1983 Australian Grand Prix

1983 Australian Grand Prix
1983 Australian Grand Prix
Race 6 of 6 in 1983 Australian Drivers' Championship
Race details
Date	13 November 1983
Official name	XLVIII Australian Grand Prix
Location	Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne, Victoria
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	1.609 km (1.000 miles)
Distance	100 laps, 160.9 km (100 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Roberto Moreno;
Time	0'39.49
Fastest lap
Driver	Alan Jones
Time	0'39.54
Podium
First	Roberto Moreno;
Second	John Smith;
Third	Jacques Laffite;

The 1983 Australian Grand Prix was a race for Australian Formula 1 cars held at Calder Park Raceway on 13 November 1983.

It was the forty eighth Australian Grand Prix and the fourth to be held at Calder. The race was also the sixth and final round of the 1983 Australian Drivers' Championship. The title had already been secured by Alfredo Costanzo as he had been twenty points ahead of Andrew Miedecke after winning the previous event at Winton Raceway.

Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno won his second Australian Grand Prix in three years. Local Ralt RT4 driver John Smith finished second, with French Formula One driver Jacques Laffite finishing third.

As of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, Smith's second placing is the last time an Australian driver has finished on the podium of the Australian Grand Prix. The best finish since by an Australian was Alfie Costanzo's fourth place in 1984 and Mark Webber finishing fourth in 2012. Daniel Ricciardo finished second on the road in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix but was disqualified post race for breaching the maximum fuel limit and using an unauthorised method of measuring fuel consumption.^[1]

Classification

Results as follows:^[2]

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Qual	Gap
1	19	Roberto Moreno	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:39.49	—
2	1	Alfredo Costanzo	Tiga FA81 Ford	0:39.65	+0.16
3	71	John Smith	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:39.90	+0.41
4	27	Alan Jones	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:39.90	+0.41
5	9	Paul Radisich	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:39.97	+0.48
6	15	Jacques Laffite	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.07	+0.58
7	10	Allen Berg	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.07	+0.58
8	5	Geoff Brabham	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.13	+0.64
9	25	Peter Macrow	Cheetah Mk.8 Ford	0:40.20	+0.71
10	4	John Bowe	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.23	+0.74
11	2	Andrew Miedecke	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.53	+1.04
12	22	Peter Hopwood	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.67	+1.18
13	12	Doug MacArthur	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.67	+1.18
14	8^[3]	Josele Garza	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.71	+1.22
15	64	Phillip Revell	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.84	+1.36
16	17	Brett Riley	Dart 83M Ford	0:40.86	+1.38
17	14	David Oxton	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:40.87	+1.39
18	7	Peter Williamson	Toleman TG860 Toyota	0:41.00	+1.51
19	74	Chris Hocking	Cheetah Mk.8 Ford	0:41.36	+1.87
20	68	Ian Bland	Kaditcha FA83A Ford	0:41.53	+2.04
21	3	Charlie O'Brien	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:41.77	+2.28
22	78	Brian Sampson	Cheetah Mk.8 Ford	0:41.90	+2.41
23	13	Brett Fisher	Liston BF2 Ford	0:42.24	+2.75
24	16	Bob Creasy	Ralt RT4 Ford	0:42.76	+3.27

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Entrant^[4]	Laps	Time
1	19	Roberto Moreno	Ralt RT4 Ford	Goold Motorsport	100	1h 07m 25.29s
2	71	John Smith	Ralt RT4 Ford	J Smith	100	1h 07m 38.39s
3	15	Jacques Laffite	Ralt RT4 Ford	Melbourne International Raceway	100	1h 07m 38.55s
4	5	Geoff Brabham	Ralt RT4 Ford	Melbourne International Raceway	100	1h 07m 52.06s
5	27	Alan Jones	Ralt RT4 Ford	Goold Motorsport	100	1h 07m 58.79s
6	3	Charlie O'Brien	Ralt RT4 Ford	C O'Brien	98
7	9	Paul Radisich	Ralt RT4 Ford	Watson Motor Racing	97
8	8^[3]	Josele Garza	Ralt RT4 Ford	Watson Motor Racing^[3]	97
9	25	Peter Macrow	Cheetah Mk.8 Ford	P Macrow	97
10	14	David Oxton	Ralt RT4 Ford	Re-Car Racing	97
11	10	Allen Berg	Ralt RT4 Ford	Graeme Lawrence Racing	97
12	7	Peter Williamson	Toleman TG860 Toyota	P Williamson	97
13	4	John Bowe	Ralt RT4 Ford	Chris Leach Enterprises	95
14	78	Brian Sampson	Cheetah Mk.8 Ford	Speco Thomas	95
15	16	Bob Creasy	Ralt RT4 Ford	RW Creasy	91
16	68	Ian Bland	Kaditcha FA83A Ford	Kaditcha Racing Team	77
Ret	22	Peter Hopwood	Ralt RT4 Ford	S Webb	84	fuel pickup
Ret	2	Andrew Miedecke	Ralt RT4 Ford	A Miedecke	64	rotor
Ret	13	Brett Fisher	Liston BF2 Ford	P Liston	51	half shaft
Ret	17	Brett Riley	Dart 83M Ford	Dart Racing	33	gear linkage
Ret	64	Phillip Revell	Ralt RT4 Ford	A Revell	27	gear selection
Ret	1	Alfredo Costanzo	Tiga FA81 Ford	Porsche Cars Australia Pty Ltd	25	diff
Ret	12	Doug MacArthur	Ralt RT4 Ford	DM MacArthur	0	half shaft
DNS	74	Chris Hocking	Cheetah Mk.8 Ford	C Hocking		engine
DNS	20	Mike Rosen	Ralt RT4 Ford	Garvin Brown Racing		accident

Notes

Pole position: Roberto Moreno – 0'39.49
Fastest lap: Alan Jones – 0'39.54

References

^ "Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from the results of the Australian GP". Skysports F1. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
^ Wilson, Stewart (1986). "1983". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 466–473. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c The race program includes a No 8 Ralt RT4 entry for Graham Watson Racing with the driver listed as "TBA"; the official 50-race history states that Josele Garza drove a Graham Watson-entered RT4
^ Program, John Sands Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne International Raceway, 12th and 13th November 1983

Preceded by 1982 Australian Grand Prix	Australian Grand Prix 1983	Succeeded by 1984 Australian Grand Prix

[1] "Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from the results of the Australian GP". Skysports F1. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.

[2] Wilson, Stewart (1986). "1983". In Howard, Graham (ed.). The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix. Gordon, NSW: R & T Publishing. pp. 466–473. ISBN 0-9588464-0-5.

[Garza-3] The race program includes a No 8 Ralt RT4 entry for Graham Watson Racing with the driver listed as "TBA"; the official 50-race history states that Josele Garza drove a Graham Watson-entered RT4

[Program-4] Program, John Sands Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne International Raceway, 12th and 13th November 1983

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