The 1970 Trans-American Championship was a motor racing series organised by the Sports Car Club of America for SCCA Sedans. It was the fifth Trans-Am Championship. Ford won the Over 2 Liter title and Alfa Romeo were victorious in the Under 2 Liter class.
With Porsche's 911 moving to a 2.2L engine, the year marked the resurgence of Alfa Romeo as dominant in the Under 2 Liter class. The year also marked the first race win for American Motors, with Mark Donohue driving a Penske Racing-prepared AMC Javelin, winning three races. Also winning for the first time was BMW, in the Under 2 Liter races at Bryar and Bridgehampton.
Schedule The championship was contested over eleven rounds Trans-Am, The Top - 1970, touringcarracing.net with separate races at each round for Under 2 Liter and Over 2 Liter cars.
Rnd Date Circuit Distance Over 2.0 Winning Car Under 2.0 Winning Car Over 2.0 Winning Driver(s) Under 2.0 Winning Driver(s) 1 April 18April 19 Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California (U2L) (O2L) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA Parnelli Jones Lee Midgley 2 May 9 Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut 1 Hour / (U2L)2 Hours, 30 Minutes / (O2L) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA Parnelli Jones Gaston Andrey 3 May 31 Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire 1 Hour / (U2L)2 Hours, 30 Minutes / (O2L) Ford Mustang BMW 2002 George Follmer Peter Schuster 4 June 7 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (U2L) (O2L) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA Parnelli Jones Bert Everett 5 June 20June 21 Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Sag Harbor, New York (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin BMW 2002 Mark Donohue Hans Ziereis 6 July 5 Donnybrooke International Speedway, Brainerd, Minnesota (U2L) (O2L) Chevrolet Camaro Alfa Romeo GTA Milt Minter Horst Kwech 7 July 19 Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTA Mark Donohue Horst Kwech 8 August 2 Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite, Quebec (U2L) (O2L) AMC Javelin Alfa Romeo GTA Mark Donohue Lee Midgley 9 August 16 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York (U2L) (O2L) Chevrolet Camaro Alfa Romeo GTA Vic Elford Horst Kwech 10 September 20 Seattle International Raceway, Kent, Washington (U2L) (O2L) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA Parnelli Jones Bert Everett 11 October 4 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California (U2L) (O2L) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA Parnelli Jones Bert Everett
Championships Points were awarded according to finishing position. Only the highest-placed car scored points for the manufacturer. Only the best 9 finishes counted towards 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 2.0L manufacturers Pos Manufacturer LAG LRP BRY MOH BRI DON ELK MTB WGL SEA RIV Pts 1 Ford 1 1 1 1 2 2 (5) 2 (3) 1 1 72 (78) 2 American Motors 2 13 2 3 1 19 1 1 2 2 3 59 3 Chevrolet 5 2 4 4 4 1 4 (6) 1 5 (6) 40 (42) 4 Dodge 6 3 23 5 20 20 3 4 29 3 24 18 5 Plymouth 4 10 14 21 21 5 2 28 6 18 4 15
Note: Brackets around race placings indicate that points for that placing were not counted towards the overall points total.
Under 2.0L manufacturers Pos Manufacturer LAG LRP BRY MOH BRI DON ELK MTB WGL SEA RIV Pts 1 Alfa Romeo 1 1 (2) 1 (2) 1 1 1 1 1 1 81 (93) 2 BMW 2 3 1 (6) 1 3 2 (4) 3 2 3 52 (56) 3= Fiat Abarth 6 8 5 14 3 3= British Motor Corp. 5 8 9 6 7 9 14 11 3
Note: Brackets around race placings indicate that points for that placing were not counted towards the overall points total.
References