1991 Australian Touring Car Championship
Encyclopedia
The 1991 Shell Australian Touring Car Championship was the 32nd running of the Australian Touring Car Championship
. It began on 24 February 1991 at Sandown Raceway
and ended on 11 August at Oran Park Raceway
after nine rounds. The series was won by Jim Richards
driving a Nissan Skyline GT-R
, despite team mate Mark Skaife
scoring more points over the course of the season.
. The series consisted of nine rounds of with one race per round, at 50 minutes in duration.
, 1991 was a shift in the wrong direction and probably the low point in the Group A
era of the ATCC with entries down at almost every round with the Barbagallo Raceway
round, held much earlier in the year than previously, receiving just eleven entries. The season was dominated by the Fred Gibson
run Nissan Australia
team. They won seven of the nine round between their two drivers, six of those were 1-2 finishes. Mark Skaife
scored the most points through the season, but with only eight of the nine rounds counting towards the point score Skaife lost ten points from the second round at Lakeside International Raceway
, giving the title to his team mate and defending champion, Jim Richards
. It continued the New Zealand domination of Group A, with New Zealand drivers having won five of the seven Championships held under the international touring car regulations.
The best of the rest was BMW driver Tony Longhurst
who won two rounds at Amaroo Park
and Lakeside International Raceway. BMW's return with a top line team was underlined by team mate, ex-Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones finishing fourth in the points race, coming home strongly with back-to-back second places in the final two rounds of the series. After three years of fast but fragile Sierras, the consistency of the upgraded 2.5 litre evolution BMW M3s was a welcome change of pace for Frank Gardner
's team.
consisted of nine rounds.
Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series awarded the trophy and title of Australian Touring Car Champion.-History:The...
. It began on 24 February 1991 at Sandown Raceway
Sandown Raceway
Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. It is considered a power circuit with its front straight being 899m long and back straight 910m long.-History:...
and ended on 11 August at Oran Park Raceway
Oran Park Raceway
Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan in southwestern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from 1962 to 2010....
after nine rounds. The series was won by Jim Richards
Jim Richards (race driver)
Jim Richards is a New Zealand racing driver who has spent most of his racing life in Australia. While retired from professional racing, Richards continues to compete in the historic category Touring Car Masters while running a team in the Australian GT Championship...
driving a Nissan Skyline GT-R
Nissan Skyline GT-R
The Nissan Skyline GT-R is a Japanese sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range.The first GT-Rs were produced from 1969–1973. After a 16 year hiatus since the KPGC110 in 1972, the GT-R name was revived in 1989 with the Skyline R32. This car was nicknamed "Godzilla" by the Australian motoring...
, despite team mate Mark Skaife
Mark Skaife
Mark Stephen Skaife OAM is an Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five time winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor the Australian Touring Car Championship. He is also a six-time winner of Australia's most prestigious domestic motor race, the Bathurst 1000...
scoring more points over the course of the season.
Teams and drivers
The following drivers and teams competed in the 1991 Australian Touring Car ChampionshipAustralian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series awarded the trophy and title of Australian Touring Car Champion.-History:The...
. The series consisted of nine rounds of with one race per round, at 50 minutes in duration.
Team | Manufacturer | Car model | No | Driver |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nissan Motorsport Australia Gibson Motor Sport Gibson Motor Sport was an Australian motor racing team. Originally established by Howard Marsden as the in-house factory Nissan motorsport operation, the team later passed into the ownership of Fred Gibson., who had won the 1967 Bathurst 500 as a driver, sharing with Harry Firth. In 1993 the team... |
Nissan Nissan Motors , usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn .... |
Skyline R32 GT-R | 1 | Jim Richards Jim Richards (race driver) Jim Richards is a New Zealand racing driver who has spent most of his racing life in Australia. While retired from professional racing, Richards continues to compete in the historic category Touring Car Masters while running a team in the Australian GT Championship... |
2 | Mark Skaife Mark Skaife Mark Stephen Skaife OAM is an Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five time winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor the Australian Touring Car Championship. He is also a six-time winner of Australia's most prestigious domestic motor race, the Bathurst 1000... |
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Lansvale Racing Team Lansvale Racing Team Lansvale Racing Team, also known as Lansvale Smash Repairs Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian touring car events in the 1980s and 1990s... |
Holden Holden GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931... |
