1992 Australian Touring Car Championship

Motor racing competition July 2015 January 2020 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship 1991 1993 thumb|Mark Skaife leads teammate Jim Richards at the Oran Park round, on his way to securing the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship. The 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Group 3A Touring Cars,CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1992, page 162 commonly known as Group A cars. It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian National Title.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1992, page 118 The championship began on 23 February at Amaroo Park Raceway and ended on 21 June at Oran Park Raceway after nine rounds. It was the 33rd running of the Australian Touring Car Championship.Past Title Winners, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1993, page 45 Mark Skaife, driving a Nissan Skyline GT-R for Gibson Motorsport, won his first Australian Touring Car Championship. His teammate and defending series champion Jim Richards finished second, with BMW M3 driver Tony Longhurst in third place. Although Mark Skaife was the overall winner of the opening round at Amaroo Park, Peter Brock's win in Heat 1 of the round in his Mobil 1 Racing Holden VN Commodore SS Group A was the first race win by a Holden in the ATCC since Brock had won Round 6 of the 1986 ATCC at Surfers Paradise. In an effort to reduce costs and to even out the cars, CAMS imposed a number of changes for 1992. Notably, the Holden Commodores and Ford Sierra RS500's were restricted to a 7,500 rev limit and the BMW M3's had an extra 50 kg added to their minimum weight limit. However the biggest change came to the Nissan GT-R's. Before the start of the season the cars were given an extra 40 kg, bringing them up to a total of 1400 kg. CAMS also directed that the cars were to run Formula One style pop-off valves on the twin turbos to restrict their power, bringing them down from 1991's 640 bhp kW PS 0 on to around 450 bhp kW PS 0 on. Gibson Motorsport continually protested against the imposed penalties on the car (after winning the ATCC the cars were given an extra 100 kg to bring them 1500), and even took CAMS to court (unsuccessfully) in a bid to be able to run the GT-R as they were in 1991 claiming that they were no longer competitive. However most saw this as a false claim since the team won both the ATCC and the Tooheys 1000. Teams and drivers thumb|Jim Richards Nissan GT-R thumb|Stephen Bell Mitsubishi Starion The following teams and drivers competed in the championship: TeamManufacturerCar modelNoDriver Winfield Team Nissan Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 1 NZL Jim Richards 2 AUS Mark Skaife Lansvale Racing Team Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 3 AUS Trevor AshbyAUS Steve Reed GIO Racing Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R 4 AUS Mark Gibbs Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 21 AUS Mark GibbsAUS Rohan Onslow Mobil 1 Racing Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 05 AUS Peter Brock 7 AUS Neil Crompton Alf Grant Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R 6 AUS Tim Grant Caltex CXT Racing Ford Sierra RS500 8 AUS Colin Bond Perkins Engineering Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 11 AUS Larry Perkins Ampol Max 3 Racing Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 12 AUS Bob Jones Warren Jonsson Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 14 AUS Warren Jonsson Shell Ultra-Hi Racing Ford Sierra RS500 17 AUS Dick Johnson 18 AUS John Bowe Benson & Hedges Racing BMW M3 Evolution II 20 AUS Alan Jones 23 AUS Paul Morris 25 AUS Tony Longhurst Wayne Douglass Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 22 AUS John English Terry Finnigan Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 27 AUS Terry Finnigan Playscape Racing Ford Sierra RS500 28 AUS Kevin