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
Gibson Motorsport	Holden VS Commodore	45	Darren Hossack
Lansvale Racing Team	Holden VS Commodore	3	Trevor Ashby
Lansvale Racing Team	Holden VS Commodore	6	Steve Reed
Holden Racing Team	Holden VS Commodore	05	Peter Brock
		15	Greg Murphy
		97	Stephen White
Wayne Gardner Racing	Holden VS Commodore	7	Wayne Gardner
Perkins Engineering	Holden VS Commodore	8	Russell Ingall
		11	Larry Perkins
		16	Melinda Price
		19	Kerryn Brewer
Alan Jones Racing	Ford EL Falcon	9	Alan Jones
Larkham Motor Sport	Ford EL Falcon	10	Mark Larkham
Malcolm Stenniken	Holden VR Commodore	14	Malcolm Stenniken
Dick Johnson Racing	Ford EL Falcon	17	Dick Johnson
Dick Johnson Racing	Ford EL Falcon	18	John Bowe
Palmer Promotions	Holden VS Commodore	20	Ian Palmer
Colourscan Motorsport	Ford EF Falcon Ford EL Falcon	22	Danny Osborne
Ray Hislop	Ford EF Falcon	23	Ray Hislop
Romano Racing	Holden VS Commodore	24	Paul Romano
Longhurst Racing	Ford EL Falcon	25	Tony Longhurst
Longhurst Racing	Ford EL Falcon	52	Steven Ellery
M3 Motorsport	Holden VP Commodore	26	Peter Doulman John Cotter
Terry Finnigan	Holden VS Commodore	27	Terry Finnigan
Glenn Seton Racing	Ford EL Falcon	30	Glenn Seton
Phil Johnson	Holden VS Commodore	31	Grant Johnson
West Coast Racing	Ford EL Falcon	32	Allan McCarthy
West Coast Racing	Ford EL Falcon	35	Claude Giorgi
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	Neil Schembri
James Rosenberg Racing	Holden VS Commodore	38	Mark Poole
Challenge Motorsport	Holden VS Commodore	39	Chris Smerdon
Michael Hart	Holden VR Commodore	40	Michael Hart
Michael Hart	Holden VR Commodore	42	Peter Lawrence
Garry Willmington Performance	Ford EB Falcon	41	Garry Willmington
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	John Trimbole
Alcair Racing	Holden VS Commodore	49	Greg Crick Steven Johnson
Truckie Parsons	Holden VS Commodore	55	David Parsons
Novocastrian Motorsport	Holden VS Commodore	62	Wayne Russell
Briggs Motor Sport	Ford EF Falcon	70	John Briggs
PACE Racing	Holden VS Commodore	74	Kevin Heffernan
V8 Racing	Holden VP Commodore	77	Richard Mork
Cadillac Productions	Holden VP Commodore Ford EB Falcon	79	Mike Conway
Don Pulver	Holden VP Commodore	88	Don Pulver
Geoff Kendrick	Holden VS Commodore	92	Geoff Kendrick
Shaun Walker	Holden VS Commodore	99	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

Phillip Island

Perth

Mallala

Eastern Creek

Launceston

Lakeside

Winton

Oran Park

Calder Park

Sandown

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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
39	Claude Giorgi	Ford EL Falcon	0										1	1
Pos	Driver	Car	Penalty	Cal	Phi	San	Sym	Win	Eas	Lak	Bar	Mal	Ora	Total

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	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)

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.

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