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 Ford EL Falcon in which Glenn Seton won the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship. The car is pictured above in 2011 – in its 1997 ATCC colours.

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Team Car No Drivers
Gibson Motorsport Holden VS Commodore 2 Australia Mark Skaife
45 Australia Darren Hossack
Lansvale Racing Team Holden VS Commodore 3 Australia Trevor Ashby
6 Australia Steve Reed
Holden Racing Team Holden VS Commodore 05 Australia Peter Brock
15 New Zealand Greg Murphy
97 Australia Stephen White
Wayne Gardner Racing Holden VS Commodore 7 Australia Wayne Gardner
Perkins Engineering Holden VS Commodore 8 Australia Russell Ingall
11 Australia Larry Perkins
16 Australia Melinda Price
19 Australia Kerryn Brewer
Alan Jones Racing Ford EL Falcon 9 Australia Alan Jones
Larkham Motor Sport Ford EL Falcon 10 Australia Mark Larkham
Malcolm Stenniken Holden VR Commodore 14 Australia Malcolm Stenniken
Dick Johnson Racing Ford EL Falcon 17 Australia Dick Johnson
18 Australia John Bowe
Palmer Promotions Holden VS Commodore 20 Australia Ian Palmer
Colourscan Motorsport Ford EF Falcon
Ford EL Falcon		 22 Australia Danny Osborne
Ray Hislop Ford EF Falcon 23 Australia Ray Hislop
Romano Racing Holden VS Commodore 24 Australia Paul Romano
Longhurst Racing Ford EL Falcon 25 Australia Tony Longhurst
52 Australia Steven Ellery
M3 Motorsport Holden VP Commodore 26 Australia Peter Doulman
Australia John Cotter
Terry Finnigan Holden VS Commodore 27 Australia Terry Finnigan
Glenn Seton Racing Ford EL Falcon 30 Australia Glenn Seton
Phil Johnson Holden VS Commodore 31 Australia Grant Johnson
West Coast Racing Ford EL Falcon 32 Australia Allan McCarthy
35 Australia Claude Giorgi
Pro-Duct Motorsport Holden VS Commodore 33 Australia Bob Pearson
Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VS Commodore 34 New Zealand Steven Richards
Australia Jason Bright
Gearbox Motorsport Holden VR Commodore
Holden VS Commodore		 36 Australia Neil Schembri
James Rosenberg Racing Holden VS Commodore 38 Australia Mark Poole
Challenge Motorsport Holden VS Commodore 39 Australia Chris Smerdon
Michael Hart Holden VR Commodore 40 Australia Michael Hart
42 Australia Peter Lawrence
Garry Willmington Performance Ford EB Falcon 41 Australia Garry Willmington
Wynn's Racing Holden VR Commodore 45 Australia Darren Hossack
John Faulkner Racing Holden VS Commodore 46 New Zealand John Faulkner
Daily Planet Racing Holden VS Commodore 47 Australia John Trimbole
Alcair Racing Holden VS Commodore 49 Australia Greg Crick
Australia Steven Johnson
Truckie Parsons Holden VS Commodore 55 Australia David Parsons
Novocastrian Motorsport Holden VS Commodore 62 Australia Wayne Russell
Briggs Motor Sport Ford EF Falcon 70 Australia John Briggs
PACE Racing Holden VS Commodore 74 Australia Kevin Heffernan
V8 Racing Holden VP Commodore 77 Australia Richard Mork
Cadillac Productions Holden VP Commodore
Ford EB Falcon		 79 Australia Mike Conway
Don Pulver Holden VP Commodore 88 Australia Don Pulver
Geoff Kendrick Holden VS Commodore 92 Australia Geoff Kendrick
Shaun Walker Holden VS Commodore 99 Australia Shaun Walker

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
Event locations

Race winners
Round Race Circuit Winner Team
1 1 Calder Park Raceway Greg Murphy Holden Racing Team
2 Wayne Gardner Wayne Gardner Racing
3 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
2 4 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
5 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering
6 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering
3 7 Sandown International Raceway Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
8 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
9 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
4 10 Symmons Plains Raceway Peter Brock Holden Racing Team
11 Greg Murphy Holden Racing Team
12 Greg Murphy Holden Racing Team
5 13 Winton Motor Raceway Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering
14 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering
15 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering
6 16 Eastern Creek Raceway Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
17 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
18 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
7 19 Lakeside International Raceway Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing
20 John Bowe Dick Johnson Racing
21 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering
8 22 Barbagallo Raceway Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering
23 John Bowe Dick Johnson Racing
24 Greg Murphy Holden Racing Team
9 25 Mallala Motor Sport Park Greg Murphy Holden Racing Team
26 Greg Murphy Holden Racing Team
27 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering
10 28 Oran Park Raceway Peter Brock Holden Racing Team
29 Alan Jones Alan Jones Racing
30 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing

