The 1982 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Melbourne International Raceway, (now generally known as Calder Park), in Victoria, Australia on 8 November 1982.Programme, National Panasonic Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne International Raceway, 6th–7th November 1982
The race, which was the 47th Australian Grand Prix, was open to racing cars complying with Australian Formula 1 regulations,Specific Conditions, Racing Titles, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1982, page 88 which for this year included only Formula Pacific cars.Australian Formula 1 (Formula Pacific), CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1982, pages 269–272 It was the second Australian Grand Prix to feature only Formula Pacific cars. For the Australian-based competitors the race was also the eighth and final round of the 1982 Australian Drivers' Championship.
The race was won by Alain Prost of France driving a Ralt RT4. His subsequent victory in the 1986 Australian Grand Prix would see him secure his second straight Formula One World Championship for Drivers title and become the only driver to win the Australian Grand Prix in both its Australian domestic and World Championship formats.
The 1982 race was the first Australian Grand Prix since 1968 in which no Australian driver placed in the first three positions. The highest-placed Australian was Alfredo Costanzo who finished fifth in a Tiga FA81 Ford, thus clinching the 1982 Australian Drivers' Championship title. Costanzo was also the fastest Australian qualifier, starting from the third grid position behind the Ralt RT4 Fords of French Formula One drivers Alain Prost and Jacques Laffite.
Classification Results as follows:
Qualifying Pos No Driver Car Qual Gap 1 15 Alain Prost Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.18 — 2 26 Jacques Laffite Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.42 +0.24 3 1 Alfredo Costanzo Tiga FA81 Ford 0:39.59 +0.41 4 4 John Bowe Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.67 +0.49 5 18 Nelson Piquet Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.67 +0.49 6 19 Roberto Moreno Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.77 +0.59 7 27 Alan Jones Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.81 +0.63 8 71 John Smith Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.89 +0.70 9 41 David McMillan Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.93 +0.74 10 14 Robert Handford Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.98 +0.79 11 2 Andrew Miedecke Ralt RT4 Ford 0:39.99 +0.80 12 9 Graham Watson Ralt RT4 Ford 0:40.01 +0.83 13 8 Richard Davison Ralt RT4 Ford 0:40.07 +0.89 14 20 Lucio Cesario Ralt RT4 Ford 0:40.09 +0.91 15 64 Phillip Revell Ralt RT4 Ford 0:40.16 +0.98 16 25 Paul Radisich Ralt RT4 Ford 0:40.30 +1.12 17 3 Charlie O'Brien Ralt RT4 Ford 0:40.36 +1.18 18 12 Doug MacArthur Ralt RT4 Ford 0:40.41 +1.23 19 10 Neil Crang Tiga FA82 Ford 0:41.25 +2.07 20 7 Peter Williamson Toleman TA860 Toyota 0:41.25 +2.07 21 74 Chris Hocking Cheetah Mk.8 Ford 0:41.25 +2.07 22 23 Willy Stobart Ralt RT4 Ford 0:41.27 +2.09 23 78 Brian Sampson Cheetah Mk.8 Ford 0:41.38 +2.20 24 16 Bob Creasy Ralt RT4 Ford 0:41.65 +2.47 25 {1) 24 Ray Hangar Ralt RT4 Ford 0:42.10 +2.92 26 {1) 13 Brett Fisher Ralt RT1 Ford 0:43.87 +4.69
Note 1: Hanger and Fisher were listed as reserves for the race however Hanger was allowed to start after Jones withdrew during the warm-up laps.
Race Pos No Driver Car Entrant Laps Time Points 1 15 Alain Prost Ralt RT4 Ford Melbourne International Raceway 100 1h 07m 18.65s 2 26 Jacques Laffite Ralt RT4 Ford Melbourne International Raceway 100 1h 07m 33.97s 3 19 Roberto Moreno Ralt RT4 Ford Goold Motorsport 100 1h 07m 43.48s 4 41 David McMillan Ralt RT4 Ford D McMillan 99 5 1 Alfredo Costanzo Tiga FA81 Ford Porsche Cars Australia 99 9 6 2 Andrew Miedecke Ralt RT4 Ford A Miedecke 99 6 7 4 John Bowe Ralt RT4 Ford Chris Leach Racing 99 4 8 14 Robert Handford Ralt RT4 Ford R Handford 98 3 9 71 John Smith Ralt RT4 Ford J Smith 98 2 10 64 Phillip Revell Ralt RT4 Ford Aub Revell47th Australian Grand Prix, Racing Car News, December 1982, page 25 98 1 11 8 Richard Davison Ralt RT4 Ford Clive Milis Motors Pty Ltd 98 12 12 Doug MacArthur Ralt RT4 Ford DM MacArthur 97 13 10 Neil Crang Tiga FA82 Ford N Crang 96 14 74 Chris Hocking Cheetah Mk.8 Ford C Hocking 96 15 78 Brian Sampson Cheetah Mk.8 Ford B Sampson 96 16 25 Paul Radisich Ralt RT4 Ford P Radisich 93 17 16 Bob Creasy Ralt RT4 Ford B Creasy 91 18 24 Ray Hangar Ralt RT4 Ford R Hanger 90 Ret 20 Lucio Cesario Ralt RT4 Ford L Cesario 51 lost fourth gear Ret 18 Nelson Piquet Ralt RT4 Ford Goold Motorsport 35 accident Ret 9 Graham Watson Ralt RT4 Ford Graham Watson Motor Racing Pty Ltd 34 accident Ret 7 Peter Williamson Toleman TA860 Toyota National Panasonic (Australia) Pty Ltd 33 accident Ret 3 Charlie O'Brien Ralt RT4 Ford C O'Brien 27 head gasket Ret 23 Willy Stobart Ralt RT4 Ford W Stobart 26 brakes / handling DNS 27 Alan Jones Ralt RT4 Ford Alan Jones Racing flywheel (warm up laps)Australian Motor Racing Year 1982/83, pages 166 & 167 DNQ 13 Brett Fisher Ralt RT1 Ford Paul Liston
Notes Pole position: Alain Prost – 0'39.18 Fastest lap: Jacques Laffite – 0'39.62 (146.29 km/h, 90.90 mph) New Formula Pacific lap record. Winner's average speed: 143.6 km/h (89.18 mph)
References
External links Image of Alain Prost (Ralt RT4 Ford) on 7.11.1982, www.prostfan.com, as archived at www.webcitation.org Australian Grand Prix, Calder, 7 Nov 1982, /www.oldracingcars.com