1991 Australian Touring Car Championship

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The 1991 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Group 3A Touring Cars. [1] The title, which was the 32nd Australian Touring Car Championship, [2] was contested over a nine-round series which began on 24 February 1991 at Sandown Raceway and ended on 11 August at Oran Park Raceway, [3] The series was promoted as the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship [4] and was won by Jim Richards driving a Nissan Skyline GT-R.

Teams and drivers

Championship winner Jim Richards, pictured in 2011 Jim Richards.jpg
Championship winner Jim Richards, pictured in 2011
Richards won the championship driving a Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R. The example above is pictured in 2015. Richards Skaife 1991 Bathurst Skyline GTR.jpg
Richards won the championship driving a Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R. The example above is pictured in 2015.

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1991 Australian Touring Car Championship.

TeamCarNoDriverRounds
Nissan Motor Sport Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim Richards All
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Skaife All
Lansvale Racing Team Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Trevor Ashby5-6, 9
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Reed1, 4
Bob Forbes Racing Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Gibbs9
Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV
Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV
211-2, 6, 8
Mobil 1 Racing Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV05 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brock All
11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Larry Perkins All
Alf Grant Racing Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R 6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Grant4
Caltex CXT Racing Team Ford Sierra RS500 8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Colin Bond All
Bob Holden Motors Toyota Sprinter 13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Holden 1, 4-6, 8
Toyota Corolla E80 75 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Binding6
76 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Conway6, 9
Warren JonssonHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warren Jonsson4, 8
Holden Racing Team Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Win Percy 1-7, 9
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Allan Grice 8
Shell Ultra-Hi Racing Ford Sierra RS50017 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Johnson All
18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Bowe All
Benson & Hedges Racing BMW M3 Evolution 20 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones All
25 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Longhurst All
Terry FinniganHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV
Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV
27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Finnigan1, 4-6, 8-9
Playscape Racing Ford Sierra RS50028 Flag of New Zealand.svg Kevin Waldock1-2, 4, 6
Wayne ParkHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV29 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Park1
Peter Jackson Racing Ford Sierra RS50030 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Seton All
Toyota Team Australia Toyota Corolla FX-GT 31 Flag of New Zealand.svg John Faulkner
PACE RacingHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV32 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Heffernan4, 8
Pro-Duct MotorsportHolden VN Commodore SS Group A SV33 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Pearson1, 5-6
Brian BolwellFord Sierra RS50043 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Bolwell4
44 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Twigden4
Peter Verheyen Toyota Sprinter 48 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Vernon9
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Verheyen5-8
M3 Motorsport BMW M3 52 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Cotter6, 9
53 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Doulman6, 9
David SalaToyota Corolla E8072 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Sala1

Changes

With Australia in the middle of an economic downturn (the "Recession we had to have" according to Federal Treasurer Paul Keating), entry numbers were significantly down on 1990 at almost every round, with only eleven cars appearing at Wanneroo Raceway. Notable absentees included Allan Moffat Racing and Toyota Team Australia, while Peter Brock closed his Mobil 1 Racing team (effectively bringing to an end the old Holden Dealer Team which had been established in 1969) and took his Mobil sponsorship to Perkins Engineering, reuniting with his Bathurst 1000 winning co-driver of 1982, 1983 and 1984, Larry Perkins in a pair of new Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SVs. The Brock teams swap back to Holden came more out of financial necessity due to their technical link Andy Rouse in Britain switching from Ford to Toyota in 1991, and with the Ford Sierra RS500's being expensive to run, forming a link with former HDT offsider Perkins to run the locally made Commodore's made much more commercial sense to major sponsors Mobil. [5]

Tony Longhurst's Benson & Hedges Racing abandoned their powerful but tyre shredding Ford Sierra RS500's and became Australia's factory BMW team, racing two former Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3 Evolutions which included upgraded front and rear spoilers as well as an increase in engine size from 2.3 to 2.5L for the 4 cyl engine. The 200 cc larger engine in the M3 also saw power for the small car rise from around 300 hp (224 kW; 304 PS) to approximately 340 hp (254 kW; 345 PS). The cars were delivered to the team's Gold Coast base after the Wellington 500 in December 1990, though under the Group A rules as used by CAMS the cars did not have the Anti-lock braking system (ABS) that they were allowed to have in the German DTM series. Team owners Longhurst and Frank Gardner had a previous association with BMW and the M3, Longhurst having raced a M3 for Gardner's factory backed JPS Team BMW in 1987, while the JPS team had used a variety of BMWs between 1981 and 1987. [6]