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
Pos.[6] Driver[6] Car[6] Penalty Cal Phi San Sym Win Eas Lak Bar Mal Ora Total[6]
1 Glenn Seton Ford EL Falcon 0 80 54 90 70 68 90 30 44 70 72 668
2 John Bowe Ford EL Falcon 0 50 62 78 50 62 76 82 64 68 16 608
3 Russell Ingall Holden VS Commodore 0 62 82 62 50 86 64 68 48 50 Ret 572
4 Greg Murphy Holden VS Commodore 0 62 46 30 86 36 16 42 70 86 76 550
5 Larry Perkins Holden VS Commodore 0 38 78 42 50 82 42 54 48 82 32 548
6 Peter Brock Holden VS Commodore 0 42 32 28 82 60 58 58 74 24 62 520
7 Dick Johnson Ford EL Falcon 0 14 50 42 22 40 72 68 0 50 36 384
8 Tony Longhurst Ford EL Falcon 0 18 30 48 32 4 36 62 38 26 64 358
9 Wayne Gardner Holden VS Commodore 0 82 20 28 66 54 28 54 332
10 John Faulkner Holden VS Commodore 0 14 42 38 42 28 34 42 20 18 46 324
11 Alan Jones Ford EL Falcon 0 60 60 22 2 16 26 62 16 54 318
12 Steven Richards Holden VS Commodore 0 12 24 26 9 22 24 42 52 52 263
13 Mark Skaife Holden VS Commodore 0 50 68 14 20 14 166
14 Mark Poole Holden VS Commodore 0 20 24 24 16 20 34 138
15 Mark Larkham Ford EL Falcon 0 6 Ret 4 22 34 6 Ret 32 12 18 134
16 Terry Finnigan Holden VS Commodore 0 2 7 0 20 18 18 20 10 9 122
17 Darren Hossack Holden VS Commodore 0 0 6 0 Ret 8 7 12 22 6 6 67
18 Steve Ellery Ford EL Falcon 0 26 10 2 20 58
19 Trevor Ashby Holden VS Commodore 0 3 3 10 26 8 50
20 Stephen White Holden VS Commodore 0 16 18 34
21 Jason Bright Holden VS Commodore 0 24 24
22 Kevin Heffernan Holden VS Commodore 0 0 8 1 12 21
23 Allan McCarthy Ford EL Falcon 0 0 20 20
24 Chris Smerdon Holden VS Commodore 0 1 4 14 19
25 Paul Romano Holden VS Commodore 0 Ret 8 DNS 2 10
26 Steve Reed Holden VS Commodore 0 0 1 8 9
27 Danny Osborne Ford EL Falcon 0 Ret 1 Ret 7 0 Ret 8
28 John Trimbole Holden VS Commodore 0 Ret Ret 7 Ret 7
Kerryn Brewer Holden VS Commodore 0 6 1
Melinda Price Holden VS Commodore 0 2 5
31 Grant Johnson Holden VS Commodore 0 6 6
32 Bob Pearson Holden VS Commodore 0 3 3
33 Steven Johnson Holden VS Commodore 0 2 2
David "Truckie" Parsons Holden VS Commodore 0 2
Mike Conway Holden VS Commodore
Ford EB Falcon		 0 1 Ret 1 Ret
Greg Crick Holden VS Commodore 0 2
Neil Schembri Holden VR Commodore 0 0 2
John Briggs Ford EF Falcon 0 2
39 Ray Hislop Ford EF Falcon 0 1 0 Ret 1
Claude Giorgi Ford EL Falcon 0 1
Pos Driver Car Penalty Cal Phi San Sym Win Eas Lak Bar Mal Ora Total
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

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
  1. Australian Title Conditions, 1997 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 7–9 to 7–10
  2. Racing, 1997 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 7-1
  3. Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-7
  4. V8 Supercars – 1997 Review, Chevron Publishing Group, 1997
  5. Official Programme, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 9, 13 July 1997
  6. Graham Howard, 1997 ATCC, Stewart Wilson & David Greenhalgh, The official history – Australian Touring Car Championship – 50 Years, 2011, page 371
  7. Motor Racing Australia, Jan/Feb 1998, page 63
  8. Points to make, Official Programme, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 9, Mallala, 13 July 1997
  9. Jason Parker, Private Faulkner – Privateers' Cup, V8 Supercars – 1997 Review, Chevron Publishing Group, 1997, pages 80 to 83
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