1986 Australian Touring Car Championship

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The 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Touring Cars. It began on 2 March 1986 at Amaroo Park and ended on 13 July at Oran Park Raceway after ten rounds. The championship was authorised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as an Australian National Title. It was the 27th Australian Touring Car Championship and the second to be contested by cars conforming with CAMS regulations based on the FIA's international Group A Touring Car regulations.

The championship was won by Robbie Francevic driving a Volvo 240.

Season summary

The championship was won by Auckland (New Zealand) resident Robbie Francevic driving a Volvo Dealer Team Volvo 240T, the first time the championship had been won by a non-Australian resident and the first ATCC won by a turbocharged car. Francevic, who won Rounds 1, 2 and 4, defeated George Fury driving a Nissan Skyline DR30 RS who won Rounds 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10 of the series. Francevic's wins in the opening two rounds at Amaroo Park and Symmons Plains were when the Volvo team was still run by MPM, Mark Petch Motorsport. Following Francevic's Amaroo win, Petch and Bob Atkins, head of the Australian Volvo Dealer Council, announced the formation of the AVDT, Australian Volvo Dealer Team, and hired former HDT team manager John Sheppard to run the team on a day-to-day basis from Sheppard's Calder workshop.

Contrary to what has been written in the past, Petch stayed involved as "Team Principal" until 10 July 1986, when he then resigned over a disagreement with how Sheppard was managing the Team. The AVDT purchased the original MPM 240T GpA car, and spares, which included a bare 240 body shell that later became the basis for a new Australian-built car, with new parts and technical assistance sourced from VMS. Francevic's 1985 endurance co-driver and dual Australian Drivers' Champion John Bowe joining the team full-time for his first ATCC campaign, in the team's new second car, a RHD car ex RAS in Belgium, which arrived just in time for the 4th round of the ATCC at Adelaide International Raceway, where Bowe qualified second with Francevic back in 10th, though Robbie would win the race after runaway early leader Brock holed a piston in the Holden V8 engine and then lost his fastest lap due to driving into the pits via the exit and driving the wrong way to his pit box. Bowe grabbed his first Championship Pole position at the 5th round of the Champion at Barbagallo Raceway, only to have to retire again from a substantial lead when the cars engine management system started playing up. Peter Brock won round 6 at Surfers Paradise in his new for 1986 Holden VK Commodore SS Group A (his last ATCC win until 1989 and the last race win by a Holden Commodore until his win in Round 1, Heat 1 of the 1992 ATCC) while defending champion Jim Richards could only manage one win in his JPS Team BMW 635 CSi, winning Round 9 at Winton. Richards had finished the race in second place behind Nissan team driver Gary Scott, but the Nissan was later disqualified for having oversize brakes. Although the paperwork for the Nissan's new brakes had been put through, they had not yet been homologated which led to Scott's DQ.

Series regular Allan Grice missed the 1986 ATCC (he had also missed the inaugural Group A 1985 championship) as he was racing a Les Small prepared Holden Commodore in the 1986 FIA Touring Car Championship (ETCC). Peter Brock also missed some early rounds of the ATCC due to his racing an HDT Commodore in Europe in company with Allan Moffat.

With the ATCC consisting of 10 rounds, many of the top level teams including the Holden Dealer Team, Dick Johnson Racing, JPS Team BMW and the Peter Jackson Nissan team all made loud noises during the year about the lack of prize money on offer for their efforts as the top drawing motorsport category in the country, especially as Group A racing had proven far more expensive than the old Group C regulations (Peter Brock estimated that his Bathurst winning Group C Commodore of 1984 had cost around AU$36,000 to build while his 1986 Group A Commodore had cost around $200,000, a cost increase of around 550%), with teams and drivers often racing for as little as $1,500 for a round win. Part of the problem for the teams was that due to Australia's size and the vast distance between the major cities where the race tracks were located, the prize money on offer usually did not even cover their transportation costs, let alone the cost of building, maintaining and racing the cars. Pressure was being put on the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) to come up with a series sponsor for future championships or they would risk smaller and smaller grids. CAMS rectified this from 1987 by signing a multi-year sponsorship deal with Shell who would provide some $275,000 in prize money.

Entrants and drivers

Lawrie Nelson's Ford Mustang Mustangnelson.jpg
Lawrie Nelson's Ford Mustang

The following entrants and drivers competed in the championship.

