1992 Australian Touring Car Championship

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Mark Skaife leads teammate Jim Richards at the Oran Park round, on his way to securing the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship. Oran Park 1992.jpg
Mark Skaife leads teammate Jim Richards at the Oran Park round, on his way to securing the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship.

The 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 33rd running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. [1] It was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group 3A Touring Cars, [2] commonly known as Group A cars. It began on 23 February 1992 at Amaroo Park and ended on 21 June at Oran Park Raceway after nine rounds.

Mark Skaife, driving for a Nissan Skyline GT-R for Gibson Motorsport, won his first Australian Touring Car Championship. His teammate and defending series champion Jim Richards finished second, with BMW M3 driver Tony Longhurst finishing in third place.

Even though Mark Skaife was the overall winner of the opening round at Amaroo Park, Peter Brock's win in Heat 1 of the round in his Mobil 1 Racing Holden VN Commodore SS Group A was the first win by a Holden in the ATCC since Brock had won Round 6 of the 1986 ATCC at Surfers Paradise.

In an effort to reduce costs and to even out the cars, CAMS imposed a number of changes for 1992. The Holden Commodore's and Ford Sierra RS500's were restricted to a 7,500 rev limit (a situation that still exists as of 2021) and the BMW M3's, the giant killers of 1991, had an extra 50 kg of weight added to the cars.

However the biggest change came to the Nissan GT-R's. Before the start of the season the cars were given an extra 40 kg, bringing them up to a total of 1400 kg. CAMS also directed that the cars were to run Formula One style pop-off valves on the twin turbos to restrict their power, bringing them down from 1991's 640 bhp (477 kW; 649 PS) to around 450 bhp (336 kW; 456 PS). Gibson Motorsport continually protested against the imposed penalties on the car (after winning the ATCC the cars were given an extra 100 kg to bring them 1500), and even took CAMS to court (unsuccessfully) in a bid to be able to run the GT-R as they were in 1991 claiming that they were no longer competitive. However most saw this as a false claim since the team won both the ATCC and the Tooheys 1000.

Teams and drivers

Jim Richards Nissan GT-R Gtrskaife.jpg
Jim Richards Nissan GT-R
Stephen Bell Mitsubishi Starion Stariontaylor.jpg
Stephen Bell Mitsubishi Starion

The following drivers competed in the 1992 ATCC.

TeamManufacturerCar modelNoDriver
Winfield Team Nissan Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim Richards
2 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Skaife
Lansvale Racing Team Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 3 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Trevor Ashby
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steve Reed
GIO Racing NissanSkyline R32 GT-R4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Gibbs
HoldenVN Commodore SS Group A SV21 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Gibbs
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rohan Onslow
Mobil 1 Racing HoldenVN Commodore SS Group A SV05 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Brock
7 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Neil Crompton
Alf Grant Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R 6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Grant
Caltex CXT Racing Ford Sierra RS500 8 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Colin Bond
Perkins Engineering Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 11 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Larry Perkins
Ampol Max 3 Racing HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Jones
Warren Jonsson HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV14 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Warren Jonsson
Shell Ultra-Hi Racing FordSierra RS50017 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Johnson
18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Bowe
Benson & Hedges Racing BMW M3 Evolution II 20 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alan Jones
23 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Morris
25 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Longhurst
Wayne Douglass HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV22 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John English
Terry Finnigan HoldenVN Commodore SS Group A SV27 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Terry Finnigan
Playscape Racing FordSierra RS50028 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kevin Waldock
Peter Jackson Racing FordSierra RS50030 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Seton
35 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Park
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Parsons
Phil JohnsonHoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV31 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Phil Johnson
Pro-Duct Racing HoldenVN Commodore SS Group A SV33 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bob Pearson
Ron Masing MitsubishiStarion36 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ron Masing
Brian Callaghan HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV37 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brian Callaghan Jr
Challenge Motorsport HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV39 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Chris Smerdon
John LeesonHoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV40 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Leeson
Daily Planet Racing HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV41 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Harris
Garry Willmington Performance Toyota Supra Turbo 41 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garry Willmington
Stuart McColl HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV44 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Stuart McColl
Ian Love HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV45 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ian Love
Bryan Sala FordSierra RS50050 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bryan Sala
Mike SteeleFordSierra RS50055 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mike Steele
Holden Racing Team HoldenVN Commodore SS Group A SV61 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tomas Mezera
Reda Awadullah HoldenVL Commodore SS Group A SV68 Flag of Egypt.svg Reda Awadullah
Adrian Brooke Toyota Corolla SX 72 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brad Stratton
Frank Binding ToyotaCorolla SX74 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Binding
Barbagallo Motorsport HoldenVN Commodore SS Group A SV77 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alf Barbagallo
John HolmesToyotaCorolla SX78 Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Holmes
Scotty Taylor Racing Mitsubishi Starion 86 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Stephen Bell
Malcolm Rea Toyota Sprinter 88 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Malcolm Rea

