1997 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to 5.0 Litre Touring Cars[1] complying with Group 3A[2] regulations. The championship, which was the 38th Australian Touring Car Championship,[3] began on 15 March at Calder Park Raceway and ended on 3 August at Oran Park Raceway after 10 rounds.[4]
Promoted as the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship,[5] the series was won by Glenn Seton driving a Ford EL Falcon.[4]
Teams and drivers[]
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship.
Team | Car | No | Drivers |
---|---|---|---|
Gibson Motorsport | Holden VS Commodore | 2 | Mark Skaife |
45 | Darren Hossack | ||
Lansvale Racing Team | Holden VS Commodore | 3 | Trevor Ashby |
6 | Steve Reed | ||
Holden Racing Team | Holden VS Commodore | 05 | Peter Brock |
15 | Greg Murphy | ||
97 | |||
Wayne Gardner Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 7 | Wayne Gardner |
Perkins Engineering | Holden VS Commodore | 8 | Russell Ingall |
11 | Larry Perkins | ||
16 | |||
19 | |||
Alan Jones Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 9 | Alan Jones |
Larkham Motor Sport | Ford EL Falcon | 10 | Mark Larkham |
Malcolm Stenniken | Holden VR Commodore | 14 | |
Dick Johnson Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 17 | Dick Johnson |
18 | John Bowe | ||
Palmer Promotions | Holden VS Commodore | 20 | |
Colourscan Motorsport | Ford EF Falcon Ford EL Falcon |
22 | |
Ray Hislop | Ford EF Falcon | 23 | |
Romano Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 24 | Paul Romano |
Longhurst Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 25 | Tony Longhurst |
52 | Steven Ellery | ||
M3 Motorsport | Holden VP Commodore | 26 | Peter Doulman John Cotter |
Terry Finnigan | Holden VS Commodore | 27 | |
Glenn Seton Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 30 | Glenn Seton |
Phil Johnson | Holden VS Commodore | 31 | |
West Coast Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 32 | |
35 | |||
Pro-Duct Motorsport | Holden VS Commodore | 33 | Bob Pearson |
Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VS Commodore | 34 | Steven Richards Jason Bright |
Gearbox Motorsport | Holden VR Commodore Holden VS Commodore |
36 | |
James Rosenberg Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 38 | |
Challenge Motorsport | Holden VS Commodore | 39 | |
Michael Hart | Holden VR Commodore | 40 | |
42 | |||
Garry Willmington Performance | Ford EB Falcon | 41 | |
Wynn's Racing | Holden VR Commodore | 45 | Darren Hossack |
John Faulkner Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 46 | John Faulkner |
Daily Planet Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 47 | |
Alcair Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 49 | Steven Johnson |
Truckie Parsons | Holden VS Commodore | 55 | David Parsons |
Novocastrian Motorsport | Holden VS Commodore | 62 | |
Briggs Motor Sport | Ford EF Falcon | 70 | |
PACE Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 74 | |
V8 Racing | Holden VP Commodore | 77 | |
Cadillac Productions | Holden VP Commodore Ford EB Falcon |
79 | |
Don Pulver | Holden VP Commodore | 88 | |
Geoff Kendrick | Holden VS Commodore | 92 | |
Shaun Walker | Holden VS Commodore | 99 |
Race calendar[]
The championship was contested over ten rounds with three races per round.[6]
Rd.[4] | Circuit[4] | Location / state | Date | Round winner[4] | Car[4] | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 13–15 Mar | Wayne Gardner | Holden VS Commodore | Wayne Gardner Racing |
2 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 11–13 Apr | Russell Ingall | Holden VS Commodore | Perkins Engineering |
3 | Sandown International Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 25–27 Apr | Glenn Seton | Ford EF Falcon | Glenn Seton Racing |
4 | Symmons Plains Raceway | Launceston, Tasmania | 2–4 May | Greg Murphy | Holden VS Commodore | Holden Racing Team |
5 | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | 16–18 May | Russell Ingall | Holden VS Commodore | Perkins Engineering |
6 | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 23–25 May | Glenn Seton | Ford EF Falcon | Glenn Seton Racing |
7 | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | 13–15 Jun | John Bowe | Ford EF Falcon | Dick Johnson Racing |
8 | Barbagallo Raceway | Perth, Western Australia | 4–6 Jul | Peter Brock | Holden VS Commodore | Holden Racing Team |
9 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | Mallala, South Australia | 11–13 Jul | Greg Murphy | Holden VS Commodore | Holden Racing Team |
10 | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 1–3 Aug | Greg Murphy | Holden VS Commodore | Holden Racing Team |
Race winners[]
Points system[]
Championship points were awarded on a 30–26–24–22–20–18–16–14–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 basis to the top 15 finishers in each race.[7]
Championship results[]
|
|
Privateers' Cup[]
The Privateers' Cup was open to Category 2 and Category 3 entries only.[8] Points were awarded on a 30–26–24–22–20–18–16–14–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 basis to the top 15 eligible finishers in each race.[8]
Pos.[9] | Driver[9] | Car |
---|---|---|
1 | John Faulkner | Holden VS Commodore |
2 | Mark Poole | Holden VS Commodore |
3 | Terry Finnigan | Holden VS Commodore |
4 | Darren Hossack | Holden VS Commodore |
5 | Trevor Ashby | Holden VS Commodore |
Note: Only the top five positions are shown.
See also[]
1997 Australian Touring Car season
References[]
- ^ Australian Title Conditions, 1997 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 7–9 to 7–10
- ^ Racing, 1997 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 7-1
- ^ Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-7
- ^ a b c d e f V8 Supercars – 1997 Review, Chevron Publishing Group, 1997
- ^ Official Programme, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 9, 13 July 1997
- ^ a b c d e Graham Howard, 1997 ATCC, Stewart Wilson & David Greenhalgh, The official history – Australian Touring Car Championship – 50 Years, 2011, page 371
- ^ Motor Racing Australia, Jan/Feb 1998, page 63
- ^ a b Points to make, Official Programme, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 9, Mallala, 13 July 1997
- ^ a b Jason Parker, Private Faulkner – Privateers' Cup, V8 Supercars – 1997 Review, Chevron Publishing Group, 1997, pages 80 to 83
External links[]
- Australian Touring Car Championship seasons
- 1997 in V8 Supercars