With the economic downturn making it unlikely Holden Special Vehicles would be able to sell the required 500 evolution VN Commodore SS Group A SVs to make it eligible for Group A competition (they ended up building only 320), CAMS gave dispensation for the model to race in Australia and thus the bigger budget Holden teams (HRT and Brock/Perkins) upgraded. Some of the privateers, notably the Lansvale Smash Repairs team and Terry Finnigan also upgraded to the VN, but most Holden privateers continued to race the previous VL model. The VN model Commodore had actually been released back in August 1988, and would be superseded by the VP in October 1991. [6] The Commodores did get other concessions from CAMS, including losing some 75 kg (165.3 lb) to bring the minimum weight of the car down to only 1,250 kg (2,755.8 lb), plus the homologation of a Holinger 6-speed gearbox in mid-year. The Mobil 1 and Holden Racing Team VN Commodores were producing approximately 520 hp (388 kW; 527 PS). The two teams ran on different tyres though, with the HRT sticking with Dunlop's while Brock and Perkins used Bridgestone's, with the Mobil team suffering in the first half of the season due to the lack of suitable rubber available for the Commodore's.

The Gibson Motorsport run Nissan Skyline R32 GT-Rs were basically as they had finished 1990. The 4WD, twin-turbo cars nicknamed "Godzilla" were producing approximately 640 hp (477 kW; 649 PS), though CAMS made the cars carry an extra 15 kg (33.1 lb) to bring them to a total of 1,360 kg (2,998.3 lb), the heaviest car on the grid.

Although the Ford Sierras had lost numbers with the Brock and Longhurst teams now driving Holden and BMWs respectively, the 4 cyl turbo Fords were still one of the fastest cars on the grid. The leading Sierras were producing approximately 540 hp (403 kW; 547 PS), and for 1991 CAMS reduced their minimum weight from 1990's 1,185 kg (2,612.5 lb) to the cars original (1987) homologated weight of just 1,100 kg (2,425.1 lb). Like the Commodores, the Sierras would also benefit from a mid-season homologation of a 6-speed Holinger gearbox. [7]

Season review

The season was dominated by Nissan Motor Sport. The team's two drivers won seven of the nine rounds between them, with six of those victories being part of 1-2 finishes. Mark Skaife scored more championship points than any other driver, but with each driver having to drop their worst round (if they actually scored points in all nine rounds), Skaife lost ten points from his fourth at Round 8 at Lakeside, giving the title to his teammate and defending champion, Jim Richards who only scored in the first eight rounds after failing to finish the Grand Finale at Oran Park. This continued the New Zealand domination of the Championship in the Group A era, with New Zealand drivers having won five of the seven Australian Touring Car Championships held under those regulations (Richards in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1991 with Robbie Francevic winning in 1986), the only Australian winner being 1988 and 1989 champion Dick Johnson.

Third place was claimed by Tony Longhurst who won two rounds, at Amaroo Park and Lakeside International Raceway in his Benson & Hedges BMW M3 Evolution. BMW's return with a top line team was underlined by teammate, 1980 Formula One World Drivers' Champion Alan Jones, finishing fourth in the points after finishing the championship strongly with consecutive second placings in the final two rounds. During the series, the BMW, which were the lightest outright cars (which helped their tyre wear and gave a braking advantage), became the only consistent challengers to the GT-Rs.

1991 also saw the return of Peter Brock to Holden for the first time since 1987. After racing BMWs in 1988 followed by two seasons running Andy Rouse sourced Ford Sierras which had seen Brock finish 3rd and 2nd in the championship, Brock teamed with former Holden Dealer Team co-driver/manager Larry Perkins in two Perkins Engineering built Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SVs, and while initially they were off the pace due to the lack of suitable Bridgestone tyres, this was rectified by halfway through the series and Brock in particular became a regular challenger with strong qualifying performances, though the heavy Commodores still to be hard on tyres in the ATCC's sprint race format. Brock finished 6th in the championship while Perkins finished in 11th place. In a 2014 interview with Australian Muscle Car magazine, Perkins would claim that part of the contract with Brock and his main sponsor Mobil stated that in championship races, he was not allowed to finish ahead of Brock unless it was unavoidable.

Brock and Perkins were joined in the fight for Holden by Holden Racing Team manager Win Percy who also had a strong season in his VN Commodore. Percy's 4th place at Amaroo Park was the best finish for a Commodore through the series and he surprised everyone when he qualified second in rounds 2 and 3 at Symmons Plains and Wanneroo. Percy finished the series in 8th place, one place ahead of five time ATCC champion Dick Johnson who endured a miserable series in his Sierra, his best finish being 4th in the opening round at Sandown Raceway.