VN Commodore SS Group A SV Holden VN Commodore The Holden VN Commodore was the sixth model of the Holden Commodore, a full-size car produced by the Australian automotive marque, Holden. It is essentially made out of an Opel donor body mated to either a Buick V6 or Holden V8, depending on the model, with slight tweaks to the front and rear ends... |
3 | Trevor Ashby Steve Reed |
Bob Forbes Motorsport | Nissan | Skyline R32 GT-R | 4 | Mark Gibbs |
Holden | VL Commodore SS Group A SV VN Commodore SS Group A SV |
21 | ||
Advantage Racing Holden Dealer Team The Holden Dealer Team was Holden’s semi-official racing team from 1969 until 1987, primarily contesting Australian Touring Car events but also rallying, rallycross and sports sedans during the 1970s... Perkins Engineering |
Holden | VN Commodore SS Group A SV | 05 | Peter Brock Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock, AM otherwise known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain" or simply as "Brocky" was one of Australia's best-known and most successful motor racing drivers. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, although he raced vehicles of other... |
11 | Larry Perkins Larry Perkins Larry Clifton Perkins is a former racing driver and V8 Supercar team owner from Australia.-Career:... |
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Alf Grant Racing | Nissan | Skyline HR31 GTS-R | 6 | Tim Grant |
Caltex CXT Racing | Ford Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK... |
Sierra RS500 | 8 | Colin Bond Colin Bond Colin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team... |
Bob Holden Motors | Toyota | Sprinter | 13 | Bob Holden Bob Holden (racing driver) Robin John Holden born December 1, 1932, is an Australian racing driver. Holden raced small-engined touring cars throughout his career, racing Peugeots in the early 1960s, establishing a reputation for himself which saw him become a regular part of BMC Australias racing program for Minis which... |
Corolla E80 | 75 | Frank Binding | ||
76 | Mike Conway | |||
Holden Racing Team Holden Racing Team The Holden Racing Team is a Melbourne based motor racing team. HRT is the most successful V8 Supercar racing team in the history of the category, having won the drivers championship six times, and the series signature race the Bathurst 1000 seven times... |
Holden | VN Commodore SS Group A SV | 16 | Win Percy Win Percy Winston "Win" Percy is a former motor racing driver from England. He competed in many classes of motorsport during his long career, but is perhaps most famous as one of the greats of touring car racing. Joe Saward of Autosport magazine once described him as being "often regarded as the World's... Allan Grice Allan Grice Allan Maxwell Grice OAM , known to motor-racing fans as Gricey, is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 , and as a privateer driver of a Holden in the Australian Touring Car Championship.Grice also had a successful second... |
Shell Ultra-Hi Racing Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing is Australia's oldest operating motor racing team. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team has won seven Australian Touring Car Championship titles and has taken three victories in Australia's hallmark race, the Bathurst 1000... |
Ford | Sierra RS500 | 17 | Dick Johnson |
18 | John Bowe John Bowe (racing driver) John Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a 1969 Ford Mustang in the historic series, Touring Car Masters.... |
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Tony Longhurst Racing Tony Longhurst Racing Tony Longhurst Racing is a former V8 Supercar team. The team, based on Queenslands Gold Coast at the Longhurst family owned Dreamworld adventure park, made its debut in Group A touring car racing in the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship at Melbourne's Calder Park Raceway and made its last... |
BMW BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands... |
M3 Evolution | 20 | Alan Jones |
25 | Tony Longhurst Tony Longhurst Tony Longhurst is an Australian former racing driver and Australian Champion water skier. He is most noted for his career in the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercar series.... |
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Terry Finnigan | Holden | VL Commodore SS Group A SV VN Commodore SS Group A SV |
27 | Terry Finnigan |
Playscape Racing | Ford | Sierra RS500 | 28 | Kevin Waldock |
Glenn Seton Racing Glenn Seton Racing Glenn Seton Racing was a V8 Supercar racing team that competed in the V8 Supercar series in Australia.Glenn Seton formed his own team in 1989, using Ford Sierras. Seton had been a protege of the works Nissan team, and took the Peter Jackson cigarette sponsorship of that team with him. Former F1... |
Ford | Sierra RS500 | 30 | Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Glenn Seton is an Australian racing driver.Seton, father of Courtney and Aaron Seton and husband to Jayne Seton, retired from full time racing after the 2005 V8 Supercar season, and is only one of five drivers to have competed in over 200 rounds in the series. The other drivers are Dick Johnson ,... |
Toyota Team Australia | Toyota | Corolla FX-GT | 31 | John Faulkner John Faulkner (racing driver) John Murray Faulkner, born 24 August 1952, in Palmerston North, New Zealand, is a retired racing driver. Faulkner spent the majority in sedan based classes, initial small touring cars, Ford Escorts and Capris initially before joining Toyota Team Australia's team of factory supported Toyota Corolla... |
