1997 Australian Super Touring Championship

The 1997 Australian Super Touring Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Super Touring Cars. It was the fifth national title to be run in Australia for Super Touring Cars and the third to carry the Australian Super Touring Championship name. The championship, which was promoted by TOCA Australia as the 1997 BOC Gases Australian Super Touring Championship, began on 4 May at Lakeside International Raceway and ended on 9 November at Amaroo Park after eight rounds and sixteen races. The Drivers Championship was won by Paul Morris, the Manufacturers Championship by BMW and the Teams Championship by BMW Motorsport.[1]

Teams and drivers

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

Team Car No. Driver
Audi Sport Australia Audi A4 Quattro 1 * Australia Brad Jones
11 * Australia Cameron McConville
BMW Motorsport BMW 320i 2 * Australia Paul Morris
22 * New Zealand Craig Baird
83 * Australia Geoff Brabham
Volvo Cars Australia Volvo 850 4 * Australia Tony Scott
8 * New Zealand Jim Richards
Phoenix Motorsport Toyota Camry 10 Australia Mark Adderton
Australia Neal Bates
Greenfield Mowers Racing Opel Vectra
Holden Vectra		 12 Australia Cameron McLean
CPW Motorsport BMW 318i 13 Australia Wayne Wakefield
27 Australia Steven Johnson
64 New Zealand Jason Richards
Triple P Racing Hyundai Elantra 14 Australia Jim Cornish
Australia Kurt Kratzmann
57 Australia Jim Cornish
58 Australia Paul Pickett
Team Petronas PX2 Ford Mondeo 15 Italy Gianfranco Brancatelli
South Africa Michael Briggs
20 Hong Kong Albert Poon
AAP Racing Toyota Carina 15 Australia Milton Leslight
Bob Holden Motors BMW 318i 16 Australia Justin Matthews
M-F Racing Peugeot 405 Mi16 21 Australia Mike Fitzgerald
Garry Rogers Motorsport Honda Accord
Nissan Primera		 34 New Zealand Steven Richards
TC Motorsport Peugeot 405 Mi16 37 New Zealand Tony Newman
38 New Zealand Dwayne Bewley
Gun Racing Alfa Romeo 155 TS 45 Australia David Auger
John Henderson Racing Opel Vectra 56 Australia John Henderson
Warren Luff Honda Accord 60 Australia Warren Luff
Robert Tweedie Vauxhall Cavalier 79 Australia Bob Tweedie
Knight Racing Ford Mondeo 88 Australia Peter Hills
89 Australia Jenni Thompson
Australia Claude Elias
Nigel Barclay BMW 318i 99 New Zealand Blair Smith

Note : * indicates entry nominated by a manufacturer for the Manufacturers Championship

Race calendar

The 1997 Australian Super Touring Championship was contested over eight rounds with two races held at each round.[2]

Rd.[2] Race Circuit[2] Location / state Date Winner Car Team Report
NC 1 Albert Park Circuit Melbourne, Victoria 8–9 March Jim Richards Volvo 850 GLT Volvo Racing Australia
2 Albert Park Circuit Melbourne, Victoria 8–9 March Jim Richards Volvo 850 GLT Volvo Racing Australia
3 Albert Park Circuit Melbourne, Victoria 8–9 March Jim Richards Volvo 850 GLT Volvo Racing Australia
1 1 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 3–4 May Paul Morris BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
2 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 3–4 May Paul Morris BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
2 1 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria 31 May–1 Jun Paul Morris BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
2 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria 31 May–1 Jun Geoff Brabham BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
3 1 Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 21–22 Jun Brad Jones Audi A4 Quattro Brad Jones Racing
2 Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 21–22 Jun Geoff Brabham BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
4 1 Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 19–20 Jul Brad Jones Audi A4 Quattro Brad Jones Racing
2 Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 19–20 Jul Brad Jones Audi A4 Quattro Brad Jones Racing
5 1 Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 9–10 Aug Cameron McConville Audi A4 Quattro Brad Jones Racing
2 Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 9–10 Aug Paul Morris BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
6 1 Mallala Motor Sport Park Mallala, South Australia 23–24 Aug Brad Jones Audi A4 Quattro Brad Jones Racing
2 Mallala Motor Sport Park Mallala, South Australia 23–24 Aug Cameron McConville Audi A4 Quattro Brad Jones Racing
NC 1 Mount Panorama Circuit Bathurst, New South Wales 5 Oct David Brabham & Geoff Brabham BMW 320i BMW Motorsport Australia Report
7 1 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 25–26 Oct Paul Morris BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
2 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 25–26 Oct Paul Morris BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
8 1 Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 8–9 Nov Geoff Brabham BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport
2 Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 8–9 Nov Paul Morris BMW 320i Paul Morris Motorsport