EntrantCar modelNoDriver
JPS Team BMW BMW 635CSi 1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim Richards
BMW 325i 23 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Rogers
25 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Longhurst
Chickadee Racing Holden VK Commodore SS Group A 2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graeme Bailey
Graeme CrosbyHolden VK Commodore SS Group A2
6
20
Flag of New Zealand.svg Graeme Crosby
Mobil Holden Dealer Team Holden VK Commodore SS Group A3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Harvey
05 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brock
Flag of New Zealand.svg Neal Lowe
Peter McLeodHolden VK Commodore SS Group A4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter McLeod
Volvo Dealer Team Volvo 240T 4
44
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Bowe
10 Flag of New Zealand.svg Robbie Francevic
Charlie O'BrienBMW 635CSi7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Charlie O'Brien
22 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gregg Hansford
Terry FinniganHolden VK Commodore SS Group A8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Finnigan
Kevin Bartlett Mitsubishi Starion 9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Bartlett
Mark Petch Motorsport Volvo 240T 10 Flag of New Zealand.svg Robbie Francevic
Toyota Team Australia Toyota Corolla GT AE86 11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Drew Price
Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 16 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Smith
Garry Willmington Performance Jaguar XJS 12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Willmington
Simon EmmerlingBMW 635CSi12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Simon Emmerling
Bob Holden Motors Toyota Sprinter 13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Holden
Peter Jackson Nissan Racing Nissan Skyline DR30 RS 15 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Seton
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gary Scott
30 Flag of Australia (converted).svg George Fury
Palmer Tube MillsFord Mustang17 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Johnson
Ken Mathews Prestige CarsHolden VK Commodore SS Group A19 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ken Mathews
Jim Keogh AutomotiveBMW 635CSi20 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jim Keogh
Lusty EngineeringHolden VK Commodore SS Group A23 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graham Lusty
Jagparts RacingHolden VK Commodore SS Group A24 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gerald Kay
Alf Grant RacingHolden VK Commodore SS Group A27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alf Grant
Mike Freeman Toyota Celica RA40 27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Freeman
Capri ComponentsFord Mustang28 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lawrie Nelson
Yellow PagesHolden VK Commodore SS Group A28 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Kavich
Ken DavisonFord Mustang29 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wally Kramer
Mike BurgmannHolden VK Commodore SS Group A33 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Burgmann
Garry Rogers Motorsport BMW 635CSi34 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Rogers
Lester SmerdonHolden VK Commodore SS Group A35 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Geoff Russell
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lester Smerdon
Murray CarterNissan Skyline DR30 RS36 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Murray Carter
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bill O'Brien
Grellis MarketingHolden VK Commodore SS Group A38 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ray Ellis
Motor Sport Pacific [1] Ford Sierra XR4Ti 40 Flag of New Zealand.svg David Oxton
Ford Escort RS1600i 55 Flag of New Zealand.svg Andrew Bagnall
Brian CallaghanHolden VK Commodore SS Group A47 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Callaghan
John Donnelly Rover Vitesse 50 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Donnelly
BJ Motorsport Mitsubishi Starion53 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brad Jones
David RatcliffToyota Corolla58 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Ratcliff
John Giddings Nissan Gazelle 60 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Giddings
John White Isuzu Gemini ZZ 65 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John White
Graeme HooleyHolden VK Commodore SS Group A71 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Graeme Hooley
John Major Mazda RX-7 74 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Howton
Network Alfa Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 75 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Colin Bond
Peter Williamson Toyota Toyota Celica Supra 77 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Williamson
Melbourne Brake & ClutchMitsubishi Starion78 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Sampson
Daryl Hendrick Isuzu Gemini ZZ 86 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Daryl Hendrick
Brian Bolwell BMW 323i 87 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Bolwell
Auto Art Ford Mustang 91 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Clark
Alf BarbagalloRover Vitesse96 Flag of New Zealand.svg Tim Slako

Results and standings

Race calendar

The championship was contested over ten rounds with one race per round. [2]

Rd.Race titleCircuitCity / stateDateWinnerTeamReport
1 Better Brakes 100 Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 1 - 2 Mar Robbie Francevic Mark Petch Motorsport
2 A.N.L. Cup Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 8 - 9 MarRobbie FrancevicMark Petch Motorsport [3]
3 Castrol Challenge Sandown International Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 12 - 13 Apr George Fury Peter Jackson Nissan Racing [4]
4 Motorcraft 100 Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide, South Australia 26 - 27 AprRobbie Francevic Volvo Dealer Team
5 Motorcraft 100 Wanneroo Park Perth, Western Australia 5–6 MayGeorge FuryPeter Jackson Nissan Racing [5]
6 XXXX 100 Surfers Paradise Raceway Surfers Paradise, Queensland 17–18 May Peter Brock Mobil Holden Dealer Team [6]
7 Coca-Cola Cup Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 31 May - 1 JunGeorge FuryPeter Jackson Nissan Racing [7]
8 Motorcraft 100 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 14 - 15 JunGeorge FuryPeter Jackson Nissan Racing [8]
9 Lusty-Allison Winton Roundup Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 28 - 29 Jun Jim Richards JPS Team BMW [9]
10 Castrol Grand Final Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 12 - 13 JulGeorge FuryPeter Jackson Nissan Racing

