The 2004 Australian Nations Cup Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for modified production-based coupes[1] complying with "Nations Cup" regulations.[2] Contested as part of the 2004 Procar Championship Series, it was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as a National Championship with PROCAR Australia Pty Ltd appointed as the Category Manager.[2]
The championship, which was the fifth Australian Nations Cup Championship, was won by defending champion Paul Stokell driving a Lamborghini Diablo GTR. Finishing second was Nathan Pretty driving a Holden Monaro 427C with David Stevens third in his turbocharged Porsche 911 GT2.[3]
The 2004 championship was eagerly awaited by fans of the category. Although it had lost John Bowe and his Ferrari 360 N-GT, popular young Danish driver Allan Simonsen would drive an ex-ALMS Ferrari 550 GT2 in selected rounds (as well as racing a Ferrari 360 Challenge in the Trophy Class) for Mark Coffey Racing while David Stevens introduced the 911 GT2. 59 year old Australian racing legend Peter Brock, after racing a Monaro for Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2003, left to form his own team (with Monaro's supplied by GRM) with himself and oldest son James Brock doing the driving. GRM themselves would continue with Pretty driving the #427 Monaro as well as servicing the Team Brock cars between rounds. Ian Palmer, the brother of series founder Ross Palmer, raced a Honda NSX Brabham and also Peter Brock's Monaro for a number of races. Team Lamborghini Australia returned to defend their crown with Stokell driving the V12 Lamborghini Diablo and he was joined by Formula 3 driver Peter Hackett in a second Diablo GTR.
Following the 2004 championship, PROCAR shut down the Nations Cup championship citing financial difficulties (this also saw the cancellation of the 2004 Bathurst 24 Hour). From 2005 CAMS would revive the Australian GT Championship with the Nations Cup cars (with the exception of the Monaros) eligible to race in that series.[4]
The championship was contested over a seven round series[1] with three races per round.[5]
| Round | Circuit[6] | State | Date | Race winners | Round winner | Car | Report | |
| 1 | Adelaide Street Circuit | South Australia | 20–21 March | R1 - Paul Stokell R2 - Paul Stokell R3 - Allan Simonsen | Paul Stokell | Lamborghini Diablo GTR | ||
| 2 | Oran Park Raceway | New South Wales | 17–18 April | R1 - Paul Stokell R2 - Nathan Pretty R3 - Nathan Pretty | Nathan Pretty | Holden Monaro 427C | ||
| 3 | Sandown Raceway | Victoria | 15–16 May | R1 - Paul Stokell R2 - Paul Stokell R3 - Nathan Pretty | Paul Stokell | Lamborghini Diablo GTR | ||
| 4 | Winton Motor Raceway | Victoria | 20 June | R1 - Paul Stokell R2 - Nathan Pretty R3 - Nathan Pretty | Nathan Pretty | Holden Monaro 427C | ||
| 5 | Eastern Creek Raceway | New South Wales | 18 July | R1 - Paul Stokell R2 - Paul Stokell R3 - Paul Stokell | Paul Stokell | Lamborghini Diablo GTR | ||
| 6 | Wakefield Park | New South Wales | 8 August | R1 - Paul Stokell R2 - Nathan Pretty R3 - Paul Stokell | Paul Stokell | Lamborghini Diablo GTR | ||
| 7 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | South Australia | 19 September | R1 - Paul Stokell R2 - Paul Stokell R3 - James Brock | James Brock | Holden Monaro 427C |
Cars competing in two classes, GT Class and Trophy Class,[2] classified according to potential vehicle performance.[1]
Championship points were awarded in each class on a 30-24-20-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the top twenty one class placegetters in each race.[2] 3 bonus points were awarded to the driver achieving pole position in each class during qualifying at each round.[2]
Cars from a separate series, the Porsche Drivers Challenge, were invited to compete with the Nations Cup cars at selected rounds however the drivers were not eligible for championship points.
| Position[7] | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT Class | ||||||
| 1 | Paul Stokell | 1 | Lamborghini Diablo GTR | Team Lamborghini Australia | 572 | |
| 2 | Nathan Pretty | 427 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 415 | ||
| 3 | David Stevens | 9 | Porsche 911 GT2 | Brennan IT / Securetel | 309 | |
| 4 | James Brock | 22 | Holden Monaro 427C | Poolrite | 238 | |
| 5 | Ian Palmer | 50 | Holden Monaro 427C Honda NSX Brabham | Ian Palmer | 178.5 | |
| 6 | Peter Brock | 05 | Poolrite | 156 | ||
| 7 | Allan Simonsen | 888 | Coopers | 119 | ||
| 8 | D'arcy Russell | 7 | DRR | 79.5 | ||
| 9 | Mark Eddy | 30 | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Mark Eddy | 66 | |
| 10 | Peter Hackett | 2 | Lamborghini Diablo GTR | Clarion / Penrite | 38 | |
| Trophy Class | ||||||
| 1 | John Teulan | 54 | Ferrari 360 Challenge | Industry Central | 312 | |
| 2 | Theo Koundouris | 33 | Porsche 911 GT3 Clubsport Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera Cup | Supabarn Emporium | 291 | |
| 3 | Allan Simonsen | 888 | Ferrari 360 Challenge | Consolidated Chemical Co | 279 | |
| 4 | James Koundouris | 88 | Ferrari 360 Challenge Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera Cup | Mark Coffey Racing | 266 | |
| 5 | Marc Cini | 12 | Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera | Marc Cini | 106 | |
| 6 | Paul Blackie | 24 | Porsche 911 GT3 Clubsport | Pro-Floor | 97 | |
| 7 | Stephen Borness | 24 | Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 93 | |
| 8 | Rod Wilson | 11 | Ferrari 360 Challenge | Pirelli | 81 | |
| Matthew Turnbull | 13 | Porsche 911 GT3 Clubsport | Fire Rating Solution / Promat | 81 | ||
| 10 | Anthony Skinner | 126 | Porsche 911 GT3 Clubsport | Team Mongrel | 64 | |
| 11 | Ted Huglin | 110 | Ferrari 360 Challenge | Consolidated Chemical Co | 60 | |
| Perry Spiridis | 28 | Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera | ADAMCO | 60 | ||
| 13 | Dean Koutsoumidis | 71 | Porsche 911 GT3 Clubsport | Equity-One Finance | 48 | |
| 14 | Geoff Munday | 10 | Ford Mustang Cobra R | NMR Motorsport | 46 | |
| 15 | Murray Carter | 18 | Chevrolet Corvette C5 | Murray Carter | 36 | |
| 16 | Carol Jackson | 28 | Maserati Trofeo | Team Mongrel | 30 | |