Waldock Peter Jackson Racing Ford Sierra RS500 30 AUS Glenn Seton 35 AUS Wayne ParkAUS David Parsons Phil Johnson Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 31 AUS Phil Johnson Pro-Duct Racing Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 33 AUS Bob Pearson Ron Masing Mitsubishi Starion 36 AUS Ron Masing Brian Callaghan Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 37 AUS Brian Callaghan Jr. Challenge Motorsport Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 39 AUS Chris Smerdon John Leeson Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 40 AUS John Leeson Daily Planet Racing Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 41 AUS Andrew Harris Garry Willmington Performance Toyota Supra Turbo 41 AUS Garry Willmington Stuart McColl Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 44 AUS Stuart McColl Ian Love Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 45 AUS Ian Love Bryan Sala Ford Sierra RS500 50 AUS Bryan Sala Mike Steele Ford Sierra RS500 55 AUS Mike Steele Holden Racing Team Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 61 AUS Tomas Mezera Reda Awadullah Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 68 Egypt Reda Awadullah Adrian Brooke Toyota Corolla SX 72 AUS Brad Stratton Frank Binding Toyota Corolla SX 74 AUS Frank Binding Barbagallo Motorsport Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 77 AUS Alf Barbagallo John Holmes Toyota Corolla SX 78 AUS John Holmes Scotty Taylor Racing Mitsubishi Starion 86 AUS Stephen Bell Malcolm Rea Toyota Sprinter 88 AUS Malcolm Rea Championship calendar The championship was contested over a nine rounds series in six different states with two heats per round.Australian Motor Racing Year, 1992/93 Rd.CircuitLocation / stateDate 1 Amaroo Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 21 - 23 Feb 2 Sandown International Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 6 - 8 Mar 3 Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 13 - 15 Mar 4 Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 3 - 5 Apr 5 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 1–3 May 6 Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 22–24 May 7 Mallala Motor Sport Park Mallala, South Australia 29–31 May 8 Wanneroo Raceway Perth, Western Australia 5 - 7 Jun 9 Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 19 - 21 Jun Season summary Round Round number Race Event Pole position Race winnersWinning TeamManufacturer Round winner Report Race Report 1 R1 Amaroo NZL Jim Richards AUS Peter Brock AUS Mobil 1 Racing AUS Holden AUS Mark Skaife(Winfield Team Nissan) R2 AUS Mark Skaife AUS Winfield Team Nissan JAP Nissan 2 R1 Sandown NZL Jim Richards AUS John Bowe AUS Shell Ultra-Hi Racing EUR Ford AUS John Bowe(Shell Ultra-Hi Racing) R2 AUS John Bowe AUS Shell Ultra-Hi Racing EUR Ford 3 R1 Launceston AUS Dick Johnson AUS Glenn Seton AUS Peter Jackson Racing EUR Ford AUS Glenn Seton(Peter Jackson Racing) R2 AUS Glenn Seton AUS Peter Jackson Racing EUR Ford 4 R1 Winton AUS Mark Skaife AUS Mark Skaife AUS Winfield Team Nissan JAP Nissan AUS Mark Skaife(Winfield Team Nissan) R2 AUS Mark Skaife AUS Winfield Team Nissan JAP Nissan 5 R1 Lakeside AUS Tony Longhurst AUS Tony Longhurst AUS Benson & Hedges Racing GER BMW AUS Tony Longhurst(Benson & Hedges Racing) R2 AUS Tony Longhurst AUS Benson & Hedges Racing GER BMW 6 R1 Eastern Creek AUS Dick Johnson AUS John Bowe AUS Shell Ultra-Hi Racing EUR Ford AUS John Bowe(Shell Ultra-Hi Racing) R2 AUS John Bowe AUS Shell Ultra-Hi Racing EUR Ford 7 R1 Mallala AUS John Bowe AUS Mark Skaife AUS Winfield Team Nissan JAP Nissan AUS Mark Skaife(Winfield Team Nissan) R2 AUS Mark Skaife AUS Winfield Team Nissan JAP Nissan 8 R1 Perth AUS John Bowe AUS John Bowe AUS Shell Ultra-Hi Racing EUR Ford AUS John Bowe(Shell Ultra-Hi Racing) R2 AUS John Bowe AUS Shell Ultra-Hi Racing EUR Ford 9 R1 Oran Park AUS John Bowe AUS Mark Skaife AUS Winfield Team Nissan JAP