1977 Australian Touring Car Championship

The 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing championship open to Group C Touring Cars. It was the 18th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. The championship began at Symmons Plains Raceway on 7 March and ended at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 20 November after eleven rounds.^[1] 1977 was the second and final time that the series incorporated the longer distance races which made up the Australian Championship of Makes. These races included the Sandown 400 and the Phillip Island 500K, although notably not the Bathurst 1000.^[2]

Reigning champion Allan Moffat (Ford Falcon) dominated the 1977 season. In addition to his victory in the non-championship Hardie-Ferodo 1000 at Bathurst, Moffat won his third Australian Touring Car Championship, leading home new Moffat Ford Dealers teammate Colin Bond for a series 1-2 result. Moffat won the first five rounds of the championship, won a total of seven out of the eleven rounds and won the title by 32 points. Bond recorded a win at Adelaide International Raceway but was put under pressure near the end of the season from Peter Brock after consecutive wins by the Holden Torana driver at Lakeside International Raceway and Sandown Raceway in the Hang Ten 400. In the end Bond finished nine points clear of Brock. The only other round win was claimed by Allan Grice (Holden Torana) at the final round at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

In previous years the class pointscore system saw a consistent performer threaten the top of the points table. In 1977 though the best performer from the smaller cars was Ford Capri racer Lawrie Nelson who finished fourth in the points, 19 behind Brock. Holden Torana racer Bob Morris took points away from the small car class drivers by racing his Triumph Dolomite early in the series, as well as racing Lakis Manticas' Ford Capri on occasion, effectively spoiling the chances of other drivers in the under three-litre class.

Drivers[]

Drivers that competed in the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship included the following:

