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The 1981 World Sportscar Championship season was the 29th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1981 FIA World Endurance Championship which was contested over a fifteen race series which ran from 31 January to 27 September.[1] The former World Challenge for Endurance Drivers was renamed to the World Endurance Championship of Drivers for 1981 and the World Championship of Makes was renamed to the World Endurance Championship of Makes. Bob Garretson won the World Endurance Championship of Drivers and Lancia was awarded the World Endurance Championship of Makes.[1]
Schedule
World Endurance Championship of Drivers was contested over all fifteen races however only six of the races counted towards the World Endurance Championship of Makes.[1]
| Drivers Rd. | Makes Rd. | Race | Circuit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  24 Hours Pepsi Challenge
|
Daytona International Speedway | 31 January 1 February |
| 2 | - | Coca-Cola 12 Hours of Sebring
|
Sebring International Raceway | 21 March |
| 3 | - |  Mugello 6 Hours
|
Mugello Circuit | 12 April |
| 4 | 2 | 1000km Monza
|
Autodromo Nazionale Monza | 26 April |
| 5 | - | Los Angeles Times Toyota Grand Prix (6 Hours)
|
Riverside International Raceway | 26 April |
| 6 | 3 |  Silverstone 6 Hours
|
Silverstone Circuit | 10 May |
| 7 | 4 |  1000km Nürburgring
|
Nürburgring | 24 May |
| 8 | 5 |  24 Hours of Le Mans
|
Circuit de la Sarthe | 13 June 14 June |
| 9 | - | Coppa Florio (6 Hours)
|
Autodromo di Pergusa | 28 June |
| 10 | - | 6 Hours of Daytona Champion Spark Plug Challenge
|
Daytona International Speedway | 2 July |
| 11 | 6 | 6 Hours of Watkins Glen
|
Watkins Glen International | 12 July |
| 12 | - |  24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
|
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 26 July 27 July |
| 13 | - |  Molson 1000 Kilometres (6 Hours)
|
Mosport Park | 16 August |
| 14 | - | Pabst 500 Miles
|
Road America | 23 August |
| 15 | - | Flying Tigers 1000 Kilometres
|
Brands Hatch | 27 September |
Season results
Although various classes of cars contested the championship races, only the overall race winners are listed in the table below.
- The 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix and the Road America 500 were also rounds of the 1981 IMSA GT Championship.
- The 6 Hours of Daytona was restricted to Racing Stock class cars [2] (i.e. IMSA RS).[3]
- The 24 Hours of Spa was restricted to Belgian Touring Cars [4] (i.e. Group 1).[3]
World Endurance Championship of Drivers
The World Endurance Championship of Drivers was open to FIA Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4, Group 5, Group 6, Group C and GTP cars and to IMSA GTX, IMSA GTP, IMSA AAGT, IMSA GTO, IMSA GTU and IMSA RS cars.[3]
Drivers Championship points were awarded on a 20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first twenty overall finishers at each round.[3] Bonus points were also awarded as follows:[3]
- 0 points for Category 1 (Group 6 over 2 litres)
- 1 point for Category 2 (Group 5 over 2 litres, GTP over 2 litres, Group C over 2 litres, IMSA GTX over 2 litres, IMSA GTP over 2 litres, IMSA AAGT)
- 2 points for Category 3 (Group 6 under 2 litres, Group 5 under 2 litres, Group 4 under 2 litres, IMSA GTO, IMSA GTX under 2 litres)
- 3 points for Category 4 (GTP under 2 litres, Group 2 over 2 litres, IMSA GTU, Group C under 2 litres)
- 4 points for Category 5 (Group 4 under 2 litres, Group 1 over 2 litres)
- 5 points for Category 6 (Group 2 under 2 litres, Group 1 under 2 litres, IMSA RS)
Only half points were awarded at the shortened Nürburgring round.[3] All points scored were retained towards the championship totals.[3]