Results and standings

Race calendar

The 1991 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over a nine-round series with one race per round. [3] Each round was of approximately 50 minutes duration.

Rd.Race titleCircuitCity / stateDateWinnerCarTeamReport
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sandown Sandown International Motor Raceway [8] Melbourne, Victoria 22 - 24 Feb Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim Richards Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R Nissan Motor Sport
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Symmons Plains Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 8 - 10 Mar Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim RichardsNissan Skyline R32 GT-RNissan Motor Sport
3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wanneroo Wanneroo Raceway Perth, Western Australia 12 - 14 Apr Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Skaife Nissan Skyline R32 GT-RNissan Motor Sport
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lakeside Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 26 - 28 Apr Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim RichardsNissan Skyline R32 GT-RNissan Motor Sport
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Winton Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria3–5 May Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim RichardsNissan Skyline R32 GT-RNissan Motor Sport
6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Amaroo Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 31 May - 2 Jun Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Longhurst BMW M3 Evolution Benson & Hedges Racing
7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mallala Mallala Motor Sport Park Mallala, South Australia 21 - 23 Jun Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark SkaifeNissan Skyline R32 GT-RNissan Motor Sport
8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg LakesideLakeside International RacewayBrisbane, Queensland12 - 14 Jul Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony LonghurstBMW M3 EvolutionBenson & Hedges Racing
9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Oran Park Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales9 - 11 Aug Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark SkaifeNissan Skyline R32 GT-RNissan Motor Sport

Championship standings

Championship points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the top ten positions at each round. [9] Each driver was required to drop any points earned from the worst round result. [9]

PosDriverCarSan.Sym.Wan.Lak.Win.Ama.Mal.Lak.Ora.Pts [10]
1 Jim Richards Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 1st1st2nd1st1st2nd2nd3rdRet137
2 Mark Skaife Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 2nd2nd1st2nd2nd3rd1st(4th)1st132 (142)
3 Tony Longhurst BMW M3 Evolution (9th)4th3rd3rd4th1st3rd1st3rd108 (110)
4 Alan Jones BMW M3 Evolution 6th9th5th5th5th5th(10th)2nd2nd70 (71)
5 Glenn Seton Ford Sierra RS500 Ret3rd4th4th3rd12th5th5th4th70
6 Peter Brock Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 7th7th9th6th(9th)6th6th6th7th38 (40)
7 John Bowe Ford Sierra RS500 3rd11th8th10th7th4th7thRetRet34
8 Win Percy Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 5thRetRet11th6th8th4th8th30
9 Dick Johnson Ford Sierra RS500 4th5thRet9th11th7th8thRet11th27
10 Colin Bond Ford Sierra RS500 11th6th6th7th8th10th9th7thRet26
11 Larry Perkins Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 14th8th7th8th10th9th11th12th6th19
12Mark Gibbs Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV
Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV
Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
10th12thRet10th5th10
13Kevin Waldock Ford Sierra RS500 8th10th12th13th4
13Terry Finnigan Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 12th13th13th11th9th9th4
15 Allan Grice Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 8th3
16John Cotter BMW M3 16th10th1
PosDriverCarSan.Sym.Wan.Lak.Win.Ama.Mal.Lak.Ora.Pts
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)

Positions shown within brackets are those for which drivers were awarded points that were not counted towards championship totals.

See also

1991 Australian Touring Car season

References

  1. Conditions for Australian Racing Titles, 1991 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 170
  2. Records, Titles and Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-7
  3. 1 2 1991/92 Australian Motor Racing Year, pages 295-296
  4. Official Programme, Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, Round 7, 23 June 1991, Mallala
  5. Hassall, David (2009). Brocky: Peter's Own Story A Life in Top Gear. Box Hill: Hassall Publishing. p. 161. ISBN   9780646525624.
  6. 1 2 Normoyle, Steve (1992). "The Great Race 11". The Great Race: Tooheys 1000 Bathurst Sunday Sept 30 1990. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing. ISSN   1031-6124.
  7. 1991 ATCC Channel 7 Intro - Car Specs
  8. Official Programme, Sandown International Motor Raceway, Sunday, February 24 (1991)
  9. 1 2 Nigel Greenway, The Point of It All, Commodore 25th Anniversary magazine, page 94
  10. Shell Australian Touring Car Championship magazine, Special 10th Anniversary Issue, page 93