 1 Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite, Quebec 185.5 mi (298.5 km) AMC Javelin not contested
  Mark Donohue
9 August 15 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York 123.828 mi (199.282 km) (U2L)
218.24 mi (351.22 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTV
  Mark Donohue   Horst Kwech
10 September 6 Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 209.79 mi (337.62 km) AMC Javelin not contested
  Mark Donohue
11 October 3
October 4
Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 114.75 mi (184.67 km) (U2L)
201.4 mi (324.1 km) (O2L)
AMC Javelin Datsun 510
  George Follmer   John Morton
12 October 16 Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California 110.2 mi (177.3 km) not contested Datsun 510
  John MortonA
[1][2]

^A Horst Kwech won the race on track, but was disqualified for an oversize fuel tank.[3][4]

Championships

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Points were awarded according to finishing position. Only the highest-placed car scored points for the manufacturer. Only the best 8 finishes counted toward the championship. Drivers' championships were not awarded in Trans-Am until 1972.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
9 6 4 3 2 1

Over 2.5L manufacturers

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Pos Manufacturer LRP BRY MDO EDM DON ELK MTB WGL MIC RIV Pts
1 American Motors 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 82
2 Ford 2 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 4 61
3 Chevrolet 3 5 7 3 5 7 7 5 6 5 17
4 Pontiac 19 4 5 28 25 15 5 7
[1][2]

Under 2.5L manufacturers

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Pos Manufacturer LRP BRY MDO EDM DON ELK OLA WGL RIV LAG Pts
1 Datsun 7 6 1 1 5 1 1 3 1 1 60 (62)B
2 Alfa Romeo 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 60 (72)
3 BMW 2 2 5 10 7 5 6 4 6 3 25
4 Ford of Britain 13 20 7 4 12 13 7 3
5 British Leyland 21 12 10 6 6 11 14 23 23 17 2
[1][2]

^B Tie broken based on Datsun's higher number of wins.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "1971 Trans-Am Box Scores" (PDF). Sports Car Club of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c de Jong, Frank. "1971 Trans-Am Championship table". Touring Car Racing History. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  3. ^ "The SCCA Trans-Am 2.5 Challenge". DatsunHistory.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  4. ^ "History of the Trans-Am 2.5 Challenge". B Sedan.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2011.