1986 Australian Touring Car season


The 1986 Australian Touring Car season was the 27th season of touring car racing in Australia commencing from 1960 when the first Australian Touring Car Championship and the first Armstrong 500 were contested. It was the second season in which Australian Touring Car regulations were based on those for the FIA Group A Touring Car category.
Touring Cars competed at 21 race meetings in Australia during the 1986 season, contesting the following events:
The second year of Group A in Australia saw the domination of the JPS Team BMW team fade with several other teams pushing forwards. Most spectacularly was the return of Nissan Motorsport Australia with the newly homologated Nissan Skyline DR30 RS turbo. Led by long time Nissan lead driver George Fury they were the main rival for another new team, the John Sheppard run Volvo Dealer Team, a factory supported team which succeeded the Mark Petch Motorsport Volvo team of 1985. The Touring Car Championship became a two horse race between Volvo's Robbie Francevic and Fury. Fury was never able to haul in Francevic's early points lead and Francevic was crowned champion. Francevic was fired from the Volvo Dealer Team by Sheppard the day after the Castrol 500 at Sandown after refusing to drive what he believed would be an un-competitive car which had only been completed at the meeting started. He then returned to the Mark Petch team as they began development of a Ford Sierra turbo. Although Francevic won the ATCC in the car, 1986 was the last time the Volvo 240T was seen in Australian touring car racing.
Defending ATCC, Endurance and AMSCAR champion, JPS Team BMW's Jim Richards picked up race wins during the season, claiming the Australian Endurance Championship. Peter Brock likewise returned to the winner list for Holden Dealer Team, dominating the Adelaide round of the ATCC before engine failure, and later claiming an ATCC win at Surfers Paradise which would prove to be the last time a Holden won a race in the championship until 1992. Brock's win at Surfers in his Holden VK Commodore SS Group A would also prove to be the 34th and last ATCC race win for the HDT who had won their first ATCC race when coincidentally Brock won at Surfers in 1973 in a Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1.
While Richards won the Endurance Championship through consistent placings, the big prizes went elsewhere. Nissan claimed the Sandown 500 with Fury and his new young team mate Glenn Seton, while Allan Grice and Graeme Bailey returned from their attempt at the FIA Touring Car Championship in Europe to claim victory in the Bathurst 1000, with Grice also winning the Group A support race at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.
John Smith claimed the debut title for small touring cars, the distinction for the class was set at two litres leaving a field of Toyota Corollas, Isuzu Geminis and a Nissan Gazelle. The Amaroo Park based Better Brakes/AMSCAR series was claimed by JPS Team BMW's number 2 driver, Tony Longhurst driving the team's secondary car, a BMW 325i, the forerunner to 1987's BMW M3.
Australia hosted the opening two rounds of the inaugural South Pacific Touring Car Championship with the final three rounds held in New Zealand. The opening round also doubled as Round 5 of the Australian Endurance Championship at Calder Park while Round 2 was the Group A support race at the Australian Grand Prix. Allan Grice who won in Adelaide went on to claim the South Pacific title after a further win at Baypark in NZ.

Race calendar

Australian Touring Car Championship

Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship

Australian Endurance Championship

Australian Manufacturers' Championship

The 1986 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was awarded to Nissan.

Castrol 500

James Hardie 1000

Better Brakes/AMSCAR Series

won the 1986 Better Brakes/AMSCAR Series for JPS Team BMW from Colin Bond and his JPS team mate Jim Richards.

South Pacific Touring Car Championship

1986 Australian Grand Prix Support Race

South Pacific Touring Car Championship – Round 2
This race was a support event at the 1986 Australian Grand Prix meeting. The race was held over 32 laps of the 3.780 km Adelaide Street Circuit.
Pos.DriverNo.TeamCarGrid
1 Allan Grice3Roadways RacingHolden VK Commodore SS Group A6
2 George Fury30Peter Jackson Nissan RacingNissan Skyline DR30 RS5
3 Graeme Crosby6Bob Jane T-MartsHolden VK Commodore SS Group A2
4 Larry Perkins11Enzed Team PerkinsHolden VK Commodore SS Group A7
5 John Harvey7Holden Dealer TeamHolden VK Commodore SS Group A9
6 Glenn Seton15Peter Jackson Nissan RacingNissan Skyline DR30 RS3
7 Graeme Bailey2Roadways RacingHolden VK Commodore SS Group A17
8 Tony Longhurst25JPS Team BMWBMW 325i10
9 Graham Moore22Strathfield Car RadiosHolden VK Commodore SS Group A12
10 Trevor Crowe73BMW 635 CSi13
DNF Peter Brock05Mobil Holden Dealer TeamHolden VK Commodore SS Group A4
DNF Dick Johnson17Palmer Tube MillsFord Mustang GT8
DNF Jim Richards1JPS Team BMWBMW 635 CSi1