1984 Australian Touring Car Championship

1984 Australian Touring Car Championship
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The 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for Group C Touring Cars.[1] It was the 25th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship,[2] and the last to be contested by Group C cars as new regulations,[2] based on international Group A,[3] were introduced for 1985.[2] The championship, which began on 18 February 1984 at Sandown Raceway and ended on 1 July at Adelaide International Raceway after seven rounds, was won by Dick Johnson driving a Ford XE Falcon.

Season Summary

Johnson's win gave Ford and its Falcon both the first and last ATCC wins under Group C regulations as Allan Moffat won the 1973 ATCC in a Falcon XY GTHO Phase III.[4] The win was also Ford's 12th ATCC win since the championship began in 1960 and the Falcon's 6th win overall after having previously won in 1973, 1976, 1977 (all Moffat), 1981 and 1982 (both Johnson). It was also the Falcon's last championship win until 1993.

1984 saw the first ever ATCC race win by a turbocharged car when George Fury won the 6th round at a wet Lakeside Raceway just north of Brisbane driving a Nissan Bluebird Turbo.

Peter Brock, driving a Marlboro Holden Dealer Team entered Holden Commodore, was the only driver to win more than once, with victories in the opening rounds at Sandown and Symmons Plains. Johnson's only win in the series was at the 4th round at Surfers Paradise, though he never finished lower than 3rd in any other round. Allan Grice won the last round at Adelaide (his last ever ATCC race win), and thus the distinction of winning the last ATCC race run under Group C rules. Defending champion Allan Moffat only won one round of the series, at Wanneroo Park, and suffered a crash at Surfers Paradise in which he not only wrote off his Mazda RX-7, but also broke bones in his right hand and suffered a fractured sternum, forcing him out of the series (in fact, Moffat would not appear in another ATCC race until round 4 of the 1988 series at Wanneroo). The only other winner was former champion Bob Morris who introduced some flavour to the series when he made a comeback to the sport in 1984, winning Round 5 at Oran Park in an RX-7 fitted with a standard gearbox after the teams only race unit was broken in practice. Holden Commodore driver Warren Cullen finished 4th in the championship and was the only driver other than Dick Johnson to finish every round of the series.

Unfortunately for the final ATCC run under the local Group C rules, with the exception of Dick Johnson, Jim Richards contesting his first ATCC in his JPS Team BMW 635 CSi, Warren Cullen's two car Commodore team backed by K-Mart with new team mate Andrew Harris in his 1982 and 1983 Bathurst winning ex-HDT Commodore, and 1983 Australian Endurance Champion Peter McLeod in his Slick 50 Mazda RX-7, the series was devoid of many of its big name drivers from mid-season. Peter Brock missed both Queensland rounds due to his commitment to race a Porsche 956 with his Bathurst winning co-driver Larry Perkins at the 1000 km of Silverstone and 24 Hours of Le Mans races and was substituted in both races by team mate John Harvey having his first ATCC drive since 1979. After the Roadways Racing team lost their STP sponsorship (though still running a single car for Steve Harrington), Allan Grice struggled to find enough sponsorship other than SAAS Wheels to run his rented Roadways Commodore for the entire series and missed most of the mid-season rounds, during which time he drove the ex-Bob Jane DeKon Chevrolet Monza (now owned by Re-Car's Allan Browne) on his way to winning the Australian GT Championship, and he also drove at Le Mans in a Porsche 956 (he also joined the television commentary team for Surfers Paradise). George Fury was also missing mid-season when Nissan team boss Howard Marsden decided to concentrate on car development following a couple of non-finishes, while reigning champion Moffat missed the last three rounds of the series through injury.