Sponsor	No	Car	Driver
Moffat Ford Dealers	1	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Allan Moffat
Moffat Ford Dealers	1		Allan Moffat
Moffat Ford Dealers	2	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Colin Bond
Moffat Ford Dealers	2		Colin Bond
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	3		John Harvey
Bob Jane T-Marts	3		Bob Jane
Gown-Hindhaugh	4
Bill Patterson	05		Peter Brock
Craven Mild	6		Allan Grice
Craven Mild	6		Allan Grice
Channel 7	7		Bob Morris
Channel 7	7	Holden LX Torana A9X SLR5000	Bob Morris
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	8		Charlie O'Brien
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	8	Holden LX Torana A9X SLR5000
Peter Janson	9		Larry Perkins
Mercury Outboards	9		Charlie O'Brien
Sidchrome/Melford	10	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Jim Richards
Bob Forbes	11
Pioneer Electronics	12	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team	14		John Harvey
Kevin Bartlett	14	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Kevin Bartlett
Ipec	15		Peter Janson
Bryan Byrt Ford	17	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Dick Johnson
Brian Wood Ford	18	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Murray Carter
Phillip Industries	19
Gown-Hindhaugh	20
Gown-Hindhaugh	20	Holden LX Torana A9X SLR5000	Garth Walden
Maurice Andrews	21	Holden Torana
Citizen Quartz	21		John Goss
Pioneer Electronics	22
John Goss	22	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	John Goss
Pioneer Electronics	22
Pioneer Electronics	23
Rusty French	23
Bill Patterson	24
Bill Patterson	25		Peter Brock
Bill Patterson	25		Peter Brock
Bill Patterson	26
Craven Mild	26		Allan Grice
Kevin Kennedy	27	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
HM Headers	28	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop
Rod Donovan	28	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop
Phillip Arnull	29
Graham Ryan	29
Garry Willmington	30	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop
Lawrie Nelson	32	Ford Capri V6	Lawrie Nelson
Lynn Brown	32	Mazda RX-3
Russell Skaife	34	Ford Capri V6
Tim Slako	34
Barry Seton	35	Ford Capri V6	Barry Seton
Arthur Hardwick	36	Mazda RX-3
Lakis Manticas	37	Ford Capri V6
Alan Taylor	37		Alan Taylor
Phil McDonnell	38	BMW 3.0Si
David Seldon	38	Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Allan Bryant	38	Mazda RX-3
ATP Australia	40	Ford Capri V6
Geoff Leeds	41	Mazda RX-3
Brian Sampson	43		Brian Sampson
Rogar Automotive	43	Mazda RX-3
Kim Harley	44	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Ben Penhall	44	Mazda RX-3
Paul Gulson	44	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
John Stoopman	44	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
TB Penhall	45	Mazda RX-3
Barry Lawrence	45	Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Brian Wood Ford	46	Ford Capri V6
Ross Burbidge	46	Mazda RX-3
Graham Parsons	47	Holden Torana
Graeme Wilson	47	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Terry Shiel	48	Mazda RX-3
Ian Messner	49	Ford Escort
Brian Wood Ford	49
Brian Potts	50
Brian Potts	50	Mazda RX-3
Jim Hunter	51	Mazda RX-3
Warren Torr	51	Mazda RX-3
Vic Wilson	52	Ford Capri V6	Vic Wilson
Ian Messner	52
Lennox Motors	53	Volkswagen Golf GTI
Allan Gough	53	Holden Gemini
Mike Minear	54	Holden Gemini
Roger Stanley	55
Peter Stoopman	55	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Gordon Rich	57	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
Ron Gillard	57	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
Ray Cutchie	58
David Cannon	58
Douglas Hi-Fi	59
Ray Gulson	61	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
Geoff Wade	61	Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Gil Gordon Alfa Geelong	62	Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT
Wayne Mitchell	63
Alfa Romeo Club	63	Alfa Romeo GT1300 Junior
Peter Kuebler	63	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
Martin Power	64	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Ian Chilman	64	Honda Civic
Jim Liang-Peach	65	Triumph Dolomite Sprint
David Clement	66	Mazda RX-3
John White	66
Ross Bond	66	Holden Torana
Peter Granger	67	BMW 2002
Brian Wood Ford	69	Ford Capri V6
Ralph Radburn	69	Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Ferris Car Radios	70
Peter Williamson Toyota	70	Toyota Celica
Alan Welling	71	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Brian Wood Ford	71
Alf Grant	71	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
Roger Stanley	72	Holden Torana
Neville Bridges	73	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Bernie Stack	74	Volkswagen Passat 1300
Stephen Land	74	Datsun 1200
Hair Affair	75	Morris Clubman GT
Ray Molloy	76	Morris Clubman GT
Ron Hodgson	77	Triumph Dolomite Sprint	Bob Morris
Bob Morris	77	Ford Capri V6	Bob Morris
Barry Sheales Holden	77	Holden Gemini
Geoff Newton	78	Ford Capri V6
Hugh Donaldson	78	Fiat 124
Darryl Wilcox	79	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Ian Wells	79
Wynn's Friction Proofing	79	Ford Capri V6	John Faulkner
John Millyard	80	Ford Capri V6
Ian Lees	80	Ford Capri V6
Graeme Blanchard Holden	81
Tony Niovanni	82	Holden Gemini
Graeme Wilson	84	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Graeme Wilson	84
Stuart Saker	85	Ford Escort
Pat Hogan	86
Graham Mein	87
David Seldon	88	Triumph Dolomite Sprint
Bob Holden/Shell Sport	88	Ford Escort RS2000
Kerry Cox	89	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
Peter Lander	89	Morris Clubman GT
Wayne Sweetland	90	Holden Torana
Graham Harrison	91	Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV
Ken Harrison	91	Ford Escort
Gary Whittaker	92	Toyota Corolla
Robyn Hamilton	93	Holden Gemini
Gary Leggatt	94
Deane Hill	95	Holden Gemini
Ray Kaleda	97	Holden Torana
Greville Arnel	97	Ford Escort
Martin Power	97	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1
David Langman	98
Graeme Adams	99	Ford Capri V6
Louis Stoopman Jr	99	BMW 2002tii
Russell Worthington	100	Mazda RX-3
Jeff Ogg	101	Mazda RX-3
Geoff Moran	102	Ford Capri V6
Eric Olsen	103	Mazda RX-3
Barry Jones	108	Mazda RX-3
Mollison Motors	109	Honda Civic
Max Patterson	111	Honda Civic
John Nelson	114	Datsun 1600
Annette Williams	118	Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1

Calendar[]

The 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over eleven rounds.^[1]

Rd.[1]	Race / circuit[1]	City / state	Date[1]	Format	Winner[1]	Car	Team	Report
1	Symmons Plains Symmons Plains Raceway	Launceston Tasmania	7 March	Two heats	Allan Moffat	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers
2	Calder Calder Park Raceway	Melbourne Victoria	20 March	One race	Allan Moffat	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers
3	Oran Park Oran Park Raceway	Sydney New South Wales	27 March	One race	Allan Moffat	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers
4	Amaroo Park Amaroo Park	Sydney New South Wales	10 April	One race	Allan Moffat	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers
5	Sandown Sandown International Raceway	Melbourne Victoria	17 April	One race	Allan Moffat	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers	[3]
6	Silver Jubilee Trophy[4] Adelaide International Raceway	Adelaide South Australia	5 June	One race	Colin Bond	Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers
7	The Governor's Trophy[4] Lakeside International Raceway	Brisbane Queensland	26 June	One race	Peter Brock	Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34	Bill Patterson Racing
8	Hang Ten 400 Sandown International Raceway	Melbourne Victoria	11 September	1 x 500 km race	Peter Brock	Holden LX Torana SS A9X	Bill Patterson Racing	report
9	Rothmans 250[5] Adelaide International Raceway	Adelaide South Australia	23 October	1 x 250 km race	Allan Moffat	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers
10	Rothmans 300[6] Surfers Paradise International Raceway	Surfers Paradise Queensland	6 November	1 x 300 km race	Allan Moffat	Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop	Moffat Ford Dealers
11	Ready Plan Insurance Phillip Island 500K Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island Victoria	20 November	1 x 500 km race	Allan Grice	Holden LX Torana SS A9X	Craven Mild Racing	report