Pro-Duct Motorsport | Holden | VN Commodore SS Group A SV | 33 | Bob Pearson |
Brian Bolwell | Ford | Sierra RS500 | 43 | Brian Bolwell |
44 | Mike Twigden | |||
Peter Verheyen | Toyota | Sprinter | 48 | John Vernon Peter Verheyen |
M3 Motorsport | BMW | M3 | 52 | John Cotter |
53 | Peter Doulman | |||
PACE Racing | Holden | VL Commodore SS Group A SV | Kevin Heffernan | |
Warren Jonsson | Holden | VL Commodore SS Group A SV | Warren Jonsson | |
Wayne Park | Holden | VL Commodore SS Group A SV | Wayne Park | |
David Sala | Toyota | Corolla E80 | David Sala | |
Dave Thomas | Toyota | Corolla | Dave Thomas | |
Ivan Tighe | Toyota | Sprinter AE86 Toyota AE86 The AE86 generation of the Toyota Corolla Levin and Toyota Sprinter Trueno is a small, lightweight coupe introduced by Toyota in 1983 as part of the fifth generation Toyota Corolla lineup. For the purpose of brevity, the insider-chassis code of "AE86" is used to describe the whole range... |
Dean Tighe | |
Season review
After a resurgence in 19901990 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1990 Shell Ultra Australian Touring Car Championship was the 31st running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. It began on 25 February 1990 at Amaroo Park and ended on 15 July at Oran Park Raceway after 8 rounds...
, 1991 was a shift in the wrong direction and probably the low point in the Group A
Group A
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...
era of the ATCC with entries down at almost every round with the Barbagallo Raceway
Barbagallo Raceway
Barbagallo Raceway is a motorsport circuit located in Wanneroo, approximately north of Perth in Western Australia.The circuit was originally known as Wanneroo Park and the first race meet took place in March 1969. Initially the major race per year was a 6 hour Le Mans style race for sedans and...
round, held much earlier in the year than previously, receiving just eleven entries. The season was dominated by the Fred Gibson
Fred Gibson (motor racing)
Fred Gibson is a former Australian racing driver and race team owner.-Competitor:After a career that began in small production sports cars, first an MGA, and later the first Lotus Elan to run in Australian competition , Gibson quickly moved up into the touring car ranks...
run Nissan Australia
Gibson Motor Sport
Gibson Motor Sport was an Australian motor racing team. Originally established by Howard Marsden as the in-house factory Nissan motorsport operation, the team later passed into the ownership of Fred Gibson., who had won the 1967 Bathurst 500 as a driver, sharing with Harry Firth. In 1993 the team...
team. They won seven of the nine round between their two drivers, six of those were 1-2 finishes. Mark Skaife
Mark Skaife
Mark Stephen Skaife OAM is an Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five time winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor the Australian Touring Car Championship. He is also a six-time winner of Australia's most prestigious domestic motor race, the Bathurst 1000...
scored the most points through the season, but with only eight of the nine rounds counting towards the point score Skaife lost ten points from the second round at Lakeside International Raceway
Lakeside International Raceway
Lakeside Park, formerly known as Lakeside International Raceway is a motor racing circuit located at Pine Rivers north of Brisbane and lies adjacent to Lake Kurwongbah....
, giving the title to his team mate and defending champion, Jim Richards
Jim Richards (race driver)
Jim Richards is a New Zealand racing driver who has spent most of his racing life in Australia. While retired from professional racing, Richards continues to compete in the historic category Touring Car Masters while running a team in the Australian GT Championship...
. It continued the New Zealand domination of Group A, with New Zealand drivers having won five of the seven Championships held under the international touring car regulations.
The best of the rest was BMW driver Tony Longhurst
Tony Longhurst
Tony Longhurst is an Australian former racing driver and Australian Champion water skier. He is most noted for his career in the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercar series....
who won two rounds at Amaroo Park
Amaroo Park
Amaroo Park was a motor racing circuit located in Annangrove, New South Wales, in the present-day western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It opened in 1967, hosting its first motorcycle meeting on 26 February with a 30 lap production race won by Larry Simons on a BSA Spitfire in heavy rain. The...
and Lakeside International Raceway. BMW's return with a top line team was underlined by team mate, ex-Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones finishing fourth in the points race, coming home strongly with back-to-back second places in the final two rounds of the series. After three years of fast but fragile Sierras, the consistency of the upgraded 2.5 litre evolution BMW M3s was a welcome change of pace for Frank Gardner
Frank Gardner (driver)
Frank Gardner OAM was a racing driver from Australia. He was best known as a Touring car racing and Sports car racing driver. He also participated in nine World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 July 1964. He scored no championship points...
's team.
