The 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for Group C Touring Cars.[1] It was the 17th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship.[2] The championship began at Symmons Plains on 29 February and ended at Phillip Island on 28 November in the longest season in the history of the series. 1976 saw a substantial change to the ATCC calendar which was expanded to eleven rounds, incorporating the end-of-season long distance Australian Championship of Makes races for the first time. These races included Sandown's Hang Ten 400 and the Phillip Island 500, although notably not the Bathurst 1000.[3]
After contesting only selected rounds of the 1975 championship, Allan Moffat won his second Australian Touring Car Championship in 1976. He won the Calder, Oran Park and Adelaide rounds, building up a mid-season points lead that his rivals could not bridge. At the Hang Ten 400 at Sandown in September, Moffat re-launched his team as the Moffat Ford Dealers Team with a new Ford XB Falcon GT, built after Moffat's original car and transporter were destroyed by fire in the Adelaide Hills on the way to the Adelaide round in June.[4] Moffat borrowed the Ford Falcon of John Goss for the Adelaide and Lakeside rounds to stay in the series until a new car was built.[5]
Barry Seton, driving a Ford Capri in the Up to 3000 cc class, was Moffat's main title threat for most of the year, winning his class four times, with a best finish of sixth outright at Sandown. Seton lost second place in the championship to Colin Bond when the Holden Torana driver won the final race of the season at Phillip Island. Bond had previously won at Sandown and Lakeside, but had mechanical failures that Moffat, even in his borrowed machinery, did not.
The following drivers competed in the 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship.
| Entrant | No | Car | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holden Dealer Team | 1 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Colin Bond |
| Allan Moffat Racing Moffat Ford Dealers | 2/9 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Allan Moffat |
| Bob Skelton | 3 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Bob Skelton |
| John Goss | 3 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | John Goss |
| O'Brien's Transport[6] | 4 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Charlie O'Brien |
| Jim Keogh | 4 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Jim Keogh |
| Team Brock[7] | 5 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Peter Brock |
| Bruce Hindhaugh | 6 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Bruce Hindhaugh |
| Ron Hodgson Motors | 7 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Bob Morris |
| Jack Brabham | 7 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Jack Brabham |
| Charlie O'Brien | 8 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Charlie O'Brien |
| Jim Richards | 10 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Jim Richards |
| Bob Forbes | 11 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Bob Forbes |
| Gary Cooke | 11 | Mazda RX-3 | Gary Cooke |
| Craven Mild Racing[8] | 12 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Allan Grice |
| Bob Holden Motors | 13 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Bob Holden |
| B&D Autos, Holden Dealer Team | 14 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | John Harvey |
| John English | 14 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | John English |
| Phil Brock | 15 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Phil Brock |
| Garth Wigston | 15 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Garth Wigston |
| Graeme Blanchard | 16 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Graeme Blanchard |
| Ray Kaleda | 17 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Ray Kaleda |
| Bob Forbes | 17 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Bob Forbes |
| Shell Racing | 18 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Murray Carter |
| Garth Wigston | 19 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Garth Wigston |
| Christine Gibson | 19 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | Christine Gibson |
| Peter Janson | 20 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Peter Janson |
| Gown-Hindhaugh | 21 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Frank Gardner |
| Kevin Kennedy | 22 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Kevin Kennedy |
| Don Holland | 23 | Mazda RX-3 | Don Holland |
| Johnnie Walker | 24 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Johnnie Walker |
| John Duggan | 24 | Mazda RX-3 | John Duggan |
| Graham Parsons | 25 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Graham Parsons |
| Barry Seton | 25 | Ford Capri V6 | Barry Seton |
| Craven Mild | 25 | Mazda RX-3 | Allan Grice |
| Warren Cullen | 26 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Warren Cullen |
| Lakis Manticas | 27 | Mazda RX-3 | Lakis Manticas |
| Lakis Manticas | 27 | Ford Capri V6 | Lakis Manticas |
| Kelvin Gough | 28 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Kelvin Gough |
| Dick Johnson | 28 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Dick Johnson |
| Garry Willmington | 29 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Garry Willmington |
| Graeme Ibbotson | 29 | Ford Capri V6 | Graeme Ibbotson |
| Russell Skaife | 30 | Ford Capri V6 | Russell Skaife |
| Graham Parsons | 31 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Graham Parsons |
| Alan Cant | 31 | Ford Capri V6 | Alan Cant |
| Lawrie Nelson | 32 | Ford Capri V6 | Lawrie Nelson |
| Paul Older | 34 | BMW 3.0Si | Paul Older |