Classes[]

For points-scoring purposes, cars competing in the Australian Touring Car Championship were classified into one of two classes defined by engine capacity.^[7]

• Up to and including 3000cc^[7]
• 3001 to 6000 cc^[7]

Points system[]

Australian Touring Car Championship points were awarded to drivers as follows:

Pos	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
All Rounds Outright[7]	4	3	2	1
Rounds 1-7 each class[7]	9	6	4	3	2	1
Round 8-11 each class[7]	12	8	6	4	2	1

Only the best six scores from the first seven rounds and the best two scores from the last four rounds counted towards the championship totals.^[7]

Points were awarded only where a car completed 75% of race distance and was running at the completion of the final lap.

Results[]

Results of the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship were as follows:

Pos.[8] Driver[8] Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Rd 11 Pts[8] 1 Allan Moffat 1st(13) 1st(13) 1st(13) 1st(13) 1st(13) 2nd(9) Ret 3rd((8)) 1st(16) 1st(16) 106(114) 2 Colin Bond 2nd(9) 2nd(9) 8th 2nd(9) 2nd(9) 1st(13) 2nd(9) 5th(5) 2nd(11) Ret 5th((2)) 74(76) 3 Peter Brock 3rd(6) 3rd(6) 3rd(6) 7th 4th(4) 3rd(6) 1st(13) 1st(16) 9th 3rd(8) Ret 65 4 Lawrie Nelson (9) (4) (9) 10th(6) 6th(12) (6) 46 5 Bob Morris (6) Ret (9) 10th(9) Ret (9) Ret 2nd(11) 44 6 John Harvey 8th 4th(4) 2nd(9) Ret 3rd(6) 5th(2) 3rd(6) Ret 3rd(8) 4th(5) 40 7 Allan Grice Ret Ret 5th(2) 3rd(6) 4th(4) 2nd(11) 1st(16) 39 8 10th(9) (6) Ret 10th(12) 27 9 (4) (6) 10th(8) 18 9th(6) 9th(12) 18 11 Peter Janson Ret 10th Ret 5th(2) 2nd(11) 13 12 Barry Seton 7th(12) 12 13 Jim Richards Ret Ret 6th(1) 5th(2) 3rd(8) 11 9th(9) Ret (2) 11 15 Murray Carter 4th(4) 6th(1) 8th 8th 6th(1) 4th(4) Ret 7th 10th 10 Charlie O'Brien 6th(1) 5th(2) 4th(4) 5th(2) 6th(1) Ret 8th 10 18th (6) (4) 10 8th(6) (4) 10 19 Ret (8) 8 (8) 8 7th(8) 8 22 Dick Johnson Ret 5th(2) Ret Ret 4th(5) 7 8th 9th 6th(1) 6th(1) 4th(5) 7 (3) (4) 7 25 (6) 6 (6) 6 (6) 6 28 John Goss 4th(4) Ret 8th 6th(1) 5 (3) (2) 5 (4) (1) 5 31 (4) 4 (4) Ret 4 (4) 4 10th(4) 4 35 (3) Ret 3 (3) 3 37 5th(2) 7th 2 9th 9th 7th 5th(2) 2 5th(2) 2 (2) 2 (2) Ret 2 (2) 2 (2) 2 (2) 2 John Faulkner (2) 2 46 7th 6th(1) 7th 7th 1 6th(1) 1 Ret 6th(1) 1 (1) 1 (1) 13th 1 9th (1) 1 Jim Stewart (1) 1 (1) 1 Pos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Rd 11 Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX)

Note: South African driver Basil van Rooyen placed fourth at Round 8 (the Hang Ten 400 at Sandown) but was not eligible to score points.^[8]

Australian Championship of Makes[]

The 1977 Australian Championship of Makes was awarded on the results of the final four rounds of the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship.^[7] It was the seventh circuit racing championship for manufacturers to be awarded by CAMS and the second to carry the Australian Championship of Makes name.

Classes[]

For pointscoring purposes, cars competed in four classes defined by engine capacity^[7]

• Class A: Up to 1300cc^[7]
• Class B: 1301 to 2000cc^[7]
• Class C: 2001 to 3000cc^[7]
• Class D: 3001 to 6000cc^[7]

Points[]

Points were awarded for the six best placed cars in class in each of the four rounds on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis with only the highest scoring car of each make attracting points.^[7]

Results[]

Position	Make[9]	Points[9]
1	Ford	87
2	Alfa Romeo	37
3	Honda	30
4	Holden	28
5	Mazda	12
=	Datsun	12
=	Leyland	12
8	Fiat	10
9	Toyota	3
10	Volkswagen	2

References[]

External links[]

• Autopics.com.au
• Oldracephotos.com