Race Calendar
The 1991 Australian Touring Car ChampionshipAustralian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series awarded the trophy and title of Australian Touring Car Champion.-History:The...
consisted of nine rounds.
Rd. | Race Title | Circuit | City / State | Date | Winner | Team | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sandown | Sandown Raceway Sandown Raceway Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. It is considered a power circuit with its front straight being 899m long and back straight 910m long.-History:... |
Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... |
22 - 24 Feb | Jim Richards Jim Richards (race driver) Jim Richards is a New Zealand racing driver who has spent most of his racing life in Australia. While retired from professional racing, Richards continues to compete in the historic category Touring Car Masters while running a team in the Australian GT Championship... |
Nissan Motorsport Australia Gibson Motor Sport Gibson Motor Sport was an Australian motor racing team. Originally established by Howard Marsden as the in-house factory Nissan motorsport operation, the team later passed into the ownership of Fred Gibson., who had won the 1967 Bathurst 500 as a driver, sharing with Harry Firth. In 1993 the team... |
|
2 | Symmons Plains | Symmons Plains Raceway Symmons Plains Raceway Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about 30 kilometres south of Launceston, Tasmania. Since the closure of the Longford circuit in the 1960s it has been Tasmania's premier motor racing facility... |
Launceston Launceston, Tasmania Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart... , Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart... |
8 - 10 Mar | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | |
3 | Wanneroo | Barbagallo Raceway Barbagallo Raceway Barbagallo Raceway is a motorsport circuit located in Wanneroo, approximately north of Perth in Western Australia.The circuit was originally known as Wanneroo Park and the first race meet took place in March 1969. Initially the major race per year was a 6 hour Le Mans style race for sedans and... |
Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... , Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east... |
12 - 14 Apr | Mark Skaife Mark Skaife Mark Stephen Skaife OAM is an Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five time winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor the Australian Touring Car Championship. He is also a six-time winner of Australia's most prestigious domestic motor race, the Bathurst 1000... |
Nissan Motorsport Australia | |
4 | Lakeside | Lakeside International Raceway Lakeside International Raceway Lakeside Park, formerly known as Lakeside International Raceway is a motor racing circuit located at Pine Rivers north of Brisbane and lies adjacent to Lake Kurwongbah.... |
Brisbane, Queensland Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean... |
26 - 28 Apr | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | |
5 | Winton | Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a Motor Racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia.-History:The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958. In 1960 it was decided to build the track at Winton Recreation Reserve and was completed in twelve months... |
Benalla Benalla, Victoria Benalla is a city of just over 9,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about southwest of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla.- Overview :... , Victoria |
3–5 May | Jim Richards | Nissan Motorsport Australia | |
6 | Amaroo | Amaroo Park Amaroo Park Amaroo Park was a motor racing circuit located in Annangrove, New South Wales, in the present-day western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It opened in 1967, hosting its first motorcycle meeting on 26 February with a 30 lap production race won by Larry Simons on a BSA Spitfire in heavy rain. The... |
Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales... |
31 May - 2 Jun | Tony Longhurst Tony Longhurst Tony Longhurst is an Australian former racing driver and Australian Champion water skier. He is most noted for his career in the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercar series.... |
Benson & Hedges Racing Tony Longhurst Racing Tony Longhurst Racing is a former V8 Supercar team. The team, based on Queenslands Gold Coast at the Longhurst family owned Dreamworld adventure park, made its debut in Group A touring car racing in the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship at Melbourne's Calder Park Raceway and made its last... |
|
7 | Mallala | Mallala Motorsport Park Mallala Motorsport Park Mallala Motor Sport Park is a bitumen motor racing circuit near the town of Mallala in South Australia, 55 km north of the state capital, Adelaide.- Mallala Race Circuit :... |
Mallala Mallala, South Australia Mallala is a small town about 58 kilometres north of Adelaide in South Australia. The name Mallala is thought to be derived from the local Aboriginal word 'madlola' which supposedly meant 'place of the ground frog'. At the 2006 census, Mallala had a population of 737.In 1939 the Royal Australian... , South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland... |
21 - 23 Jun | Mark Skaife | Nissan Motorsport Australia | |
8 | Lakeside | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | 12 - 14 Jul | Tony Longhurst | Benson & Hedges Racing | |
9 | Oran Park | Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan in southwestern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from 1962 to 2010.... |
Sydney, New South Wales | 9 - 11 Aug | Mark Skaife | Nissan Motorsport Australia |
Drivers Championship
Points were awarded 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 based on the top ten race positions. The pointscore system allowed a driver to drop his worst result.EWLINE
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External links
- Official V8 Supercar site Contains historical ATCC information.