1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship Explained

The 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of under 2.0-litre cars complying with the provisions of the FISA Class II section of Australian Group 3A Touring Car regulations. It was contested in conjunction with the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, which began on 28 February 1993 at Amaroo Park and ended on 8 August at Oran Park Raceway after nine rounds. It was the third Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship and the first for cars aligned with FISA Class II regulations and thus the fore-runner of the Australian Super Touring Championship.

The championship was won by Peter Doulman, driving a 2.0-litre version of his old Group A BMW M3 (the car was an ex-JPS Team BMW and Mobil 1 Racing team car that had been built by Frank Gardner's JPS Team in 1987. Doulman had raced the car since 1989 with a 2.3 L engine). The championship went down to the wire with Doulman beating out the Caltex Team Toyota of John Smith. Smith's Caltex team boss Colin Bond finished third in the championship despite not being a starter in the final round at Oran Park.

Most of the 2.0 Litre field consisted of regular 'baby car class' competitors from Group A, including Frank Binding, Brad Stratton, Mike Conway, and veteran racer Bob Holden.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship.

TeamCar No.Driver
Caltex Team ToyotaToyota Corolla AE90 FX-GT
Toyota Corolla Seca AE93
6 John Smith
Toyota Corolla Seca AE938 Colin Bond
Bob Holden MotorsToyota Sprinter AE8613 Bob Holden
75 Frank Binding
M3 MotorsportBMW M352 John Cotter
53 Peter Doulman
Brad Stratton72
Easton MotorsportToyota Sprinter AE8677 Gregg Easton
Cadillac ProductionsToyota Sprinter AE8679
Malcolm ReaToyota Sprinter AE8688 Ken Talbert
Malcolm Rea

Race calendar

The championship was contested over nine rounds, held across six states.[1]

Rd.CircuitLocation / stateDateWinning driverCarTeam
1Amaroo ParkSydney, New South Wales26–28 Feb Peter DoulmanBMW M3M3 Motorsport
2Symmons Plains RacewayLaunceston, Tasmania12–14 Mar Peter DoulmanBMW M3M3 Motorsport
3Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island, Victoria2–4 Apr Peter DoulmanBMW M3M3 Motorsport
4Lakeside International RacewayBrisbane, Queensland16–18 Apr Colin BondToyota Corolla Seca AE93Caltex Team Toyota
5Winton Motor RacewayBenalla, Victoria14–16 May Peter DoulmanBMW M3M3 Motorsport
6Eastern Creek RacewaySydney, New South Wales4–6 Jun Colin BondToyota Corolla Seca AE93Caltex Team Toyota
7Mallala Motor Sport ParkMallala, South Australia2–4 Jul John SmithToyota Corolla Seca AE93Caltex Team Toyota
8Barbagallo RacewayPerth, Western Australia9–11 Jul John SmithToyota Corolla Seca AE93Caltex Team Toyota
9Oran Park RacewaySydney, New South Wales6–8 Aug Peter DoulmanBMW M3M3 Motorsport

Points system

All rounds of the 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship were staged in conjunction with rounds of the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, which was open to both 2.0 Litre Touring Cars and 5.0 Litre Touring Cars.

At the opening round at Amaroo Park both the 2.0 Litre cars and the 5.0 Litre cars had a separate Heat of their own before competing together in the Final. Points towards the 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six positions in the 2.0 Litre Heat.

At the Symmons Plains Raceway round only three 2.0 Litre cars were entered (Doulman, Smith and Bond), and they ran together with the 5.0 Litre cars in both the Heat and the Final. Points for the 2.0 Litre championship were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six positions in the 2.0 Litre class of the Heat. This practice was continued at all subsequent rounds even after 2.0 Litre grids returned to the size displayed at Amaroo.

Whilst drivers of 2.0 Litre cars finishing in the top ten outright positions in the Final were eligible to score points towards the Australian Touring Car Championship,[2] in reality, no 2.0 Litre car finished in the top ten placings in the Final at any round.

Championship results

Pos.[3] DriverCar Ama.Sym.Phi.Lak.Win.Eas.Mal.Bar.Ora.Pts.
1Peter DoulmanBMW M3[4] 1st1st1st3rd1stRet2nd3rd1st59
2John SmithToyota Corolla AE90 FX-GT
Toyota Corolla Seca AE93[5]
2nd2nd2nd2nd2ndRet1st1stRet48
3Colin BondToyota Corolla Seca AE93Ret3rd3rd1stRet1stRet2ndDNS32
4Brad StrattonToyota Corolla FX-GT AE82[6] 5th5th4th3rd5th4th4th19
5John CotterBMW M33rd2nd2nd16
6Mike ConwayToyota Sprinter AE864th4th4th3rd5th15
7Bob HoldenToyota Sprinter AE86[7] 5th6th3rd6th8
Frank BindingToyota Corolla FX-GT AE82[8] 6thRet4th3rd8
9Gregg EastonToyota Sprinter AE865th2
10Ken TalbertToyota Sprinter AE867th6th1
Pos.DriverCar Ama.Sym.Phi.Lak.Win.Eas.Mal.Bar.Ora.Pts.

See also

1993 Australian Touring Car season

References

  1. Australian Motor Racing Year 1993/94, pages 294–298
  2. Scoring Points, Official Programme, Mallala, 4 July 1993, pages 63–64
  3. Fast Facts, Official Programme, Mallala, 11 August 1996, pages 34–35
  4. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1993%20Amaroo.html Amaroo Park, touringcarracing.net
  5. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1993%20Mallala.html Mallala, touringcarracing.net
  6. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1993%20Phillip%20Island.html Phillip Island, touringcarracing.net
  7. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1993%20Winton.html Winton, touringcarracing.net
  8. http://touringcarracing.net/Races/1993%20Eastern%20Creek.html Eastern Creek, touringcarracing.net