Results and standings

Race calendar

The 1992 ATCC was contested over a nine rounds series in six different states with two heats per round. [3]

Rd.Race titleCircuitCity / stateDateWinnerCarTeamReport
1 Flag of New South Wales.svg Amaroo Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 21 - 23 Feb Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Skaife Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R Winfield Team Nissan
2 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Sandown Sandown International Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 6 - 8 Mar Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Bowe Ford Sierra RS500 Shell Ultra-Hi Racing
3 Flag of Tasmania.svg Launceston Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 13 - 15 Mar Flag of Australia (converted).svg Glenn Seton Ford Sierra RS500 Peter Jackson Racing
4 Flag of Victoria (Australia).svg Winton Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria3 - 5 Apr Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark SkaifeNissan Skyline R32 GT-RWinfield Team Nissan
5 Flag of Queensland.svg Lakeside Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 1–3 May Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Longhurst BMW M3 Evolution Benson & Hedges Racing
6 Flag of New South Wales.svg Eastern Creek Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney, New South Wales22–24 May Flag of Australia (converted).svg John BoweFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra-Hi Racing
7 Flag of South Australia.svg Mallala Mallala Motorsport Park Mallala, South Australia 29–31 May Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark SkaifeNissan Skyline R32 GT-RWinfield Team Nissan
8 Flag of Western Australia.svg Wanneroo Wanneroo Raceway Perth, Western Australia 5 - 7 Jun Flag of Australia (converted).svg John BoweFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra-Hi Racing
9 Flag of New South Wales.svg Oran Park Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales19 - 21 Jun Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark SkaifeNissan Skyline R32 GT-RWinfield Team Nissan

Drivers Championship

Points were awarded on a 30-27-24-21-19-17-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2 basis to the top twenty drivers at each round. Round positions were determined by applying the same points structure to each of the two heats and ranking the drivers by the total. In the event of two or more drivers having the same total, the round placing was determined by the finishing order in the second heat. [4]

PosDriverRd 1Rd 2Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Rd 7Rd 8Rd 9Pts
1 Mark Skaife 1st2nd2nd1st5th2nd1st8th1st234
2 Jim Richards 2nd3rd4th2nd2nd4th9th2nd2nd214
3 Tony Longhurst 14th10th5th4th1st3rd2nd3rd5th184
4 John Bowe 7th1stRet7th4th1st4th1st9th175
5 Glenn Seton 4th7th1st3rd8th5th6th5th8th173
6 Mark Gibbs 5th4th6th9th16th7th3rd11th4th147
7 Alan Jones 11th18th8th6th3rd6th7th6th3rd143
8 Dick Johnson 8th5th3rd11th12th13th8th4th10th134
9 Paul Morris 9th12th11th8th6th9th10th9th6th120
10 Larry Perkins 8th5th7th11th5th7th7th108
11 Peter Brock 3rd6th10th13th9th8th11th100
12 Colin Bond 10th16th9th16th11th15th12th10th13th86
13 Wayne Park 12th14th12th10th14th10th11th14th79
14 Trevor Ashby 6th12th12th37
15 Steve Reed 11th13th12th30
16 Tomas Mezera 13th10th14th29
16 Bob Jones 15th17th22nd16thRet16th17th29
18 Neil Crompton Ret9th7thDNS28
18 Terry Finnigan 13th17th15th15thRet28
20 Stuart McColl 18th14th15th19
21 Tim Grant 18th14th18th16
22 John English 19th17th16th14
23 Chris Smerdon 19th13th12
24 Alf Barbagallo 12th10
25 Stephen Bell 13th9
25 Ian Love 13th9
27 David Parsons 14th8
28Bob Pearson15thDNS7
28 Phil Johnson 15th7
28 Bryan Sala 19th18th7
31 Brian Callaghan Jr 16th6
32 Frank Binding 17th24th5
32 Kevin Waldock 17th5
34 John Holmes 19thDNSDNS3
34 Rohan Onslow 19th3
36 Warren Jonsson 20th2
PosDriverRd 1Rd 2Rd 3Rd 4Rd 5Rd 6Rd 7Rd 8Rd 9Pts
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)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

See also

1992 Australian Touring Car season

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References

  1. About CAMS > Titles – Australian Titles Retrieved from www.camsmanual.com.au on 17 September 2009. Archived 25 September 2009.
  2. CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1992, page 162
  3. Australian Motor Racing Year, 1992/93
  4. Official Programme, Mallala, 31 May 1992, pages 10

Further reading