1997 Australian Super Touring Championship

1997 ASTC season

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1996

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1998

Season summary

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

Team Car No Drivers Rounds Class Orix Audi Sport Australia Audi A4 Quattro 1 Brad Jones All M 11 Cameron McConville All M BMW Motorsport Australia BMW 320i 3 Paul Morris All M 22 Craig Baird All M 83 Geoff Brabham All M Volvo Racing Australia Volvo 850 4 Tony Scott 8 M 8 Jim Richards All M Phoenix Motorsport Toyota Camry 10 Mark Adderton 3-4, 7-8 P Neal Bates 5-6 P Greenfield Mowers Racing Opel Vectra Holden Vectra 12 Cameron McLean All P Super Cheap Autos BMW 318iS 13 Wayne Wakefield 1 P 64 Jason Richards 4 P CPW Motorsport BMW 318iS 27 Steven Johnson 7 P HVE Motorsport Hyundai Lantra 14 Jim Cornish 5-6 P Kurt Kratzmann 7 P 57 Jim Cornish 1 P 58 Paul Pickett 1-2, 7-8 P Team Petronas Touring Car Ford Mondeo 15 Gianfranco Brancatelli 2 P Michael Briggs 3 P All Auto Parts Toyota Carina 15 Milton Leslight 8 P Faber Castell Racing BMW 318i 16 Justin Matthews All P MF Motorsport Peugeot 405 Mi16 21 Mike Fitzgerald 8 P Garry Rogers Valvoline-Cummins Honda Accord 34 Steven Richards 1 P Nissan Primera 2-6, 8 P Fastway Couriers Peugeot 405 Mi16 37 Tony Newman 1-4, 7-8 P 38 Dwayne Bewley 7-8 P Tony Newman 5-6 P Gun Racing Alfa Romeo 155 TS 45 David Auger All P John Henderson Racing Opel Vectra 56 John Henderson 8 P FAI Insurance Honda Accord 60 Warren Luff 8 P IBC Motorsport Vauxhall Cavalier 79 Bob Tweedie All P Knight Racing Ford Mondeo 88 Peter Hills 4-5, 7-8 P 89 Jenni Thompson 7 P Claude Elias 8 P Nigel Barclay BMW 318i 99 Blair Smith 7-8 P

Icon Class M Drivers eligible to score points in the Manufactures Trophy P Private Drivers

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

Championships Standings

Points system
1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pole position
15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	1

Drivers Championship

Pos. [1] Driver [1] Car LAK PHI CAL AMA WIN MAL LAK AMA Points [1] 1 Paul Morris BMW 320i 1 1 1 2 Ret 2 2 4 2 1 6 3 1 1 4 1 191 2 Geoff Brabham BMW 320i 2 2 5 1 2 1 4 3 8 3 Ret 2 2 2 1 3 171 3 Cameron McConville Audi A4 Quattro DSQ 8 2 4 3 3 3 2 1 2 3 1 4 6 3 2 155 4 Brad Jones Audi A4 Quattro Ret 6 11 3 1 4 1 1 3 6 1 4 Ret 7 2 Ret 126 5 Jim Richards Volvo 850 3 3 Ret 5 4 5 5 5 4 4 2 5 5 4 6 5 111 6 Cameron McLean Opel Vectra Holden Vectra 4 4 4 Ret 5 10 11 6 5 7 4 6 6 5 13 11 67 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 3 3 5 4 35 9 Justin Matthews BMW 318i 5 8 6 8 9 9 10 11 10 9 Ret Ret 9 9 16 8 31 10 Tony Newman Peugeot 405 Mi16 8 9 7 7 8 Ret Ret 10 11 Ret 7 8 Ret 14 Ret DNS 23 11 David Auger Alfa Romeo 155 TS 7 10 8 Ret 7 8 13 13 12 10 9 9 10 10 14 Ret 20 12 Bob Tweedie Vauxhall Cavalier Ret Ret 12 DSQ 6 Ret 9 9 13 11 8 7 11 12 12 Ret 19 13 Mark Adderton Toyota Camry Ret Ret 8 Ret 8 Ret 7 7 14 13 Neal Bates Toyota Camry 6 8 5 Ret 14 15 Wayne Wakefield BMW 318i 6 7 10 16 Tony Scott Volvo 850 9 6 7 16 Jason Richards BMW 318i 7 8 7 16 Steven Johnson BMW 318i 7 8 7 19 Michael Briggs Ford Mondeo Ret 7 4 20 Jim Cornish Hyundai Elantra Ret 9 11 Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret 3 21 Peter Hills Ford Mondeo 12 12 9 12 12 11 Ret Ret 2 22 Claude Elias Ford Mondeo 15 9 2 23 Dwayne Bewley Peugeot 405 Mi16 Ret 13 10 10 2 24 Paul Pickett Hyundai Elantra Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 15 Ret DNS 1 - Warren Luff Honda Accord Ret DNS 11 Ret - - Jenni Thompson Ford Mondeo 13 16 - - 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 PHI CAL AMA WIN MAL LAK AMA Points

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

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		PHI		CAL		AMA		WIN		MAL		LAK		AMA		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' Trophy

Pos	Team	Car	Points
1	BMW Motorsport Australia	BMW 320i	362
2	Orix Audi Sport Australia	Audi A4	305
3	HVE Motorsport	Hyundai Lantra	31
4	Knight Racing	Ford Mondeo	30
5	Volvo Dealer Team	Volvo 850	25
6	Fastway Racing	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

• Touring Car World 97/98 — The official book of Touring car

External links

• Australian Titles at docs.cams.com.au as archived at web.archive.org
• Results Archive at www.natsoft.com.au
• Review and images from the Winton round of the Championship at www.minerva.com.au Archived 30 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
• 1997 Australian Super Touring Championship Entry List at www.supertouringregister.com