View source for 1983 Race of Champions

{{short description|Last non-championship Formula One race}}
{{use British English|date=February 2024}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox Grand Prix race report
|Type           = NC
|Country        = United Kingdom
|Grand Prix     = Race of Champions
|GP_Suffix      = <!--left blank intentionally-->
|Details ref    = <ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Hamilton |editor-first=Maurice |title=[[Autocourse]] 1983-84 |chapter=Non-championship Formula 1: Marlboro Race of Champions |publisher=Hazleton Publishing |year=1983 |page=246 |isbn=0-905138-25-2}}</ref>
|Fulldate       = {{Start date|1983|4|10|df=yes}}
|Year           = 1983
|Image          = File:Brands Hatch 1976-1987.svg
|Official name  = Marlboro Race of Champions
|Location       = [[Brands Hatch|Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit]], [[Fawkham]], [[Kent]], [[England]]
|Course         = Permanent racing facility
|Course_mi      = 2.6136
|Course_km      = 4.206
|Distance_laps  = 40
|Distance_mi    = 104.544
|Distance_km    = 168.24
|Weather        = Warm, dry
|Pole_Driver    = [[Keke Rosberg]]
|Pole_Country   = Finland
|Pole_Team      = [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Cosworth]]
|Pole_Time      = 1:15.766
|Fast_Driver    = [[René Arnoux]]
|Fast_Team      = [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
|Fast_Time      = 1:17.826
|Fast_Lap       = 18
|Fast_Country   = France
|First_Driver   = [[Keke Rosberg]]
|First_Country  = Finland
|First_Team     = [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Cosworth]]
|Second_Driver  = [[Danny Sullivan]]
|Second_Country = United States
|Second_Team    = [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Cosworth]]
|Third_Driver   = [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]]
|Third_Country  = Australia
|Third_Team     = [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[Cosworth]]
}}

The '''1983 Race of Champions''' was a non-championship [[Formula One]] (F1) race held at [[Brands Hatch]] on 10 April 1983. Contested over 40 laps, it was the final non-championship F1 race to be held in the sport's history (with exception of the [[Formula One Indoor Trophy]] sprint event held between 1988 and 1996). Reigning World Champion [[Keke Rosberg]] won in a [[Williams FW08|Williams]]-[[Cosworth DFV|Ford]], narrowly beating the [[Tyrrell 011|Tyrrell]]-[[Cosworth DFV|Ford]] of F1 rookie [[Danny Sullivan]], while {{f1|1980}} World Champion [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]] was third in an [[Arrows A6|Arrows]]-[[Cosworth DFV|Ford]]. The Brands Hatch circuit [[1983 European Grand Prix|would host an official World Championship round later that year]] under the [[European Grand Prix]] title. 

==Report==

===Entry===
Only thirteen cars were entered for the event, compared with the maximum grid of 26 starters which took part in the World Championship Grands Prix of {{F1|1983}}. The teams who did not attend, or only sent one of their two cars, were at a scheduled Formula One tyre test at the [[Paul Ricard Circuit]] in the south of [[France]] in preparation for the [[1983 French Grand Prix|French Grand Prix]] which was held at the same circuit just one week later.

There were two drivers present who did not take part in that year's championship: [[Brian Henton]], who drove a [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]], and [[Héctor Rebaque]], who drove a [[Brabham]]. The [[Spirit (racing team)|Spirit team]] also made its F1 debut at the event with Swedish driver [[Stefan Johansson]] and [[Honda F1|Honda]]'s first [[Turbocharger|turbo-charged]] F1 engine, which [[BBC]] commentator [[Murray Walker]] claimed had completed thousands of miles of trouble free testing. [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] fronted with only one driver. [[Michele Alboreto]] was scheduled to race, but it clashed with his drive for [[Lancia]] in the opening round of the [[1983 World Sportscar Championship season|World Endurance Championship]] at [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza|Monza]]. Instead his rookie teammate, 32-year-old American [[Danny Sullivan]], was given the opportunity to get more miles under race conditions having only completed in the previous two Grands Prix in [[1983 Brazilian Grand Prix|Brazil]] and  [[1983 United States Grand Prix West|Long Beach]]. [[McLaren]] fronted with a car for [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]], fresh from his victory in Long Beach just two weeks earlier. [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]] fronted with two cars, one for 1980 World Champion Alan Jones in his second (and final) drive for the team after making a comeback to F1 at Long Beach, and team driver [[Chico Serra]].

