1997 Australian Super Touring Championship

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

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1997 Australian Super Touring Championship.

Team	Car	No.	Driver
Brad Jones Racing (Orix Audi Sport Australia)	Audi A4 Quattro	1 *	Brad Jones
Brad Jones Racing (Orix Audi Sport Australia)	Audi A4 Quattro	11 *	Cameron McConville
Paul Morris Motorsport (BMW Motorsport)	BMW 320i	2 *	Paul Morris
		22 *	Craig Baird
		83 *	Geoff Brabham
Volvo Cars Australia (Volvo Racing)	Volvo 850	4 *	Tony Scott
Volvo Cars Australia (Volvo Racing)	Volvo 850	8 *	Jim Richards
Phoenix Motorsport	Toyota Camry	10	Mark Adderton Neal Bates
Greenfield Mowers Racing	Opel Vectra Holden Vectra	12	Cameron McLean
CPW Motorsport	BMW 318i	13	Wayne Wakefield
		27	Steven Johnson
		64	Jason Richards
Triple P Racing (HVe Motorsport)	Hyundai Elantra	14	Jim Cornish Kurt Kratzmann
		57	Jim Cornish
		58	Paul Pickett
Albert Poon	Ford Mondeo	15	Gianfranco Brancatelli Mike Briggs
Albert Poon	Ford Mondeo	20	Albert Poon
AAP Racing	Toyota Corona	15	Milton Leslight
Bob Holden Motors	BMW 318i	16	Justin Matthews
M-F Racing	Peugeot 405 Mi16	21	Mike Fitzgerald
Garry Rogers Motorsport	Honda Accord Nissan Primera	34	Steven Richards
TC Motorsport (Fastway Couriers)	Peugeot 405 Mi16	37	Tony Newman
TC Motorsport (Fastway Couriers)	Peugeot 405 Mi16	38	Dwayne Bewley
Gun Racing	Alfa Romeo 155 TS	45	David Auger
John Henderson Racing	Opel Vectra	56	John Henderson
Warren Luff	Honda Accord	60	Warren Luff
Robert Tweedie	Vauxhall Cavalier	79	Bob Tweedie
Knight Racing	Ford Mondeo	88	Peter Hills
Knight Racing	Ford Mondeo	89	Jenni Thompson Claude Elias
Nigel Barclay	318i	99	Blair Smith

Note : * indicates entry nominated by a manufacturer for the Manufacturers Championship

Race Calendar

The 1997 Australian Super Touring Championship was contested over eight rounds with two races held at each round.^[2]

Rd.^[2]	Race	Race Title	Circuit ^[2]	Location / State	Date	Winner	Car	Team
1	1	Lakeside	Lakeside International Raceway	Brisbane, Queensland	3–4 May	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
	2	Lakeside	Lakeside International Raceway	Brisbane, Queensland	3–4 May	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
2	1	Phillip Island	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	31 May - 1 Jun	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
	2	Phillip Island	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	31 May - 1 Jun	Geoff Brabham	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
3	1	Calder	Calder Park Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	21 - 22 Jun	Brad Jones	Audi A4 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
	2	Calder	Calder Park Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	21 - 22 Jun	Geoff Brabham	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
4	1	Amaroo Park	Amaroo Park	Sydney, New South Wales	19 - 20 Jul	Brad Jones	Audi A4 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
	2	Amaroo Park	Amaroo Park	Sydney, New South Wales	19 - 20 Jul	Brad Jones	Audi A4 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
5	1	Winton	Winton Motor Raceway	Benalla, Victoria	9 - 10 Aug	Cameron McConville	Audi A4 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
	2	Winton	Winton Motor Raceway	Benalla, Victoria	24 - 25 Aug	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
6	1	Mallala	Mallala Motorsport Park	Adelaide, South Australia	23 - 24 Aug	Brad Jones	Audi A4 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
	2	Mallala	Mallala Motorsport Park	Adelaide, South Australia	23 - 24 Aug	Cameron McConville	Audi A4 Quattro	Brad Jones Racing
7	1	Lakeside	Lakeside International Raceway	Brisbane, Queensland	25 - 26 Oct	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
	2	Lakeside	Lakeside International Raceway	Brisbane, Queensland	25 - 26 Oct	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
8	1	Amaroo Park	Amaroo Park	Sydney, New South Wales	8 - 9 Nov	Geoff Brabham	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport
	2	Amaroo Park	Amaroo Park	Sydney, New South Wales	8 - 9 Nov	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	Paul Morris Motorsport

Results

Drivers Championship

Drivers Championship points were awarded on a 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the first ten places in each race.^[2] One point was awarded to the driver setting the fastest qualifying time for each races.^[2]