The 1984 ATCC saw the ABC televise each round of the series live throughout Australia. It was the first time that one television station had covered the entire series, previously the ABC and Channel 7 had shared the broadcast rights. It would be the last time the ABC covered the ATCC as Seven took over from 1985 when the locally developed Group C rules were replaced by the FIA's International Group A touring car regulations. The commentators for the ABC telecasts were Will Hagon and John Smailes with Tim Lane, Neil Crompton and Allan Grice joining them at selected rounds.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Team Car No Driver
Masterton Homes Ford XE Falcon 2 Australia Steve Masterton
Cadbury-Schweppes Racing Holden VH Commodore SS 3 Australia David Parsons
Terry Finnigan Holden VH Commodore SS 4 & 14 Australia Terry Finnigan
Roadways Racing Holden VH Commodore SS 4
14		 Australia Steve Harrington
6 Australia Allan Grice
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team Holden VH Commodore SS 05 Australia Peter Brock
Australia John Harvey
K-Mart Auto Racing Holden VH Commodore SS 8 Australia Warren Cullen
9 Australia Andrew Harris
John Sands Racing Holden VH Commodore SS 10 Australia Rusty French
Barry Jones Mazda RX-7 10 Australia Bob Morris
Garry Willmington Performance Ford XD Falcon 11 Australia Garry Willmington
Jim Keogh Holden VH Commodore SS 12
20		 Australia Jim Keogh
John English Ford XD Falcon 14 Australia John English
Paul Gulson Holden VH Commodore SS 14 Australia Paul Gulson
Nissan Motor Co Nissan Bluebird Turbo 15 Australia George Fury
16 Australia Gary Scott
Palmer Tube Mills Ford XE Falcon 17 Australia Dick Johnson
Murray Carter Mazda RX-7 18 Australia Murray Carter
Rob Collins Mazda RX-7 19 Australia Rob Collins
David Cox Mazda RX-7 19 Australia David Cox
Lusty Engineering Pty Ltd Holden VH Commodore SS 21 Australia John Lusty
PF Motor Racing Chevrolet Camaro Z28 22 & 33 Australia Bryan Thompson
Everlast Ford XD Falcon 26 Australia Bill O'Brien
Alf Grant Ford XD Falcon 27 Australia Alf Grant
Brian Bolwell Ford Escort Mk.II 28 Australia Brian Bolwell
Bayside Spares Holden VH Commodore SS 28 Australia Barry Lawrence
Paul Jones Ford XE Falcon 29 Australia Paul Jones
JPS Team BMW BMW 635 CSi 31 New Zealand Jim Richards
Chris Clearihan Mazda RX-7 32 Australia Chris Clearihan
Mike Burgmann Mazda RX-7 33 Australia Mike Burgmann
Murray Coote Mazda 323 [2] 37 Australia Murray Coote
Bernie Stack Holden VH Commodore SS 38 Australia Bernie Stack
John Bundy Mazda RX-7 39 Australia John Bundy
King George Tavern Ford XE Falcon 40 Australia Joe Moore
Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Mazda RX-7 43 Canada Allan Moffat
Bryan Byrt Ford Ford Capri Mk.III 44 Australia Craig Harris
Gary Hinton Holden VH Commodore SS 45 Australia Gary Hinton
Australia Lester Smerdon
Dean Lindstrom Mazda RX-7 47 Australia Dean Lindstrom
John Donnelly Ford XD Falcon 49 Simon Harrex
Martin Power Triumph Dolomite Sprint 49 Australia Martin Power
Petrolon Slick 50 Racing Mazda RX-7 50 Australia Peter McLeod
Swiss Motors Mazda RX-7 53 Australia Ernie Carniello
Barry Seton Ford Capri Mk.III 55 Australia Glenn Seton
Lawrie Nelson Ford Capri Mk.III 59 Australia Lawrie Nelson
Les Ski Racing Isuzu Gemini 61 Australia Les Szreniawski
Peter Brierley Holden VH Commodore SS 62 Australia Peter Brierley
Fred Geissler Holden VH Commodore SS 66 Australia Fred Geissler
John White Isuzu Gemini 65 Australia John White
Ian Burrell Mitsubishi Colt 66 Australia Ian Burrell
Lyndon Arnel Ford Escort Mk.II 68 Australia Lyndon Arnel
Don Smith Ford Capri Mk.III 69 Australia Don Smith
Colin Campbell Holden VH Commodore SS 70 Australia Colin Campbell
Bob Holden Motors Toyota Celica
Ford Escort Mk.II		 73 Australia Bob Holden
Wayne Park Isuzu Gemini 74 Australia Wayne Park
Garry McGrath Ford Escort Mk.II 77 Australia Garry McGrath
Ken Harrison Ford Escort Mk.II 80 Australia Ken Harrison
Russell Worthington Mazda 626 100 Australia Russell Worthington
Denis Horley Isuzu Gemini Australia Denis Horley [5]
Jim Myhill Mazda RX-7 Australia Jim Myhill
John Walker Mazda RX-7 Australia Johnny Walker

Race Calendar

The 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over a seven round series with one race per round.

Rd. Race Title Circuit City / State Date Winner Team Report
1 Australia Sandown Sandown International Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 18 February Peter Brock Marlboro Holden Dealer Team [6]
2 Australia Symmons Plains Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 11 March Peter Brock Marlboro Holden Dealer Team
3 Australia Wanneroo Wanneroo Park Raceway [7] Perth, Western Australia 1 April Allan Moffat Peter Stuyvesant International Racing
4 Australia Surfers Paradise Surfers Paradise International Raceway Surfers Paradise, Queensland 13 May Dick Johnson Palmer Tube Mills [8]
5 Australia Oran Park Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 27 May Bob Morris Barry Jones [9]
6 Australia Lakeside Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 17 June George Fury Nissan Motor Co
7 Australia Motorcraft 100 [10] Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide, South Australia 1 July Allan Grice Roadways Racing [11]

Points system

Cars competed in two engine displacement classes, "up to and including 3000cc" and "3001-6000cc".[1]

Points were awarded for the first twenty outright places in each round using a two tier system as shown in the following table.[1]

3001-6000cc consisted of BMW 635 CSi, Chevrolet Camaro Z28, Ford XD Falcon, Ford XE Falcon, Holden VH Commodore, Mazda RX-7 and Nissan Bluebird Turbo.