Drivers championship

Points were awarded 25-23-20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-4-3-2-1 based on the top 17 outright race positions. The two smaller engine capacity classes received bonus points. Class B, under 3.0 litres received 3 points additional to points scored from race position. Class C, under 2.0 litres received 4 points.

Class A consisted of BMW 635 CSi, Ford Mustang GT, Ford Sierra XR4Ti, Holden VK Commodore SS Group A, Jaguar XJS, Rover Vitesse.

Class B consisted of Alfa Romeo GTV6, BMW 323i, BMW 325i, Mazda RX-7, Mitsubishi Starion Turbo, Nissan Skyline DR30 RS, Toyota Supra and Volvo 240T.

Class C consisted of Isuzu Gemini ZZ, Nissan Gazelle, Toyota Celica and Toyota Corolla.

PosDriverAmaSymSanAdeWanSurCalLakWinOraPts
1 Robbie Francevic 1st1st2nd1st3rd2ndRet4th3rd6th217
2 George Fury Ret2nd1stRet1st4th1st1st2nd1st212
3 Jim Richards 2nd6thRet10th4th3rd7th5th1st5th147
4 Peter Brock 5thRetDSQ12th1st5th3rd6th2nd117
5 Tony Longhurst 3rd7th8th7th7th6th12thRetRet8th115
6 Dick Johnson 4th5thRet6th5th10th8th7th8th7th110
7 Graeme Crosby Ret4th12th2nd6thRet4th9th7th12th102
8 John Bowe 4thRet9th3rdDNS4th3rd98
9 Colin Bond Ret4th13th8th10th5thRet69
10 Glenn Seton 14thRet2nd13th2nd67
11 John Harvey Ret3rd6th5thRet6th61
12 Charlie O'Brien 6thRet3rd5th10th56
13 Graeme Bailey Ret7th9th6th4th50
14 Garry Rogers Ret8thRet9th11th8thDNSDNS39
15John Smith9th15th15th14th35
16 Murray Carter 7th14th9th33
17 David Oxton 11th13th11thRetDNS28
18Gary Scott2ndDSQ26
19 Peter McLeod 5th9th25
19 Bob Holden 11th16th19th17th25
21Graeme Hooley10th18th10th11th23
22Alf Grant8th12th13th21
23Neal Lowe3rd20
24Gerald Kay12th13thRet8th19
24Graham Lusty10th14thRet11th19
26 Brad Jones 8th13
27 Mike Burgmann 7th11
27Drew Price17th16th11
27David Ratcliff19th17th19th11
30 Gregg Hansford 8th10
30 Brian Sampson 10thRetRet10
30 Lawrie Nelson 11thRet15th10
33Brian Callaghan9th9
33Jim Keogh9th9
33Tim Slako9th9
33Peter WilliamsonDNSRet12thRetDNS9
37Tony Kavich10th8
37Tim Howton13th8
37Brian Bolwell13th8
37 Bill O'Brien 13th8
37 Andrew Bagnall 14th8
37Mike Freeman14th8
43Simon Emmerling11th7
44Lester Smerdon12th6
44Ray Ellis12th6
44John Giddings16th6
44John White20th18th6
48Ken Mathews13th18th5
49Kevin Clark14th4
50Garry WillmingtonRet15thRet3
50Wally Kramer15th3
52Darryl Hendrick21st20th2
PosDriverAmaSymSanAdeWanSurCalLakWinOraPts
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints classification
BlueNon-points classification
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired, not classified (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

See also

1986 Australian Touring Car season

References

  1. Program, Australian Touring Car Championship - Round 9, Saturday and Sunday June 28 and 29 1986
  2. Australian Motor Racing Year 1986/87, pages 312 & 313
  3. 1986 ATCC Symmons Plains Round 2
  4. 1986 Sandown ATCC R3
  5. 1986 ATCC Barbagello Round 5
  6. 1986 ATCC Surfers Paradise R 6
  7. 1986 ATCC Calder Park Round 7
  8. 1986 ATCC Lakeside Round 8
  9. 1986 ATCC R9 Winton