1989 Australian Touring Car Championship


The 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group 3A Touring Cars. The championship, which was the 30th Australian Touring Car Championship, began on 5 March at Amaroo Park and ended on 9 July at Oran Park Raceway after eight rounds. The 1989 Australian Manufacturers' Championship was contested over the same eight round series.
The championship, which was promoted as the Shell Ultra Australian Touring Car Championship, was won by Dick Johnson driving a Ford Sierra RS500. Toyota won the Australian Manufacturers' Championship.

Teams and drivers

The following drivers and teams competed in the 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship.
TeamCarNoDriverRounds
Nissan Motorsport AustraliaNissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R2 Jim RichardsAll
Nissan Motorsport AustraliaNissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R3 George Fury1-5, 7-8
Nissan Motorsport AustraliaNissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R12 Mark Skaife5-8
Caltex CXT RacingFord Sierra RS5004 Colin BondAll
Caltex CXT RacingFord Sierra RS50019 Ken Mathews1, 3, 8
Mobil 1 RacingFord Sierra RS50005 Peter BrockAll
Mobil 1 RacingFord Sierra RS500105 Brad Jones1-7
Miedecke MotorsportFord Sierra RS5006 Andrew Miedecke1-2, 6-8
Miedecke MotorsportFord Sierra RS5008 Andrew Bagnall1-3, 6
Allan Moffat EnterprisesFord Sierra RS5009 Allan Moffat1-2, 4-8
Allan Moffat EnterprisesFord Sierra RS5009 Gregg Hansford3
Dennis NorgardHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV10 Dennis Norgard4
Perkins EngineeringHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV11 Larry Perkins6-7
Bob Holden MotorsToyota Sprinter AE8613 Tim Hall1
Bob Holden MotorsToyota Sprinter AE8613 Bob Holden3, 5-7
Bob Holden MotorsToyota Corolla51 Dennis Rogers1, 6-8
Murray CarterFord Sierra RS50014 Murray Carter1, 3, 8
ICL RacingHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV15 Allan Grice7
Shell Ultra-Hi RacingFord Sierra RS50017 Dick JohnsonAll
Shell Ultra-Hi RacingFord Sierra RS50018 John BoweAll
Benson & Hedges RacingFord Sierra RS50020 Neville CrichtonAll
Benson & Hedges RacingFord Sierra RS50025 Tony LonghurstAll
Lusty EngineeringHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV22 Graham Lusty2-3, 6-7
Chris LambdenHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV23 Chris LambdenAll
Gerald KayHolden VK Commodore SS Group A24 Gerald KayAll
Tony NoskeHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV26 Tony Noske6
Mark Petch MotorsportFord Sierra RS50027 Robbie Francevic6-8
Joe SommarivaBMW 635 CSi28 Joe Sommariva1-3, 5-8
Lawrie NelsonFord Mustang29 Lawrie Nelson7-8
Peter Jackson RacingFord Sierra RS50030 Glenn Seton1-3, 6-8
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla31 David Armstrong6
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla31 John Smith8
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla32 John FaulknerAll
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla33 Russell Becker1
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla33 Terri Sawyer2
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla33 Mike Dowson3
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla33 Anthony Fogliani4
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla33 Darryl Bennett5-6
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla33 Neal Bates7
Toyota Team AustraliaToyota Corolla33 Brooke Tatnell8
Lansvale Racing TeamHolden VL Commodore SS Group A35 Steve Reed8
Bob Forbes RacingHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV36 Mark Gibbs1, 8
Brian CallaghanHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV37 Brian Callaghan1, 8
Tony MulvihillHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV38 Tony Mulvihill-
David SalaNissan Gazelle39 David SalaAll
David SalaNissan Gazelle39 Ross Burbidge-
David SalaNissan Gazelle39 Grant Bailey-
Terry FinniganHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV40 Terry Finnigan3
Terry FinniganHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV40 Geoff Leeds-
G. HerbertRover SD1 Vitesse40 Peter Harper4
ICL RacingHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV41 Garry Rogers1, 6-7
Matt WackerHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV42 Matt Wacker1-2, 6-7
Ian LoveHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV44 Ian Love4
Llynden ReithmullerHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV46 Llynden Reithmuller6-8
Wayne ParkHolden VL Commodore SS Group A48 Wayne Park1, 3, 8
M3 MotorsportBMW M352 John Cotter8
Clive SmithNissan Skyline DR30 RS54 Clive Smith6-8
Playscape RacingFord Sierra RS50055 Kevin Waldock8
Scotty Taylor RacingMitsubishi Starion60 Roger Hurd8
Garry Willmington PerformanceHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV68 Garry Willmington1, 3, 7-8
Garry Willmington PerformanceHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV69 Reda Awadullah1, 3
Barbagallo MotorsportHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV77 Alf Barbagallo4-5
Barbagallo MotorsportHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV96 Tim Slako4-6
Team Madison RacingToyota Sprinter AE8678 Geoff Full1, 3-5
Team Madison RacingToyota Sprinter AE8678 Michael Adcock7-8
Daryl HendrickHolden VL Commodore SS Group A SV86 Daryl Hendrick6-7
Rick ScarfHolden VK Commodore SS Group A99 Rick Scarf8

