1978 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1978 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Racing Cars complying with Australian Formula 1. It was the 22nd Australian Drivers' Championship to be awarded by CAMS. The title winner, Graham McRae, was awarded the 1978 CAMS Gold Star.

Calendar

The championship was contested over a three-round series.

Round	Round name	Circuit	Date	Format	Winner	Car	Report
1	Australian Gold Star Oran Park	Oran Park	30 July	One race	John McCormack	McLaren M23 Repco-Leyland
2	Australian [Grand Prix]	Sandown	10 September	One race	Graham McRae	McRae GM3 Chevrolet	Report
3	Max Stewart Trophy	Calder	15 October	Two heats	Graham McRae	McRae GM3 Chevrolet

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six place-getters at each round.
Where a round was contested in two heats, points were allocated on a 20-16-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first 14 place-getters in each heat.
The six drivers attaining the highest aggregate from both heats were then awarded the championship points for that round.
Where more than one driver attained the same total, the relevant placing was awarded to the driver who was higher placed in the last heat.

Championship name

The regulations for the championship were published by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport under the name Australian Formula 1 Championship, and the Official Souvenir Program for the 1978 Australian Grand Prix listed the race as "Round 2, 1978 Australian Formula One Championship". However it was reported in the Australian Competition Yearbook as the Australian Drivers' Championship and is recognized by CAMS as the 1978 Australian Drivers' Championship and the latter term has been used for this article.