The 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Touring Cars. It was the 26th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the first to be contested using regulations based on the FIA's International Group A regulations after having been run under CAMS home grown Group C rules between 1973 and 1984. The championship began on 10 February 1985 at Winton Motor Raceway (the track's first ever ATCC race) and ended on 14 July at Oran Park Raceway after ten rounds.
The first round of the series at Winton also created history when for the first time since the ATCC was first held in 1960, no Holden of any sort was on the grid. The race also saw the first ever ATCC race win by a BMW with Richards winning by a lap from his new JPS teammate, fellow New Zealander Neville Crichton. Richards' win in the BMW also saw the first ATCC round win by a European car since Jim McKeown won the 7th and final round of the 1970 ATCC at Symmons Plains in a Porsche 911S.
Swedish marque Volvo also joined the winners list when KiwiRobbie Francevic won Round 3 at Symmons Plains in Tasmania in his Volvo 240T. Still a resident of Auckland, Francevic's win also saw him become the first non-Australian resident to win an ATCC race. The big Kiwi's win in Tasmania in the turbo Volvo was also the first of what would be an eventual 55 ATCC round wins (out of a possible 72) for cars powered by turbocharged engines up until the end of Group A racing in 1992. It was not the first turbocharged car to win an ATCC race however, as George Fury had won the Lakeside round in 1984 in a Nissan Bluebird Turbo.
Richards (Winton, Wanneroo, Adelaide, Calder, Surfers, Lakeside and Amaroo, which staged its first ATCC race since 1978), Brock (Sandown) and Francevic (Symmons Plains and Oran Park) were the only drivers to win a race in the series. That actually gave New Zealand born drivers 9 wins out of the 10 rounds, a record for non-Australian wins that still stands as of 2016.
Jim Richards and John Smith in his Toyota Team AustraliaCorolla were the only drivers to finish each round of the series. Smith won the Up to 2000cc class at the first nine rounds of the series before finishing a close second behind teammate Drew Price in the final round at Oran Park.
Other drivers/cars who made an impression in Australia's first foray into Group A included Sydney privateer Garry Willmington in his privately entered Jaguar XJS (built from a second hand road car) with its 5.3 litreV12 engine which proved fast but underdone thanks to Willmington's small budget. The Jaguar was often the fastest car in a straight line when it appeared, but Willmington's lack of budget to develop the car saw it lack the handling needed to be competitive on the smaller Australian tracks. Also impressing were Perth based expat Kiwi Tim Slako in an ex-Andy RouseBTCCRover Vitesse powered by a 3.5 litre V8, another Kiwi in Jim Richards' JPS teammate Neville Crichton in his BMW, and yet another Kiwi Kent Baigent who joined the series in Adelaide driving his ex-Schnitzer Motorsport BMW 635. Also impressing with giant killing performances was 1980Formula One World Champion Alan Jones in Colin Bond's second Network Alfa team Alfa Romeo GTV6. Jones, in an Luigi Racing (ETCC) built GTV6 generally out-performed Bond who drove his Alfa which had been converted from Group E to Group A specification in 1984. Jones, contesting his first ever ATCC finished 8th in the championship despite not contesting the final three rounds (Jones would return full-time to F1 in late 1985). Don Smith and Laurie Nelson both drove a privately entered Ford Mustang each, and even though they would on occasions both achieve decent results in qualifying, lack of reliability and funding kept them well off the pace of Johnson's front running Greens-Tuf Zakespeed Ford Mustang GT.