Eleven teams took part, but only Arrows and Theodore entered more than one car. Brabham elected not to use either of its regular drivers [[Nelson Piquet]] or [[Riccardo Patrese]], hence Rebaque's presence (he had previously driven for the team in {{F1|1981}}). Like Alboreto, Patrese was driving for Lancia at Monza, while Piquet was advertised to be driving but was actually at the scheduled tyre test at Paul Ricard, so Brabham fronted with Rebaque instead. This drew criticism from Murray Walker's co-commentator, {{f1|1976}} World Champion [[James Hunt]], who questioned why Brabham couldn't have put an up-and-coming British driver in the car for what really was a British domestic race. [[WilliamsF1|Williams]] fronted with one car for the reigning World Champion Keke Rosberg. The Williams race team was actually at Paul Ricard and Rosberg's car (the team's test car) was tended to by the team's test crew who were given the job by team boss [[Frank Williams (Formula One)|Frank Williams]] as a reward for their hard work in developing the now flat bottomed [[Williams FW08|Williams FW08C]]. [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] used the event as an opportunity to familiarise [[Nigel Mansell]] with the [[Lotus 93T]] and its turbocharged [[Renault F1|Renault]] engine it had so far limited to the team's lead driver [[Elio de Angelis]]. Of the thirteen cars, four were turbos including the [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] of [[René Arnoux]], although with the Lotus-Renault still new, Brabham without a regular driver and the Spirit-Honda on debut, only Arnoux was rated a chance of victory among the turbos.

===Qualifying===
Keke Rosberg took [[pole position]] in his [[Cosworth]] powered Williams, replicating the result at the previous year's [[1982 British Grand Prix|British Grand Prix]], also held at Brands Hatch, though without the [[Ground effect (cars)|ground effect]] his pole time of 1:15.766 was significantly slower than his 1982 pole time of 1:09.540. René Arnoux was less than one tenth of a second behind in his Ferrari turbo, and Alan Jones took an encouraging third place in his continuing comeback from retirement with Arrows. Behind John Watson's McLaren-Ford, the two Theodore drivers proved evenly matched in fifth and seventh, with regular driver [[Roberto Guerrero]] outpacing Henton. Sullivan qualified in sixth place despite suffering from [[jet lag]], as he had only arrived in the [[United Kingdom]] from the [[United States]] the day before the track action began. Mansell qualified eighth with his first taste of a turbo engine in competitive conditions; he was followed by [[Raul Boesel]] in the [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]], Rebaque's Brabham and Chico Serra in the other Arrows. Johansson set the second-fastest time in un-timed practice with a time that would have actually placed him 3rd on the grid, but suffered reliability problems in qualifying proper, restricting him to a single lap and 12th place on the grid in a difficult début for the Spirit team, but he still lined up ahead of [[Jean-Louis Schlesser]], who failed to record a lap time for [[RAM Racing|RAM March]]. The Spirit Honda again proved its speed in the race morning warm-up where Johansson reportedly was among the quickest on the circuit with times within one second of Arnoux's turbocharged Ferrari.

===Race===
Rosberg and Arnoux held their grid positions off the line, but Sullivan rose to third place after being given a nudge under braking for the first corner, the extra momentum forcing him into overtaking Jones around the outside instead of hitting him. Arnoux used the estimated {{Convert|650|bhp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} available from his [[Ferrari 126 C|Ferrari 126C2B]] to blast past Rosberg on the straight at Pilgrims Drop on the first lap, but tyre trouble prevented him from pulling away. Guerrero was squeezed by Jones and Sullivan on the first corner which damaged his front wing so he had to pit at the end of the first lap. Johansson was the first retirement after four laps, the new Honda engine failing on its F1 début. Johansson had made a good start and had passed four cars before the Honda engine started to smoke going into Dingle Dell on lap 4 while chasing Rebaque. After a quiet first start with turbo power, Nigel Mansell ended his race with handling difficulties two laps later.

On lap seven, Arnoux, who had been passed for the lead by Rosberg going into Surtees, pitted for new tyres, his Ferrari wearing its rubber extremely quickly despite cool ambient temperatures (Arnoux also had major tyre troubles in practice and was lucky not to damage the car after blowing a rear tyre at speed on the run to Clearways). By lap 23 and two further stops, his team had no further sets of tyres and he was forced to retire with camshaft trouble, although he had set the [[fastest lap]] of the race as consolation, though his lap of 1:17.826 in the flat bottomed Ferrari was 5.458 seconds shy of [[Didier Pironi]]'s lap record of 1:12.368 set at the [[1980 British Grand Prix]] in a ground effects [[Ligier JS11#JS11/15|Ligier]]-[[Cosworth DFV|Ford]]. Watson retired with a bad driveline vibration, while Rebaque retired with tyre and suspension failure in a car he wasn't totally comfortable with. In commentary, Murray Walker claimed that Rebaque looked at sea in the powerful [[Brabham BT52|Brabham]]-[[BMW M12|BMW]], despite his recent experience in racing cars at the ultra-fast [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway]] and other [[Oval track racing|oval speedways]] in the American-based [[Champ Car|CART]] series. Serra's car broke its gear linkage also retired from the race. This marked the second time in his career Rosberg had triumphed in a non-championship Formula One race, having won the [[BRDC International Trophy]] in at [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]] in [[1978 BRDC International Trophy|1978]] driving a [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]]. 