Nissan AUS Mark Skaife(Winfield Team Nissan) R2 AUS Mark Skaife AUS Winfield Team Nissan JAP Nissan Points system Points were awarded on a 30-27-24-21-19-17-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2 basis to the top twenty drivers at each round. Round positions were determined by applying the same points structure to each of the two heats and ranking the drivers by the total. In the event of two or more drivers having the same total, the round placing was determined by the finishing order in the second heat.Official Programme, Mallala, 31 May 1992, pages 10 Championship standings Pos Driver Car Ama. San. Sym. Win. Lak. Eas. Mal. Wan. Ora. Points 1 Mark Skaife Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 5th 2nd 1st 8th 1st 234 2 Jim Richards Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R 2nd 3rd 4th 2nd 2nd 4th 9th 2nd 2nd 214 3 Tony Longhurst BMW E30 M3 14th 10th 5th 4th 1st 3rd 2nd 3rd 5th 184 4 John Bowe Ford Sierra RS500 7th 1st Ret 7th 4th 1st 4th 1st 9th 175 5 Glenn Seton Ford Sierra RS500 4th 7th 1st 3rd 8th 5th 6th 5th 8th 173 6 Mark Gibbs Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R & Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 5th 4th 6th 9th 16th 7th 3rd 11th 4th 147 7 Alan Jones BMW E30 M3 11th 18th 8th 6th 3rd 6th 7th 6th 3rd 143 8 Dick Johnson Ford Sierra RS500 8th 5th 3rd 11th 12th 13th 8th 4th 10th 134 9 Paul Morris BMW E30 M3 9th 12th 11th 8th 6th 9th 10th 9th 6th 120 10 Larry Perkins Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 8th 5th 7th 11th 5th 7th 7th 108 11 Peter Brock Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 3rd 6th 10th 13th 9th 8th 11th 100 12 Colin Bond Ford Sierra RS500 10th 16th 9th 16th 11th 15th 12th 10th 13th 86 13 Wayne Park Ford Sierra RS500 12th 14th 12th 10th 14th 10th 11th 14th 79 14 Trevor Ashby Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 6th 12th 12th 37 15 Steve Reed Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 11th 13th 12th 30 16 Tomas Mezera Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 13th 10th 14th 29 16 Bob Jones Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 15th 17th 22nd 16th Ret 16th 17th 29 18 Neil Crompton Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV Ret 9th 7th DNS 28 18 Terry Finnigan Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 13th 17th 15th 15th Ret 28 20 Stuart McColl Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 18th 14th 15th 19 21 Tim Grant Nissan R31 Skyline GTS-R 18th 14th 18th 16 22 John English Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 19th 17th 16th 14 23 Chris Smerdon Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 19th 13th 12 24 Alf Barbagallo Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 12th 10 25 Stephen Bell Mitsubishi Starion 13th 9 25 Ian Love Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 13th 9 27 David Parsons Ford Sierra RS500 14th 8 28 Bob Pearson Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 15th DNS 7 28 Phil Johnson Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 15th 7 28 Bryan Sala Ford Sierra RS500 19th 18th 7 31 Brian Callaghan Jr. Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 16th 6 32 Frank Binding Toyota Corolla 17th 24th 5 32 Kevin Waldock Ford Sierra RS500 17th 5 34 John Holmes Toyota Corolla 19th DNS DNS 3 34 Rohan Onslow Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 19th 3 36 Warren Jonsson Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV 20th 2 Pos Driver Car Ama. San. Sym. Win. Lak. Eas. Mal. Wan. Ora. Pts See also 1992 Australian Touring Car season References External links Official V8 Supercar site Contains historical ATCC information. Images from Australian Touring Car racing – 1992 Retrieved from www.autopics.com.au on 17 September 2009 Further reading Shell Australian Touring Car Championship (magazine), Special 10th Anniversary Issue, 1996 Category:Australian Touring Car Championship seasons Touring Cars