1985, australian, touring, championship, previous, 1984, next, 1986, cams, sanctioned, motor, racing, title, drivers, touring, cars, 26th, running, australian, touring, championship, first, contested, using, regulations, based, international, group, regulation. 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship Previous 1984 Next 1986 The 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Touring Cars It was the 26th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the first to be contested using regulations based on the FIA s International Group A regulations after having been run under CAMS home grown Group C rules between 1973 and 1984 The championship began on 10 February 1985 at Winton Motor Raceway the track s first ever ATCC race and ended on 14 July at Oran Park Raceway after ten rounds Contents 1 Season summary 2 Teams and drivers 3 Race calendar 4 Classes 5 Points system 6 Results 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksSeason summary EditTriple Bathurst winner Jim Richards won his and BMW s first Australian Touring Car Championship driving a 3 5 litre 6 cyl BMW 635 CSi entered by JPS Team BMW Defending series champion Dick Johnson finished 2nd in his Ford Mustang the first time a Mustang had been seen in the ATCC since 1973 with Peter Brock finishing third in his Holden VK Commodore The first round of the series at Winton also created history when for the first time since the ATCC was first held in 1960 no Holden of any sort was on the grid The race also saw the first ever ATCC race win by a BMW with Richards winning by a lap from his new JPS teammate fellow New Zealander Neville Crichton Richards win in the BMW also saw the first ATCC round win by a European car since Jim McKeown won the 7th and final round of the 1970 ATCC at Symmons Plains in a Porsche 911S Swedish marque Volvo also joined the winners list when Kiwi Robbie Francevic won Round 3 at Symmons Plains in Tasmania in his Volvo 240T Still a resident of Auckland Francevic s win also saw him become the first non Australian resident to win an ATCC race The big Kiwi s win in Tasmania in the turbo Volvo was also the first of what would be an eventual 55 ATCC round wins out of a possible 72 for cars powered by turbocharged engines up until the end of Group A racing in 1992 It was not the first turbocharged car to win an ATCC race however as George Fury had won the Lakeside round in 1984 in a Nissan Bluebird Turbo Richards Winton Wanneroo Adelaide Calder Surfers Lakeside and Amaroo which staged its first ATCC race since 1978 Brock Sandown and Francevic Symmons Plains and Oran Park were the only drivers to win a race in the series That actually gave New Zealand born drivers 9 wins out of the 10 rounds a record for non Australian wins that still stands as of 2016 Jim Richards and John Smith in his Toyota Team Australia Corolla were the only drivers to finish each round of the series Smith won the Up to 2000cc class at the first nine rounds of the series before finishing a close second behind teammate Drew Price in the final round at Oran Park Other drivers cars who made an impression in Australia s first foray into Group A included Sydney privateer Garry Willmington in his privately entered Jaguar XJS built from a second hand road car with its 5 3 litre V12 engine which proved fast but underdone thanks to Willmington s small budget The Jaguar was often the fastest car in a straight line when it appeared but Willmington s lack of budget to develop the car saw it lack the handling needed to be competitive on the smaller Australian tracks Also impressing were Perth based expat Kiwi Tim Slako in an ex Andy Rouse BTCC Rover Vitesse powered by a 3 5 litre V8 another Kiwi in Jim Richards JPS teammate Neville Crichton in his BMW and yet another Kiwi Kent Baigent who joined the series in Adelaide driving his ex Schnitzer Motorsport BMW 635 Also impressing with giant killing performances was 1980 Formula One World Champion Alan Jones in Colin Bond s second Network Alfa team Alfa Romeo GTV6 Jones