| Jim Murcott | 35 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Jim Murcott |
| Ron Dickson | 36 | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | Ron Dickson |
| John Pollard | 37 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | John Pollard |
| Bob Morris | 37 | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | Bob Morris |
| David Seldon | 38 | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | David Seldon |
| Phil Arnull | 39 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Phil Arnull |
| Wally Scott | 42 | Toyota Corolla | Wally Scott |
| Bernie Stack | 44 | Volkswagen Passat 1300 | Bernie Stack |
| Lyndon Arnel | 45 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Lyndon Arnel |
| Ben Penhall | 45 | Mazda RX-3 | Ben Penhall |
| Ray Farrar | 46 | Ford Escort Mark I 1300 | Ray Farrar |
| Jeremy Braithwaite | 47 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Jeremy Braithwaite |
| Graham Moore | 49 | Ford Capri V6 | Graham Moore |
| Brian Wheeler | 51 | Mazda RX-3 | Brian Wheeler |
| Eric Boord | 51 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Eric Boord |
| Fred Gibson | 51 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | Fred Gibson |
| Allan Nuttall | 52 | Fiat 124 Sport Coupé | Allan Nuttall |
| John Wharton | 53 | Mazda RX-3 | John Wharton |
| Chris Heyer | 53 | Volkswagen Golf GTI | Chris Heyer |
| Geoff Newton | 54 | Ford Capri V6 | Geoff Newton |
| Bernie McClure | 58 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Bernie McClure |
| Frank Porter | 59 | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT | Frank Porter |
| Wayne Negus | 61 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Wayne Negus |
| Max McGinley | 61 | Honda Civic | Max McGinley |
| Roger Bonhomme | 62 | Honda Civic | Roger Bonhomme |
| Craig Bradtke | 63 | Mazda RX-3 | Craig Bradtke |
| Wayne Mitchell | 63 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Wayne Mitchell |
| Peter Kuebler | 63 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | Peter Kuebler |
| Peter Brown | 63 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Peter Brown |
| David Langman | 64 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | David Langman |
| Barry Wraith | 64 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Barry Wraith |
| Ken Brian | 64 | Honda Civic | Ken Brian |
| James Liang-Peach | 65 | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | James Liang-Peach |
| David Crowther | 66 | Alfa Romeo GT1300 Junior | David Crowther |
| Robin Dudfield | 67 | Alfa Romeo GT1300 Junior | Robin Dudfield |
| Barry Sharp | 69 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Barry Sharp |
| Tony Niovanni | 69 | Holden Gemini | Tony Niovanni |
| Fred Sayers | 70 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Fred Sayers |
| Colin Campbell | 70 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Colin Campbell |
| Bill Evans | 71 | Datsun 1200 | Bill Evans |
| Jeff Harris | 74 | Morris Clubman GT | Jeff Harris |
| Jim Stewart | 75 | Morris Clubman GT | Jim Stewart |
| Ray Molloy | 76 | Morris Clubman GT | Ray Molloy |
| Martin Power | 77 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Martin Power |
| Garry McGrath | 77 | Ford Escort Mark I 1600 | Garry McGrath |
| Peter Granger | 78 | BMW 2002tii | Peter Granger |
| Hugh Donaldson | 78 | Morris Clubman GT | Hugh Donaldson |
| Pat Crea | 79 | Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 | Pat Crea |
| John Millyard | 80 | Ford Escort Mark I 1300 | John Millyard |
| Geoff Moran | 88 | Ford Capri V6 | Geoff Moran |
| Brian Rhodes | 89 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | Brian Rhodes |
| Jim Richards | 90 | Mazda RX-3 | Jim Richards |
| Chris Trengrove | 91 | Renault 12 | Chris Trengrove |
| Terry Wade | 95 | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | Terry Wade |
| Herb Vines | 96 | Ford Capri V6 | Herb Vines |
| Geoff Wade | 96 | Ford Escort Mark I 1300 | Geoff Wade |
| Bob Nissen | 98 | Ford Capri V6 | Bob Nissan |
| Graham Harrison | 99 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | Graham Harrison |
| Russell Worthington | 100 | Mazda RX-3 | Russell Worthington |
| Frank Brewster | 110 | Honda Civic | Frank Brewster |
The 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over eleven rounds.[9]
Cars competed in two classes,[1] based on engine capacity:
Championship points were awarded to drivers on the following basis:
| Pos. | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Rounds Outright | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Rounds 1-7 each class | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Round 8-11 each class | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Points were only awarded to a driver where the car had completed 75% of race distance and was running at the completion of the final lap.
Only the best two results from the four long distance races could be counted by each driver.[1]
|
Points scored in the long distance races which were not retained for championship totals are shown in the above table within double brackets.
The 1976 Australian Championship of Makes was contested over a four-round series, staged concurrently with the final four rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship.[9] It was the sixth championship for manufacturers to be awarded by CAMS, and the first to be contested under the Australian Championship of Makes name.[2] The title was won by Holden.[2]
Cars competed in four classes[1] based on engine capacity.
Championship points were awarded in each class on a 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis, with the results of all four races counting towards the championship.[1]