Season review

Following on from their dominant 1988 championship 1-2, the Dick Johnson Racing Ford Sierra RS500 drivers Dick Johnson and John Bowe again finished 1-2 in the title race, winning the first six rounds with Johnson's fifth championship win equaling the record of Ian Geoghegan. Like Geoghegan, all of Dick Johnson's championships were won driving Fords.
The championship also saw long time Holden driver Peter Brock turn to Fords in a bid to return to the top in Australia with two cars secured from British Sierra expert Andy Rouse for himself and Albury based driver Brad Jones. Brock's pole in Round 2 at Symmons Plains was his first touring car pole since the 1986 Sandown 500, while his win in the final round at Oran Park was his first ATCC win since 1986 and his first ever ATCC win in anything other than a Holden. Brock in his Mobil 1 Racing Sierra would prove to be the Shell team's most consistent challenger, finishing third in the championship, his highest placing since he finished third in 1985. Most observers felt that Brock adapted to the powerful Sierra's quicker than most, though he readily admitted his link with Rouse and the technical help he gave was a big factor in the Mobil teams revival. Also, unlike most of his fellow competitors when they started racing the Sierra's, Brock wasn't a stranger to racing turbocharged cars having raced a Porsche 956B at Silverstone and Le Mans in the 1984 World Sportscar Championship.
Other driver/team changes in 1989 included a new Ford Sierra team for former Nissan driver Glenn Seton who took Nissan's Peter Jackson cigarette sponsorship with him to his new team. Also switching from Nissan was his father Barry Seton who became the chief engine builder for his sons new team. 1988 Tooheys 1000 winner Tony Longhurst expanded his Benson & Hedges Racing to a two car team with a second Sierra for former JPS Team BMW teammate Neville Crichton. The two B&H cars had been acquired from the Wolf Racing Australasia team formerly run by Robbie Francevic and his long-time patron Mark Petch. Colin Bond also expanded his Caltex-backed Sierra team to two cars, running a second for Sydney car dealer Ken Mathews who had purchased the Bathurst winning Sierra from Longhurst. For the first time in Australian Group A, BMW wasn't represented by one of the top teams which prompted BMW Australia to pull out. The M3 was reduced to a class runner and it was left to privateers John Cotter and his regular co-driver Peter Doulman running one of the ex-JPS/Mobil M3's purchased from Brock at the end of 1988 to keep a BMW presence on the grid.
1989 also saw the last ATCC round win for long time factory Nissan driver George Fury when he took victory in Round 7 at the tight Winton circuit in rural Victoria in what proved to be the most competitive race of the championship. In fact, when Peter Brock led at the end of lap one at Winton it was actually the first time since Round 6 in 1988 at Lakeside that someone other than Dick Johnson or John Bowe had led the first lap of an ATCC race. Fury, who had been with the team since its inaugural year in 1981, was joined in the Nissan team by 1985 and 1987 champion Jim Richards, and the teams 1987 Australian 2.0 Litre champion Mark Skaife, each driving a turbocharged Skyline HR31 GTS-R. The Skyline, which had been late arriving in 1988 and had run short of development, was more of a force in 1989 with the team finding greater power and reliability from the turbocharged 6 cyl 2.0L twin cam engine as well as getting the cars down to the Nissan's weight limit of 1100 kg, some 70 kg lighter than 1988. Skaife made his first appearance of the series at the Mallala circuit in South Australia for Round 5, and avoided the first corner carnage to finish a fine fifth.
The 1989 championship was the first since 1970 to be contested without an appearance by a factory supported Holden team. The Holden Special Vehicles team did not compete in the series, despite entering two Commodores for highly respected British driver Win Percy and Channel 7 commentator Neil Crompton in the opening round at Amaroo Park. Allan Grice was the highest placed Holden driver in the championship, finishing in a hard-fought fourth position after a one-off appearance at Winton in a privately entered Roadways Racing Commodore he had driven in the 1988 Tooheys 1000. The Winton round, which started on a wet track and was damp throughout with a couple of additional showers, saw Grice ran the race on one set of wet tyres. The highest placed Holden driver from 1987 and 1988 championship, Larry Perkins, appeared in only two rounds with his privately entered Commodore, the same car he had driven at Bathurst the previous year as part of the factory backed Holden Special Vehicles/TWR team. 1989 was thus the first year in which no Holden driver had finished the championship inside the top ten positions since Herb Taylor placed twelfth in a Holden EH in 1968, the last year in which the ATCC was contested as a single race. Holden's lack of interest in the 1989 ATCC was not well received either by the fans or television broadcaster Channel 7. It was Holden's lack of representation from the factory backed team or the privateers that highlighted the growing costs of Group A racing, something which would cause a change in the sport after 1992.
Venue changes from the 1988 Championship were the deletion of the round at Calder Park and the addition of a round at the 2.601 km Mallala Motor Sport Park, located 55 km north of Adelaide. Mallala returned to the championship for the first time since 1971, replacing the round at the Bob Jane owned Adelaide International Raceway. Calder owner Bob Jane had signed an agreement with "Vic Health" which saw cigarette advertising banned at his race tracks. As Jane also owned the Adelaide circuit, this saw AIR also dropped from the calendar.
Round 3 of the championship at Lakeside just north of Brisbane was full of drama. Initially scheduled to be run on 2 April, the meeting was postponed two weeks due to almost a weeks worth of heavy rain in the area which flooded the nearby Lake Kurwongbah that gives the circuit its name. The flooding saw both the front straight and pit area under about a foot of water. The race then took place on 16 April but was marred by a fiery crash on the back straight when Andrew Miedecke's Sierra collided with the VL Commodore of Graham Lusty while Lusty was being lapped. Both cars crashed heavily into the fence, as did the Sierra of the closely following Glenn Seton. Both the Commodore and Miedecke Sierra were engulfed in flames and wisely the race was red flagged. After a delay while the clean up was on, the race was reduced from 60 to 30 minutes with half points to be awarded for the round. Dick Johnson went on to win on his home circuit for the first time since his epic battle with Brock which won him his first ATCC back in 1981.
1989 would prove to be the last ATCC contested by four-time champion Allan Moffat with the Canadian born driver retiring from driving at the end of the year.

