1973 Australian Touring Car Championship

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The 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Group C Touring Cars. It began at Symmons Plains on 5 March 1973 and ended at Warwick Farm after eight rounds. The championship, which was authorised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian National Title, was the 14th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship.

The championship was won by Allan Moffat in a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III.

The night before Round 6 of the series at the Adelaide International Raceway, Moffat's GTHO Falcon was stolen from Stillwell Ford in the northern Adelaide suburb of Medindie. Rather than see Moffat out of the race (he was the series points leader at the time having won the opening 4 rounds and finishing 3rd in round 5), Murray Carter loaned Moffat his GTHO Falcon for the race. Peter Brock won the race while Moffat kept his points lead by finishing second. Moffat's stolen Falcon was later found abandoned in the Adelaide Hills where the thieves who had taken it for a "joy ride" dumped it when it ran out of fuel.

Entrants and drivers

The following drivers competed in the 1973 ATCC. The series consisted of eight rounds held in six different states. As of 2022, Elemer Vajda's entry is still the only Subaru to have contested an ATCC/V8 Supercars race. [1]

EntrantCarNoDriver
Holden Dealer Team Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 1 Peter Brock
Grace Brothers Racing Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 1 Ian Geoghegan
Holden Dealer Team Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 2 Peter Brock
Murray Carter - Shell Racing Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 3 Murray Carter
Dick Johnson Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 4 Dick Johnson
McLeod Ford Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop 5 John Goss
Road & Track Auto Services Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 6 Fred Gibson
Bob Jane Racing Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 7 Bob Jane
Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 9 Allan Moffat
Grace Brothers Racing Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 10 Ian Geoghegan
Holden Dealer Team Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 11 Peter Brock
Ron Hodgson Motors Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 11 Bob Morris
Bob Holden Ford Escort Twin Cam 13 Bob Holden
Peter Robinson Motors Lilydale Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 14Tony Niovanni
John Stoopman Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 15John Stoopman
Graeme Blanchard Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 16Graeme Blanchard
Bryan Thomson Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 17Bryan Thomson
Ted Mudie Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 18Ted Mudie
Cessnock Motor Works Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 19 Allan Grice
Rod McRae Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 20Rod McRae
Phil Barnes Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 21Phil Barnes
Phillip Lyon Ford Escort Twin Cam 23Phillip Lyon
Holden Dealer Team Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 24 Colin Bond
Graham Parsons Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 25Graham Parsons
Lakis Manticas Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 27Lakis Manticas
Stuart Saker Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 29Stuart Saker
Don Holden Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 30Don Holland
Gary Cooke Mazda RX-3 31Gary Cooke
Graham Ryan Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 32Graham Ryan
Ken Loughan Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 34Ken Loughan
Alan Cant Ford Escort Twin Cam 37Alan Cant
John Duggan Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 39John Duggan
John French Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 44 John French
Rod Housego Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 45Rod Housego
Lyndon Arnel Ford Escort Twin Cam 47Lyndon Arnel
Geoff Leeds Ford Escort Twin Cam 49Geoff Leeds
Tony Farrell Ford Escort Twin Cam 52Tony Farrell
Barry Bassingthwaite Ford Escort Twin Cam 57Barry Bassingthwaite
Strapp Ford Doncaster Ford Escort Twin Cam 58Graham Ritter
David Jamieson Ford Mustang 60David Jamieson
Campbell Lambert Morris Cooper S 61Campbell Lambert
Tony Watts Morris Cooper S 62Tony Watts
Chris Pawson Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 63Chris Pawson [2]
Westland Autos Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III 64Bill Dickson
Werner Tulipan Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 66Werner Tulipan
Peter Granger Ford Escort Twin Cam 67Peter Granger
Nick Munting Toyota Corolla 68Nick Munting [3]
John Dellaca Morris Cooper S 69John Dellaca
Rod Miles Morris Clubman GT 72Rod Miles
Stewart McLeod Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 73Stewart McLeod
Gary Keen Mazda RX-3 75Gary Keen
Bob Jane Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 76 Bob Jane
Garry Rowe Ford Escort Twin Cam 77Garry Rowe
Martin Anderson Morris Cooper S 78Martin Anderson
Jim Stewart Morris Cooper S 79Jim Stewart
Brett Keightley Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 80Brett Keightley
Elemer Vajda Subaru 1300 81Elemer Vajda
Eric Olsen Ford Escort Twin Cam 83Eric Olsen
Paul Gulson Fiat 128 Coupe 85Paul Gulson
Tony Allen Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 87Tony Allen
Lawrie Nelson Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 88 Lawrie Nelson
John Piper Ford Escort Twin Cam 90John Piper
Mel McEwin Toyota Corolla 91Mel McEwin
Keith McCloy Morris Cooper S 94Keith McCloy
Rod Boyle Morris Cooper S 95Rod Boyle
Graeme Adams Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 96Graeme Adams
Bill Nitschke Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 97Bill Nitschke
World of Tyres Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 98Ian Diffen
Alfred Colledge Morris Cooper S 99Alfred Colledge
W. S. Nitschke Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 101John Lewis
Paul Moore Toyota Corolla 102Paul Moore
Rod Morris Morris Cooper S 107Rod Morris
Motorama Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 154Ray Thackwell