in an Luigi Racing ETCC built GTV6 generally out performed Bond who drove his Alfa which had been converted from Group E to Group A specification in 1984 Jones contesting his first ever ATCC finished 8th in the championship despite not contesting the final three rounds Jones would return full time to F1 in late 1985 Don Smith and Laurie Nelson both drove a privately entered Ford Mustang each and even though they would on occasions both achieve decent results in qualifying lack of reliability and funding kept them well off the pace of Johnson s front running Greens Tuf Zakespeed Ford Mustang GT Teams and drivers Edit Lawrie Nelson s Ford MustangThe following drivers and teams competed in the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship Team Car Class No DriverMasterton Homes Holden VK Commodore 3001 to 6000cc 2 Steve MastertonH Kent Baigent BMW 635 CSi 2001 to 3000cc 3 Kent BaigentMobil Holden Dealer Team Holden VK Commodore 3001 to 6000cc 05 Peter Brock John Harvey 7 Peter Brock John Harvey Larry Perkins David ParsonsToyota Team Australia Toyota Corolla Up to 2000cc 10 John Smith11 Drew PriceGarry Willmington Performance Jaguar XJ S 3001 to 6000cc 12 Garry WillmingtonBob Holden Motors Toyota Sprinter Up to 2000cc 13 Bob Holden Mike QuinnPalmer Tube Mills Ford Mustang GT 3001 to 6000cc 17 Dick JohnsonKen Mathews Prestige Cars Holden VK Commodore 3001 to 6000cc 19 Ken MathewsJim Keogh Automotive Holden VK Commodore 3001 to 6000cc 20 Jim KeoghMark Petch Motorsport Volvo 240T 2001 to 3000cc 21 Robbie FrancevicGlenn Molloy BMW 635 CSi 3001 to 6000cc 22 Glenn MolloyJPS Team BMW BMW 323i 2001 to 3000cc 23 Tony LonghurstBMW 635 CSi 3001 to 6000cc 31 Neville Crichton62 Jim RichardsRon Dickson Rover Vitesse 24 Ron DicksonNetwork Alfa Alfa Romeo GTV6 2001 to 3000cc 26 Colin Bond27 Alan JonesThe Toy Shop Alfa Romeo GTV6 2001 to 3000cc 27 Gregg HansfordMotorsport Performance Ford Mustang GT 3001 to 6000cc 33 Don SmithKen Harrison Ford Escort Mk II Up to 2000cc 34 Ken HarrisonMike Minear Racing Volvo 360GLT Up to 2000cc 36 Mike MinearRoss Burbidge Mazda RX 7 2001 to 3000cc 46 Ross BurbidgeJagparts Triumph Dolomite Sprint Up to 2000cc 49 Martin PowerChris Heyer Audi 5 5 2001 to 3000cc 53 Chris HeyerJL Hazelton Ford Capri Mk III 2001 to 3000cc 57 Laurie HazeltonCapri Components Ford Mustang GT 3001 to 6000cc 64 Lawrie NelsonJohn Craft Ford Capri Mk III 2001 to 3000cc 65 John CraftRalliart Australia Mitsubishi Starion 2001 to 3000cc 66 Kevin BartlettGreville Arnel Mitsubishi Starion 2001 to 3000cc 68 Greville ArnelRaymond Spencer Mazda RX 7 2001 to 3000cc 70 Raymond SpencerIan Thompson BMW 323i 2001 to 3000cc 77 Ian ThompsonPeter Williamson Toyota Toyota Celica Supra 2001 to 3000cc 77 Peter WilliamsonMelbourne Brake amp Clutch Mitsubishi Starion 2001 to 3000cc 78 Brian SampsonPhil Parsons Ford Capri Mk III 2001 to 3000cc 79 Phil ParsonsAlf Barbagallo Rover Vitesse 3001 to 6000cc 96 Tim SlakoRussell Worthington Mazda RX 7 2001 to 3000cc 100 Russell Worthington Peter Brock and John Harvey both drove 05 and 7 during the season Race calendar EditThe 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over a ten round series with one race per round Rd Race title Circuit Location state Date Winner 1 Team Report1 Winton Winton Motor Raceway Benalla Victoria 9 10 Feb Jim Richards JPS Team BMW2 Pye Audio Round 2 Sandown International Raceway Melbourne Victoria 23 24 Feb Peter Brock Mobil Holden Dealer Team3 Symmons Plains Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston Tasmania 10 11 Mar Robbie Francevic Mark Petch Motorsport4 Wanneroo Wanneroo Park Perth Western Australia 30 31 Mar Jim Richards JPS Team BMW 2 5 Motorcraft 100 Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide South Australia 20 21 Apr Jim Richards JPS Team BMW 3 6 Eurovox Trophy Calder Park Raceway Melbourne Victoria 27 28 Apr Jim Richards JPS Team BMW7 Gold Coast Bulletin Centenary Trophy 4 Surfers Paradise International Raceway Surfers Paradise Queensland 18 19 May Jim Richards JPS Team BMW 5 8 