At around half-distance of the forty-lap race, Rosberg also began to suffer from tyre wear, particularly blistering to his left-rear. Sullivan was using a softer-compound set of tyres, but had "scrubbed" them in the pre-race warm-up and had no such problems. For the final fifteen laps, he was right behind Rosberg, but never managed to overtake the Williams. Despite running side by side at places on the last lap, Rosberg held on to win from Sullivan, with Jones (still with two pins in his hip after breaking it falling off a horse on his farm in [[Australia]]) half a minute behind in third. Henton, Boesel, and the lapped Schlesser and Guerrero completed the finishers.

Rosberg would later add the championship [[1983 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]] to his victory haul in 1983, but the other finishers would not approach their results at this race in any other F1 Grand Prix in 1983. As the World Championship had become ever-more important in the increasingly commercial world of Formula One, the 1983 Race of Champions remains the final non-championship race to have been held in the sport's history, with exception of the [[Formula One Indoor Trophy]] sprint event held between 1988 and 1996.

==Classification==

===Entry list===
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"
! {{Abbr|No.|Car number}}
! Driver
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! Tyres
|-
| 1
| {{flagicon|FIN}} [[Keke Rosberg]]
| [[TAG Group|TAG]] [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams Team]]
| [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]] [[Williams FW08|FW08C]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|-
| 4
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Danny Sullivan]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Benetton Tyrrell Team]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] [[Tyrrell 011|011]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|-
| 5
| {{flagicon|MEX}} [[Héctor Rebaque]]
| [[Brabham|Fila Sport]]
| [[Brabham]] [[Brabham BT52|BT52]]
| [[BMW M12|BMW M12/13]] 1.5 [[Straight-4|L4]] ([[Turbocharger|t/c]])
| style="text-align: center" | {{Michelin}}
|-
| 7
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]]
| [[Marlboro]] [[McLaren|McLaren International Team]]
| [[McLaren]] [[McLaren MP4/1|MP4/1C]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Michelin}}
|-
| 12
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[John Player & Sons|John Player Special]] [[Team Lotus]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 93T|93T]]
| [[Renault in Formula One|Renault]] EF1 1.5 [[V6 engine|V6]] ([[Turbocharger|t/c]])
| style="text-align: center" | {{Pirelli}}
|-
| 17
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Jean-Louis Schlesser]]
| [[RAM Racing]] [[March Engineering|Team March]]
| [[RAM Racing|March-RAM]] [[RAM 01|01]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Pirelli}}
|-
| 26
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Raul Boesel]]
| [[Équipe Ligier]] [[Gitanes]]
| [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]] [[Ligier JS21|JS21]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Michelin}}
|-
| 28
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[René Arnoux]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[Ferrari 126 C|126C2B]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] 126C Tipo 021/3 1.5 [[V6 engine|V6]] ([[Turbocharger|t/c]])
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|-
| 29
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Chico Serra]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows Racing Team]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]] [[Arrows A6|A6]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|-
| 30
| {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows Racing Team]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]] [[Arrows A6|A6]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|-
| 33
| {{flagicon|COL}} [[Roberto Guerrero]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore Racing Team]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]] [[Theodore N183|N183]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|-
| 34
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Brian Henton]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore Racing Team]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]] [[Theodore N183|N183]]
| [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Cosworth]] [[Cosworth DFV|DFV]] 3.0 [[V8 engine|V8]]
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|-
| 40
| {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Stefan Johansson]]
| [[Spirit Racing]]
| [[Spirit Racing|Spirit]] [[Spirit 201C|201C]]
| [[Honda in Formula One|Honda]] RA163-E 1.5 [[V6 engine|V6]] ([[Turbocharger|t/c]])
| style="text-align: center" | {{Goodyear}}
|}

