| 1991 Australian Touring Car season | |
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The 1991 Australian Touring Car season was the 32nd year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500.
There were 12 touring car race meetings held during 1991; a nine round series, the 1991 Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC); a support programme event at the 1991 Australian Grand Prix and two long distance races, nicknamed 'enduros' which made up the 1991 Australian Endurance Championship.
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1991 was the low point for Group A touring car racing in Australia. Grid numbers plunged in a harsh economic climate. Just eleven cars entered the Wanneroo round of the ATCC and just fifteen started the once prestigious Sandown 500. On track the Touring Car Championship was dominated by the Gibson Motor Sport prepared Nissan Skyline GT-Rs of Jim Richards and Mark Skaife. Tony Longhursts new 2.5 litre evolution spec BMW M3 was the only car to interrupt the clean sweep. A final round DNF for Richards was not enough to take the title away, despite Skaife scoring more points over the course of the season. With only the best eight results counting Richards won the championship by five points. Gibson Motor Sport did not appear at the Sandown 500 but Nissan still won through the Bob Forbes owned car driven by Mark Gibbs and Formula Holden ace Rohan Onslow. Richards and Skaife swept all before them at the Bathurst 1000, establishing a race record that still stands. Third placing at Bathurst gave the Australian Endurance Championship to Gibbs and Onslow.
The 1991 Australian touring car season consisted of 12 events.
| Date | Series | Circuit | City / State | Winner | Team | Car | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb | ATCC Round 1 | Sandown International Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | |
| 10 Mar | ATCC Round 2 | Symmons Plains Raceway | Launceston, Tasmania | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | |
| 14 Apr | ATCC Round 3 | Barbagallo Raceway | Perth, Western Australia | Mark Skaife | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | |
| 28 Apr | ATCC Round 4 | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | |
| 5 May | ATCC Round 5 | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | |
| 2 Jun | ATCC Round 6 | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | Tony Longhurst | Benson & Hedges Racing | BMW M3 Evolution | |
| 23 Jun | ATCC Round 7 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | Mallala, South Australia | Mark Skaife | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | |
| 14 Jul | ATCC Round 8 | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | Tony Longhurst | Benson & Hedges Racing | BMW M3 Evolution | |
| 11 Aug | ATCC Round 9 | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | Mark Skaife | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | |
| 8 Sep | Don't Drink Drive Sandown 500 | Sandown International Raceway | Melbourne], Victoria | Mark Gibbs Rohan Onslow |
Bob Forbes Racing | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | report |
| 6 Oct | Tooheys 1000 | Mount Panorama Circuit | Bathurst, New South Wales | Jim Richards Mark Skaife |
Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | report |
| 3 Nov | Hush Puppies Olympic Group A Challenge | Adelaide Street Circuit | Adelaide, South Australia | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R |
This meeting was a support event of the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.
| Driver | No. | Team | Car | Race 1 | Race 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Richards | 1 | Nissan Motorsport Australia | Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R | 1 | 1 |
| Glenn Seton | 30 | Peter Jackson Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | 3 | 2 |
| Larry Perkins | 11 | Advantage Racing | Holden VN Commodore SS Group A | 6 | 3 |
| John Bowe | 18 | Shell Ultra-High Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | 9 | 4 |
| Peter Brock | 05 | Advantage Racing | Holden VN Commodore SS Group A | 7 | 5 |
| Dick Johnson | 17 | Shell Ultra-High Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | 8 | 6 |
| Colin Bond | 8 | Caltex CXT Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | 10 | 7 |
| Alan Jones | 35 | Peter Jackson Racing | Ford Sierra RS500 | 5 | 8 |
| Graham Moore | 42 | Strathfield Car Radios | Holden VN Commodore SS Group A | 9 | |
| Peter Gazzard | 13 | Captain Peter Janson | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV | 10 | |
| Chandra Alim | Indonesian Racing Team | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV | 11 | ||
| Bob Jones | 21 | Bob Jones | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV | 12 | |
| John Cotter | 52 | M3 Motorsport | BMW M3 | DNF | |
| Hutomo Mandala Putra | Indonesian Racing Team | Holden VN Commodore SS Group A | DNF | ||
| Win Percy | 16 | Holden Racing Team | Holden VN Commodore SS Group A | 2 | DNF |
| Tony Longhurst | 25 | Benson & Hedges Racing | BMW M3 Evolution | 4 | DNF |
Linked articles contain additional references.
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