Lakeside Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane Queensland 22 23 Jun Jim Richards JPS Team BMW 6 9 Better Brakes 100 Amaroo Park Sydney New South Wales 6 7 Jul Jim Richards JPS Team BMW 7 10 Castrol Grand Final Oran Park Raceway Sydney New South Wales 12 13 Jul Robbie Francevic Mark Petch Motorsport 8 Classes EditCars competed in three classes determined by engine capacity Up to 2000cc 2001 to 3000cc 3001 to 6000cc 9 Points system EditChampionship points were allocated on a three tier system to Australian license holders only for outright places gained in each round Scale A was applied to drivers of cars in the Up to 2000cc class Scale B was applied to drivers of cars in the 2001 to 3000cc class Scale C was applied to drivers of cars in the 3001 to 6000cc class 9 Outright Position 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20Scale A 30 27 24 21 19 17 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2Scale B 28 26 23 20 17 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Scale C 25 23 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Points from the best nine round results were retained by each driver any other points not being included in the nett total Results EditPos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Pts1 Jim Richards 1st 2nd 5th 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd 218 233 2 Dick Johnson Ret 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 4th 2nd 2nd 2nd 1923 Peter Brock 1st 4th 2nd 2nd Ret 3rd 3rd 5th 8th 1534 Neville Crichton 2nd 5th 3rd 4th 4th 3rd 5th 6th 9th Ret 1495 Robbie Francevic 6th 1st 9th Ret 7th 2nd 4th Ret 1st 1426 Colin Bond Ret 12th 8th 8th 6th 6th 16th 5th 4th 4th 1277 John Smith 7th 9th 10th 11th 12th 11th 10th 8th 10th 15th 110 117 8 Alan Jones 4th 4th 7th 6th 16th 4th 7th DNS 1089 Kevin Bartlett 3rd 8th DNS 7th 8th 9th DNS DNS 7510 Bob Holden 8th 15th 11th 12th 14th 14th 15th 15th Ret 7211 Jim Keogh 7th 6th 10th 17th Ret 11th 9th 12th 5612 Kent Baigent 5th 8th 8th Ret 7th 13th 5113 Drew Price 13th 12th 10th 11th 14th 5014 Brian Sampson 5th 11th Ret 10th 20th 11th 4915 Tim Slako 5th 9th 8th 6th 4716 Tony Longhurst 7th 3rd 12th 4617 Lawrie Nelson 6th 16th 9th 10th Ret 3217 Mike Minear 10th Ret 12th 18th 16th 3219 John Harvey 5th 5th 3019 Laurie Hazelton 9th Ret 11th 13th 3021 Steve Masterton Ret 9th Ret Ret 7th 2022 Russell Worthington 13th 11th 1823 Peter Williamson 7th Ret 18th Ret 1724 Ross Burbidge 14th 12th 1625 Larry Perkins 6th Ret 1325 David Parsons 6th 1327 Garry Willmington Ret 18th 15th Ret 9th 1227 Ken Harrison 17th Ret 15th 1229 Greville Arnel Ret 10th Ret 1129 Gregg Hansford 10th 1129 Ken Mathews 13th 12th 1129 Martin Power 14th 19th 1133 Raymond Spencer 13th 834 John Craft 14th 734 Chris Heyer 16th 536 Phil Parsons 17th 437 Ian Thompson Ret 20th 138 Don Smith Ret Ret 21st Ret 038 Mike Quinn Ret 038 Glenn Molloy 19th 0Pos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Pts Colour ResultGold WinnerSilver Second placeBronze Third placeGreen Points finishBlue Non points finishNon classified finish NC Purple Retired Ret Red Did not qualify DNQ Did not pre qualify DNPQ Black Disqualified DSQ White Did not start DNS Withdrew WD Race cancelled C Blank Did not practice DNP Did not arrive DNA Excluded EX See also Edit1985 Australian Touring Car seasonReferences Edit Australian Motor Racing Year 1985 86 pages 313 314 1985 ATCC Round 4 Barbagello 1985 ATCC Round 5 Adelaide International Raceway 1985 ATCC The Programme Covers Project Retrieved 14 February 2019 1985 ATCC Round 7 Surfers Paradise 1985 ATCC R8 Lakeside 1985 ATCC Round 9 Amaroo 1985 ATCC Round 10 Oran Park a b CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1985 page 90 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1985 page 86External links EditOfficial V8 Supercar site Contains historical ATCC information 1985 Australian Touring Car racing images at www autopics com au Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship amp oldid 1138741085, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