Calendar

The 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship consisted of eight rounds. [4]

Rd.Race titleCircuitCity / stateDateWinning driverWinning carEntrant
1 Symmons Plains Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 5 March Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III Allan Moffat
2 Calder Calder Park Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 18 March Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III Allan Moffat
3 Sandown Sandown International Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 15 April Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III Allan Moffat
4 Wanneroo Wanneroo Park Perth Western Australia 6 May Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III Allan Moffat
5 Surfers Paradise Surfers Paradise International Raceway Surfers Paradise, Queensland 20 May Peter Brock Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Holden Dealer Team
6 Datsun Trophy [5] Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide, South Australia 10 June Peter Brock Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Holden Dealer Team
7 Oran Park Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 24 June Allan Moffat Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III Allan Moffat
8 Warwick Farm Warwick Farm Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 15 July Peter Brock Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Holden Dealer Team

Points system

Car competed in two classes:

Points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the first six positions in each class at each round with additional points awarded on a 4-3-2-1 basis for the first four positions, regardless of class, at each round.

Championship standings

Pos. [6] Driver [6] Sym.Cal.San.Wan.Sur.Ade.Ora.War.Pts [6]
1 Allan Moffat 1st(13)1st(13)1st(13)1st(13)3rd(6)2nd(9)1st(13)Ret80
2 Peter Brock 2nd(9)RetRet2nd(9)1st(13)1st(13)DSQ1st(13)57
3Graham Ritter8th(9)9th(9)(9)7th(9)DNS7th(9)Ret6th(9)54
4 Bob Holden (4)Ret(4)Ret10th(9)7th(6)23
Eric OlsenRet10th(6)(3)8th(6)10th(6)(2)23
6 Ian Geoghegan Ret3rd(6)Ret2nd(9)RetRet3rd(6)21
7 Fred Gibson 2nd(9)4th(4)3rd(6)Ret19
8 Murray Carter 5th(2)5th(2)3rd(6)4th(4)7thDNS7th5th(2)16
9 Lawrie Nelson DSQ2nd(9)3rd(6)15
10 Bob Morris 4th(4)2nd(9)13
11 Colin Bond 2nd(9)9
Lyndon Arnel5th(9)9
Tony Farrell(3)(6)9
14 John Goss 3rd(6)DSQRet5th(2)RetRet8
15Bill Dickson3rd(6)6
John Stoopman6th(1)6th(1)4th(4)6
Tony Watts9th(6)6
Mel McEwin(6)6
Paul Gulson(6)6
20Bryan Thomson4th(4)6th(1)5
Rod Morris(2)(3)5
22 Bob Jane 4th(4)DSQ4
Graham Blanchard10th4th(4)8th4
Don Holland9th4th(4)4
Ian Diffen6th(1)7th5th(2)8th6th(1)8th4
John Piper(4)4
Rod Miles(4)4
Peter Moore(4)4
Gary Cooke(4)4
Geoff Leeds(4)4
31Adrian Lewis(3)3
Keith McCloy(3)3
Nick Munting(3)3
Peter Granger(3)3
35Rod McRaeDSQ5th(2)2
Tony NiovanniDSQ7th5th(2)2
Lakis Manticas5th(2)2
Alf Colledge(2)2
Phillip Lyons(2)2
Elemer Vajda(2)2
Alan Cant(2)2
42
John Lewis6th(1)1
Dick Johnson 6th(1)1
Ted Mudie(1)1
Garry Rowe(1)1
PosDriverSym.Cal.San.Wan.Sur.Ade.Ora.War.Pts
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
BlankDid not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)
  Up to and including 2000 cc class competitors

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References

  1. Howard, Graham (1986). Australian Touring Car Championship - 25 fabulous years. Sydney, Australia: R & T Publishing. p. 280. ISBN   0959037829.
  2. Peter Oliver, Brock's Sensational Sixth, Racing Car News, July 1973, pages 62 & 63
  3. Official Programme, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, June 10, 1973
  4. V8 Central website
  5. "1973 Australian Touring Car Championship Programmes". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 The official history - Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years, page 137