# 1971 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship

The 1971 SCCA L&M Continental 5000 Championship was the fifth annual running of the Sports Car Club of America's professional open wheel racing series. Liggett & Myers increased its support of the championship for 1971 through its L&M cigarette brand and now had series naming rights.
The championship was won by David Hobbs, driving a McLaren M10B Chevrolet.

## Calendar

The championship was contested over eight races with two heats per race.
| Round | Date | Event name | Event location | Duration | Winning driver | Vehicle |
| 1 | 25 April | Riverside Grand Prix | Riverside International Raceway | 77 laps | Frank Matich | McLaren M10B – Repco Holden V8 |
| 2 | 2 May | Monterey Grand Prix | Laguna Seca Raceway | 80 laps | David Hobbs | McLaren M10B – Chevrolet V8 |
| 3 | 23 May | Seattle Grand Prix | Seattle International Raceway | 80 laps | David Hobbs | McLaren M10B – Chevrolet V8 |
| 4 | 5 July | Mid-Ohio Grand Prix | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | 60 laps | Sam Posey | Surtees TS8 – Chevrolet V8 |
| 5 | 18 July | Road America Grand Prix | Road America | 48 laps | David Hobbs | McLaren M10B – Chevrolet V8 |
| 6 | 1 August | Lucerne 100 | Edmonton International Speedway | 50 laps | David Hobbs | McLaren M10B – Chevrolet V8 |
| 7 | 15 August | Minnesota Grand Prix | Brainerd International Raceway | 60 laps | Brett Lunger | Lola T192 – Chevrolet V8 |
| 8 | 6 September | Lime Rock Grand Prix | Lime Rock Park | 66 laps | David Hobbs | McLaren M10B – Chevrolet V8 |

## Points system

Championship points were awarded to drivers on a 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first ten places in each race, those places having been determined from the results of the two heats. Total points for each driver were based on the best six finishes.

## Championship results

| Position | Driver | Car | Points |
| 1 | David Hobbs | McLaren M10B Chevrolet | 119 |
| 2 | Sam Posey | Surtees TS8 Chevrolet | 70 |
| 3 | Brett Lunger | Lola T192 Chevrolet | 64 |
| 4 | Eppie Wietzes | McLaren M18 Chevrolet | 59 |
| 5 | Jim Dittemore | Lola T192 Chevrolet | 41 |
| 6 | Frank Matich | McLaren M10B Repco Holden | 35 |
| 7 | Ron Grable | Lola T190 Chevrolet & American Mk1 Chevrolet | 30 |
| 8 | Gregg Young | Surtees TS7 Ford Cosworth DFV | 28 |
| 9 | Lothar Motschenbacher | McLaren M18 Chevrolet | 26 |
| 10 | Bill Brack | Lotus 70 Chevrolet | 23 |
| 11 | Gerard Raney | Eagle Chevrolet | 21 |
| 12 | John Gunn | Eagle Chevrolet | 20 |
| 13 | Skip Barber | March 701 Ford Cosworth DFV & March 711 Ford Cosworth DFV | 18 |
| 14 | Jerry Hansen | Lola T192 Chevrolet | 17 |
| 15 | Evan Noyes | McLaren M18 Chevrolet | 10 |
| 16 | Horst Kroll | Lola T142 Chevrolet | 9 |
| = | Jack Eiteljorg | Lola T192 Chevrolet | 9 |
| 18 | Monte Shelton | Eagle Chevrolet | 8 |
| = | Merle Brennan | McLaren M10A Chevrolet | 8 |
| 20 | Pete Lovely | Lotus 49B Ford Cosworth DFV | 6 |
| 21 | Jon Milledge | McLaren M10A Chevrolet | 4 |
| = | Barry Blackmore | McLaren M10A Chevrolet | 4 |
| = | Bud Morley | Lola T192 Chevrolet | 4 |
| 24 | Dave Jordan | Eagle Chevrolet | 3 |
| = | Dennis Ott | McLaren M10B Chevrolet | 3 |
| 26 | Ed Felter | Lola T190 Chevrolet | 2 |
| = | Bill Gubelmann | March 712M Ford BDA | 2 |
| 28 | Jon Ward | Nova Mk 1 Chevrolet | 1 |
| = | Mike Brockman | Lola T190 Chevrolet | 1 |
| = | Ronnie Bucknum | Lola T190 Chevrolet | 1 |
| = | Nick Dioguardi | Surtees TS5 Chevrolet | 1 |
| = | Chris Cook | Surtees TS5 Chevrolet | 1 |