1981 Australian Touring Car Championship

[3] Dick Johnson, using the Ford XD Falcon built with the money he received after TV viewers had pledged AUD$72,000 following his crash with 'The Rock' at Bathurst the previous year (Ford Australia boss of the day Edsel Ford II had personally matched the amount dollar for dollar), won his first ATCC ahead of defending champion Peter Brock in his Holden Dealer Team Commodore.

Johnson and Brock were the only drivers to win during the championship which came down to the final round on Dick's home track at Lakeside.

Bonus points were awarded on a 4-3-2-1 basis to the top four placegetters irrespective of class at each round.

With Dick Johnson and Peter Brock only twice failing to take the top two positions (Johnson was third at Calder, and Brock did not finish at Sandown), they were classified ahead of Bond due to the bonus points they each received for their outright placings.

Note: Points which could not be retained under the "best seven rounds" rule are shown in the above table within brackets.