Race calendar

The 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over eight rounds, with each round being a single race over a duration of approximately one hour.
Rd.CircuitLocation / StateDateWinning driverWinning carWinning teamReport
1Amaroo ParkSydney, New South Wales5 March John BoweFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra Hi Racing
2Symmons Plains RacewayLaunceston, Tasmania12 March Dick JohnsonFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra Hi Racing
3Lakeside International RacewayBrisbane, Queensland16 April Dick JohnsonFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra Hi Racing
4Barbagallo RacewayPerth, Western Australia30 April John BoweFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra Hi Racing
5Mallala Motor Sport ParkMallala, South Australia7 May Dick JohnsonFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra Hi Racing
6Sandown RacewayMelbourne, Victoria21 May Dick JohnsonFord Sierra RS500Shell Ultra Hi Racing
7Winton Motor RacewayBenalla, Victoria4 June George FuryNissan Skyline HR31 GTS-RNissan Motorsport Australia
8Oran Park RacewaySydney, New South Wales9 July Peter BrockFord Sierra RS500Mobil 1 Racing

Points system

Points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the top ten race positions. Only half points were awarded for Round 3 at Lakeside due to the stoppage of the initial race and the reduced 30-minute duration of the restarted race. The pointscore system allowed a driver to retain points only from his or her seven best round results. Discarded placings are shown within brackets in the table below.

Championship results

Australian Manufacturers' Championship

The 1989 Australian Manufacturers' Championship, which was contested concurrently with the 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship, was won by Toyota.