Pos.^[1]	Driver ^[1]	Car	LAK 1	LAK 2	PHI 1	PHI 2	CAL 1	CAL 2	AMA 1	AMA 2	WIN 1	WIN 2	MAL 1	MAL 2	LAK 1	LAK 2	AMA 1	AMA 2	Points ^[1]
1	Paul Morris	BMW 320i	1st	1st	1st	2nd	Ret	2nd	2nd	4th	2nd	1st	6th	3rd	1st	1st	4th	1st	189
2	Geoff Brabham	BMW 320i	2nd	2nd	5th	1st	2nd	1st	4th	3rd	8th	3rd	Ret	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	3rd	171
3	Cameron McConville	Audi A4 Quattro	DSQ	8th	2nd	4th	3rd	3rd	3rd	2nd	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	4th	6th	3rd	2nd	152
4	Brad Jones	Audi A4 Quattro	Ret	6th	11th	3rd	1st	4th	1st	1st	3rd	6th	1st	4th	Ret	7th	2nd	Ret	125
5	Jim Richards	Volvo 850	3rd	3rd	Ret	5th	4th	5th	5th	5th	4th	4th	2nd	5th	5th	4th	6th	5th	111
6	Cameron McLean	Opel Vectra Holden Vectra	4th	4th	4th	Ret	5th	10th	11th	6th	5th	7th	4th	6th	6th	5th	13th	11th	70
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													3rd	3rd	5th	4th	35
9	Justin Matthews	BMW 318i	6th	7th	6th	8th	9th	9th	10th	11th	10th	9th	Ret	Ret	9th	9th	16th	8th	32
10	Tony Newman	Peugeot 405 Mi16	8th	9th	7th	7th	8th	Ret	Ret	10th	11th	Ret	7th	8th	Ret	14th	Ret	DNS	24
11	David Auger	Alfa Romeo 155 TS	7th	10th	8th	Ret	7th	8th	13th	13th	12th	10th	9th	9th	10th	10th	14th	Ret	22
12	Bob Tweedie	Vauxhall Cavalier	Ret	Ret	12th	DSQ	6th	Ret	9th	9th	13th	11th	8th	7th	11th	12th	12th	Ret	16
13	Mark Adderton	Toyota Camry					Ret	Ret	8th	Ret					8th	Ret	7th	7th	14
13	Neal Bates	Toyota Camry									6th	8th	5th	Ret					14
15	Wayne Wakefield	BMW 318i	5th	5th															12
16	Jason Richards	BMW 318i							7th	8th									7
16	Steven Johnson	BMW 318i													7th	8th			7
16	Tony Scott	Volvo 850															9th	6th	7
19	Mike Briggs	Ford Mondeo					Ret	7th											4
20	Jim Cornish	Hyundai Elantra	Ret	11th	10th	Ret					Ret	Ret	10th	Ret					2
20	Paul Pickett	Hyundai Elantra	Ret	Ret	9th	Ret									Ret	15th	Ret	DNS	2
20	Peter Hills	Ford Mondeo							12th	12th	9th	12th			12th	11th	Ret	Ret	2
20	Claude Elias	Ford Mondeo															15th	9th	2
-	Warren Luff	Honda Accord													Ret	DNS	11th	Ret
-	Jenni Thompson	Ford Mondeo													13th	16th
-	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 1	LAK 2	PHI 1	PHI 2	ORA 1	ORA 2	AMA 1	AMA 2	WIN 1	WIN 2	MAL 1	MAL 2	LAK 1	LAK 2	AMA 1	AMA 2	Points

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Did not finish (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not participate
Blank	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]	Rd1 R1	Rd1 R2	Rd2 R1	Rd2 R2	Rd3 R1	Rd3 R2	Rd4 R1	Rd4 R2	Rd5 R1	Rd5 R2	Rd6 R1	Rd6 R2	Rd7 R1	Rd7 R2	Rd8 R1	Rd8 R2	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 Championship

Position ^[1]	Team ^[1]	Car	Points ^[1]
1	BMW Motorsport	BMW 320i	362
2	Orix Audi Sport Australia	Audi A4 Quattro	305
3	HVe Motorsport	Hyundai Lantra	31
4	Knight Racing	Ford Mondeo	30
5	Volvo Racing	Volvo 850	25
6	Fastway Couriers	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]

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 TOCA Australia – BOC Gases Australian Super Touring Championship Points – Final, 9 December 1997
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Official Programme, Australian Super Touring Championship, Mallala, Round 6–24 August 1997, page 40