Up to and including 3000cc consisted of Ford Capri Mk.III, Ford Escort Mk.II, Isuzu Gemini, Mazda 323, Mazda 626, Mitsubishi Colt, Toyota Celica and Triumph Dolomite Sprint

Outright position [1] 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th
Points if up to 3000cc [1] 30 27 24 21 19 17 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Points if 3001-6000cc [1] 25 23 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 0

Points from the best six round results only could be retained by each driver.[1]

Championship results

Pos.[2] Driver [2] Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Pts.[2]
1 Dick Johnson 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 3rd 2nd (3rd) 134 (154)
2 Peter Brock 1st 1st 2nd Ret 2nd 96
3 Peter McLeod Ret 4th 4th 2nd 2nd 5th Ret 95
4 Warren Cullen 6th 6th (12th) 5th 5th 3rd 5th 91 (97)
5 Jim Richards 4th Ret 8th 3rd 16th 4th 7th 77
6 Andrew Harris Ret 8th 5th 7th Ret 6th 10th 57
7 Allan Grice Ret 3rd 7th 1st 56
8 Murray Carter 19th 10th 7th 6th Ret 8th 49
9 Allan Moffat 3rd Ret 1st Ret 45
= Steve Harrington Ret 5th 4th Ret 6th 45
11 George Fury 5th Ret Ret Ret 1st Ret 40
12 Brian Bolwell 15th 14th 13th 15th 15th 37
13 Bob Morris 1st 25
= Glenn Seton 16th 13th 12th 25
15 Garry Willmington Ret 6th 7th 24
16 Chris Clearihan 10th 11th 11th 22
17 David Parsons 9th 7th 20
18 Jim Keogh 8th 9th Ret 19
= Lawrie Nelson 12th 13th Ret 19
= Dean Lindstrom 12th 13th 19
= Craig Harris 13th 17th 17th 19
22 Terry Finnigan 4th 17
= Gary Scott 4th 17
= Graham Lusty 11th 8th 17
25 John English 11th 10th 15
26 John Lusty Ret 6th Ret 13
27 Ken Harrison 15th 17th 12
28 Rusty French 7th 11
= Murray Coote 19th 14th 11
30 Mike Burgmann 8th 10
= Barry Lawrence 8th 10
= Denis Horley [5] 18th 16th 10
33 Bernie Stack 9th 9
= Steve Masterton Ret 9th Ret 9
= Fred Geissler 9th 9
= John Harvey Ret 9th 9
= David Cox Ret 9th 9
38 Paul Jones 10th 8
= Lyndon Arnel 14th Ret 8
= Colin Campbell Ret 10th Ret 8
= Bill O'Brien 10th 8
= Don Smith 14th 8
= Joe Moore 13th 15th 8
44 Rob Collins 11th 7
= John Bundy DNS Ret 11th 7
46 Ernie Carniello 12th 6
= Alf Grant 12th 6
= Bryan Thompson 12th 6
= Clynton Arentz 16th 6
50 John White 17th 5
= Simon Harrex 13th 5
52 Peter Brierley 14th 4
= Jim Myhill 14th 4
54 Martin Power 19th Ret 3
= David Grose 19th 3
56 Garry McGrath 20th 2
Pos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (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 participate (DNP)
Excluded (EX)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Conditions for Australian Titles, 1984 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 88-93
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Graham Howard, Stewart Wilson & David Greenhalgh, 1984 - Bye bye big bangers, The official history - Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years, 2011, pages 244-253
  3. ↑ Touring Cars, 1985 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 300-303
  4. ↑ 2004 V8 Supercars TV Guide
  5. 1 2 Australian Motor Racing Year 1984/85, page 201
  6. ↑ 1984 ATCC Rd.1
  7. ↑ Official Programme, Wanneroo Park Raceway, Sunday 1 April 1984 Retrieved from www.terrywalkersplace.com on 7 July 2009
  8. ↑ 1984 ATCC Rd.4
  9. ↑ 1984 ATCC Rd.5
  10. ↑ Official Programme, Motorcraft 100, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday 1 July 1984
  11. ↑ 1984 ATCC Rd.7

External links

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