Results

Drivers Championship

Drivers Championship points were awarded on a 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first ten places in each race.[2] One point was awarded to the driver setting the fastest qualifying time for each races.[2]

Pos.[1] Driver[1] Car Lak 1 Lak 2 Phi 1 Phi 2 Cal 1 Cal 2 Ama 1 Ama 2 Win 1 Win 2 Mal 1 Mal 2 Lak 1 Lak 2 Ama 1 Ama 2 Points[1]
1 Paul Morris BMW 320i 1st 1st 1st 2nd Ret 2nd 2nd 4th 2nd 1st 6th 3rd 1st 1st 4th 1st 189
2 Geoff Brabham BMW 320i 2nd 2nd 5th 1st 2nd 1st 4th 3rd 8th 3rd Ret 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 3rd 171
3 Cameron McConville Audi A4 Quattro DSQ 8th 2nd 4th 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 4th 6th 3rd 2nd 152
4 Brad Jones Audi A4 Quattro Ret 6th 11th 3rd 1st 4th 1st 1st 3rd 6th 1st 4th Ret 7th 2nd Ret 125
5 Jim Richards Volvo 850 3rd 3rd Ret 5th 4th 5th 5th 5th 4th 4th 2nd 5th 5th 4th 6th 5th 111
6 Cameron McLean Opel Vectra
Holden Vectra		 4th 4th 4th Ret 5th 10th 11th 6th 5th 7th 4th 6th 6th 5th 13th 11th 70
7 Steven Richards Honda Accord
Nissan Primera		 Ret Ret 3rd 6th DSQ 6th 6th 7th 7th 5th 11th Ret 8th Ret 42
8 Craig Baird BMW 320i 3rd 3rd 5th 4th 35
9 Justin Matthews BMW 318i 6th 7th 6th 8th 9th 9th 10th 11th 10th 9th Ret Ret 9th 9th 16th 8th 32
10 Tony Newman Peugeot 405 Mi16 8th 9th 7th 7th 8th Ret Ret 10th 11th Ret 7th 8th Ret 14th Ret DNS 24
11 David Auger Alfa Romeo 155 TS 7th 10th 8th Ret 7th 8th 13th 13th 12th 10th 9th 9th 10th 10th 14th Ret 22
12 Bob Tweedie Vauxhall Cavalier Ret Ret 12th DSQ 6th Ret 9th 9th 13th 11th 8th 7th 11th 12th 12th Ret 16
13 Mark Adderton Toyota Camry Ret Ret 8th Ret 8th Ret 7th 7th 14
13 Neal Bates Toyota Camry 6th 8th 5th Ret 14
15 Wayne Wakefield BMW 318i 5th 5th 12
16 Tony Scott Volvo 850 9th 6th 7
16 Jason Richards BMW 318i 7th 8th 7
16 Steven Johnson BMW 318i 7th 8th 7
19 Mike Briggs Ford Mondeo Ret 7th 4
20 Peter Hills Ford Mondeo 12th 12th 9th 12th 12th 11th Ret Ret 2
20 Paul Pickett Hyundai Elantra Ret Ret 9th Ret Ret 15th Ret DNS 2
20 Claude Elias Ford Mondeo 15th 9th 2
20 Jim Cornish Hyundai Elantra Ret 11th 10th Ret Ret Ret 10th Ret 2
20 Dwayne Bewley Peugeot 405 Mi16 Ret 13th 10th 10th 2
- Warren Luff Honda Accord Ret DNS 11th Ret -
- Jenni Thompson Ford Mondeo 13th 16th -
- Gianfranco Brancatelli Ford Mondeo Ret Ret -
- Blair Smith BMW 318i Ret Ret Ret Ret -
- Kurt Kratzmann Hyundai Elantra Ret DNS -
- John Henderson Opel Vectra Ret Ret -
- Milton Leslight Toyota Carina Ret DNS -
- Mike Fitzgerald Peugeot 405 Mi16 Ret DNS -
- Albert Poon Ford Mondeo DNS DNS -
Pos. Driver Car Lak 1 Lak 2 Phi 1 Phi 2 Cal 1 Cal 2 Ama 1 Ama 2 Win 1 Win 2 Mal 1 Mal 2 Lak 1 Lak 2 Ama 1 Ama 2 Points
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)