===Qualifying===
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"
! {{Abbr|Pos.|Position}}
! {{Abbr|No.|Car number}}
! Driver
! Team
! Lap
! Gap
|-
! 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Keke Rosberg]]
| [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:15.766
| style="text-align: center" | &mdash;
|-
! 2
| 28
| {{flagicon|France}} [[René Arnoux]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| 1:15.839
| +0.073
|-
! 3
| 30
| {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:17.501
| +1.735
|-
! 4
| 7
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]]
| [[McLaren]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:18.062
| +2.296
|-
! 5
| 33
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Roberto Guerrero]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:18.862
| +2.680
|-
! 6
| 4
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Danny Sullivan]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:18.446
| +2.783
|-
! 7
| 34
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Brian Henton]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:18.549
| +3.096
|-
! 8
| 12
| {{flagicon|UK}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Renault in Formula One|Renault]]
| 1:18.894
| +3.128
|-
! 9
| 26
| {{flagicon|Brazil|1968}} [[Raul Boesel]]
| [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:19.236
| +3.470
|-
! 10
| 5
| {{flagicon|Mexico}} [[Héctor Rebaque]]
| [[Brabham]]-[[BMW in Formula One|BMW]]
| 1:19.592
| +3.826
|-
! 11
| 29
| {{flagicon|Brazil|1968}} [[Chico Serra]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 1:22.402
| +6.636
|-
! 12
| 40
| {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Stefan Johansson]]
| [[Spirit Racing|Spirit]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| 1:35.500
| +19.734
|-
! 13
| 17
| {{flagicon|France}} [[Jean-Louis Schlesser]]
| [[RAM Racing|RAM March]]-[[Cosworth]]
| No time
| style="text-align: center" | &mdash;
|}

===Race===
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%"
! {{Abbr|Pos.|Position}}
! {{Abbr|No.|Car number}}
! Driver
! Team
! Laps
! Time/Retired
|-
! 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|FIN}} [[Keke Rosberg]]
| [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 40
| 53:15.253
|-
! 2
| 4
| {{flagicon|USA}} [[Danny Sullivan]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 40
| +0.490
|-
! 3
| 30
| {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Alan Jones (racing driver)|Alan Jones]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 40
| +28.642
|-
! 4
| 34
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Brian Henton]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 40
| +40.520
|-
! 5
| 26
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Raul Boesel]]
| [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 40
| +40.971
|-
! 6
| 17
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Jean-Louis Schlesser]]
| [[RAM Racing|RAM March]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 39
| +1 lap
|-
! 7
| 33
| {{flagicon|COL}} [[Roberto Guerrero]]
| [[Theodore Racing|Theodore]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 39
| +1 lap
|-
! Ret
| 29
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Chico Serra]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 30
| Gear linkage
|-
! Ret
| 28
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[René Arnoux]]
| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| 23
| Tyres/Camshaft
|-
! Ret
| 5
| {{flagicon|MEX}} [[Héctor Rebaque]]
| [[Brabham]]-[[BMW in Formula One|BMW]]
| 14
| Tyres/Suspension
|-
! Ret
| 7
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[John Watson (racing driver)|John Watson]]
| [[McLaren]]-[[Cosworth]]
| 8
| Transmission
|-
! Ret
| 12
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Renault in Formula One|Renault]]
| 6
| Handling
|-
! Ret
| 40
| {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Stefan Johansson]]
| [[Spirit Racing|Spirit]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| 4
| Engine
|}
* Fastest lap: [[René Arnoux]], 1:17.826 (lap 18)
* Lap leaders: René Arnoux (1–6), [[Keke Rosberg]] (7–40)

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite journal |last=Fearnley |first=Paul |date=October 2008 |title=Ever Decreasing Circles &ndash; F1 Non-Championship Races Part Three: The '70s & '80s |journal=[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]] |volume=84 |issue=10 |pages=92 }}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Hamilton |editor-first=Maurice |title=[[AUTOCOURSE]] 1983-84 |publisher=Hazleton Publishing |year=1983 |pages=246 |isbn=0-905138-25-2}}
{{refend}}
{{reflist}}

{{F1 NC race report
| Name_of_race            = [[Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)|Race of Champions]] 
| Year_of_race            = 1983
| Previous_race_in_season = [[1981 South African Grand Prix]]
| Next_race_in_season     = —
| Previous_year's_race    = [[1979 Race of Champions]]
| Next_year's_race        = —
}}

{{Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)}}

[[Category:Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)]]
[[Category:1983 Formula One races|Race of Champions]]
[[Category:1983 in British motorsport|Race of Champions]]
[[Category:April 1983 sports events in the United Kingdom|Race of Champions]]