Manufacturers Championship

Manufacturers Championship points were awarded on a 15-12-10 basis for relative positions attained in each race by the best placed car of each of the three manufacturers that had nominated cars to compete on their behalf.

Position Manufacturer[1] Lak
R1		 Lak
R2		 Phi
R1		 Phi
R2		 Cal
R1		 Cal
R2		 Ama
R1		 Ama
R2		 Win
R1		 Win
R2		 Mal
R1		 Mal
R2		 Lak
R1		 Lak
R2		 Ama
R1		 Ama
R2		 Points[1]
1 BMW 15 15 15 15 12 15 12 12 12 15 10 12 15 15 15 15 220
2 Audi - 10 12 12 15 12 15 15 15 12 15 15 12 10 12 12 194
3 Volvo 12 12 - 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 10 10 12 10 10 158

Teams Championship
Position[1] Team[1] Car Points[1]
1 BMW Motorsport BMW 320i 362
2 Orix Audi Sport Australia Audi A4 Quattro 305
3 HVe Motorsport Hyundai Lantra 31
4 Knight Racing Ford Mondeo 30
5 Volvo Racing Volvo 850 25
6 Fastway Couriers Peugeot 405 Mi16 17

TOCA Challenge Cup - Independents
Position[1] Driver[1] Car Points[1]
1 Cameron McLean Opel Vectra
Holden Vectra		 186
2 Steven Richards Nissan Primera 123
3 Justin Matthews BMW 318i 111
4 David Auger Alfa Romeo 155 TS 81
5 Robert Tweedie Vauxhall Cavalier 78
6 Tony Newman Peugeot 405 Mi16 74
7 Mark Adderton Toyota Camry 50
8 Neal Bates Toyota Camry 34
9 Peter Hills Ford Mondeo 30
10 Wayne Wakefield BMW 318i 24
= Steven Johnson BMW 318i 24
12 Jason Richards BMW 318i 23
13 Dwayne Bewley Peugeot 405 Mi16 22
14 Jim Cornish Hyundai Lantra 16
15 Claude Elias Ford Mondeo 13
16 Mike Briggs Ford Mondeo 12
17 Warren Luff Honda Accord 8
18 Paul Pickett Hyundai Lantra 6
19 Jenni Thompson Ford Mondeo 4

The TOCA Challenge Cup was open to drivers of teams which did not receive major support from a manufacturer.[2]

See also

1997 AMP Bathurst 1000, a non-championship race for Super Touring cars.

References
  1. TOCA Australia – BOC Gases Australian Super Touring Championship Points – Final, 9 December 1997
  2. Official Programme, Australian Super Touring Championship, Mallala, Round 6–24 August 1997, p. 40
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