The 1974 Australian Touring Car Championship was an Australian motor racing competition open to Group C Touring Cars.[1] Authorised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian National Title,[1] it was the 15th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. The championship began at Symmons Plains on 4 March 1974 and ended at Adelaide International Raceway on 9 June after eight rounds.
The championship was won by Peter Brock, driving for the Holden Dealer Team in a Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 and a Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000.
Drivers
The following drivers contested the championship.
| Entrant | No. | Car | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holden Dealer Team[2] | 1 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Colin Bond |
| Holden Dealer Team[3] | 2 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Dick Johnson |
| Holden Dealer Team[4] | 2 [4] 6 [3] 8 [5] |
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 |
Peter Brock |
| Phil Waters | 4 | Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III | Phil Waters |
| Allan Grice | 4 | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 | Allan Grice |
| McLeod Ford [2] | 5 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | John Goss |
| Road & Track Auto Services [2] | 6 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Fred Gibson |
| Bob Jane Racing [4] | 7 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Bob Jane |
| Dustings of Burwood [4] | 9 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Rod McRae |
| Bob Forbes | 10 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Bob Forbes |
| Gary Cooke | 11 | Mazda RX-3 | Gary Cooke |
| Norman G. Booth Pty. Ltd.[2] | 12 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Jim Hunter |
| Bryan Byrt Ford | 13 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Bob Holden |
| Peak Performance P/L [3] | 14 | Ford Escort GT1600 | John English |
| John Stoopman | 15 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | John Stoopman |
| Insul Fluf Home Insulation [5] | 16 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Graeme Blanchard |
| Ron Hodgson Motors | 17 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Bob Morris |
| Murray Carter Motors [4] | 18 | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | Murray Carter |
| Muirs Mtrs. Ashfield [3] | 19 | Holden HQ Monaro GTS350 | Ron Dickson |
| Peter Robinson Motors [6] | 20 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Tony Niovanni |
| Kevin Kennedy | 21 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Kevin Kennedy |
| D. Holland Motors [2] | 24 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Don Holland |
| Graham Parsons | 25 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Graham Parsons |
| Mulgrave Mazda [4] | 26 | Mazda RX-3 | Mel Mollison |
| Richard Purtell | 27 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Richard Purtell |
| Neil West | 28 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Neil West |
| Ray Gulson | 29 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | Ray Gulson |
| M. McGinley [6] | 29 | Honda Civic | Gordon Dickson |
| W. A. Fisher (Holdings) Pty. Ltd.[2] | 30 | Mazda RX-3 | Bernie Haehnle |
| Lawrie Nelson | 32 | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | Lawrie Nelson |
| Allan Moffat Racing[6] | 33 | Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop | Allan Moffat |
| Ken Loughan | 34 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Ken Loughan |
| McRaes of Hastings [4] | 35 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Russ McRae |
| Matthew Phillip | 36 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Matthew Phillip |
| Alan Cant | 37 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Alan Cant |
| Alan Taylor | 38 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Alan Taylor |
| B & D Autos [7] | 39 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Tim Smith |
| Graham Ryan | 41 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Graham Ryan |
| Robert Bride | 42 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Robert Bride |
| John French Pty. Ltd.[4] | 43 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | John French |
| George Garth | 44 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | George Garth |
| R. J. Holden [3] | 45 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Lyndon Arnel |
| Keith Henry | 49 | Morris Cooper S | Keith Henry |
| Brian Ovenden | 50 | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | Brian Ovenden |
| John Wharton | 51 | Mazda RX-3 | John Wharton |
| Cam Richardson | 52 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Cam Richardson |
| Barry Benson [4] | 55 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Barry Seton |
| Ron Dickson | 58 | Holden HQ Monaro GTS350 | Ron Dickson |
| Peter Mac's Towing [6] | 62 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Geoff Wade |
| Roger Bonhomme | 63 | Holden LC Torana GTR | Roger Bonhomme |
| A. C. R. Watts / Coca-Cola Bottlers [7] | 64 | Morris Cooper S | Tony Watts |
| David Clement | 66 | Morris Cooper S | David Clement |
| Geoff Perry | 69 | Mazda RX-3 | Geoff Perry |
| R. D. Mahoney [6] | 74 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Roger Mahoney |
| John Millyard | 80 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | John Millyard |
| John Gifford | 81 | Morris Cooper S | John Gifford |
| John Lewis | 82 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | John Lewis |
| Milton Leslight | 85 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Milton Leslight |
| Tom Heffernan | 86 | Holden Torana GTR | Tom Heffernan |
| Keith Shaw | 88 | Honda Civic | Keith Shaw |
| Dean Smith | 90 | Ford Escort GT1600 | Dean Smith |
| A. F. & M. Beninca P/L [6] | 91 | Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV | Ray Harrison |
| P. A. Buda [3] | 92 | Morris Cooper S | Phil Buda |
| Graeme Adams | 94 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Graeme Adams |
| Peter LeFrancke | 95 | Toyota Corolla | Peter LeFrancke |
| Dennis Martin | 96 | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | Dennis Martin |
| Tony Farrell | 99 | Mazda RX-3 | Tony Farrell |
Calendar
The championship was contested over seven rounds.[8]
| Rd. | Race title | Circuit | City / state | Date | Winner | Team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Symmons Plains Raceway | Launceston, Tasmania | 4 March | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | ||
| 2 | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 17 March | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | ||
| 3 | Sandown International Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 7 April | Allan Moffat | Allan Moffat Racing | ||
| 4 | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | 14 April | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | ||
| 5 | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 28 April | Ray Gulson | Canberra Speed Shop | ||
| Allan Moffat | Allan Moffat Racing | ||||||
| 6 | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 19 May | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | ||
| 7 | Datsun Trophy [5] | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide, South Australia | 9 June | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team |
- Round 5 consisted of two separate races, one for over 3 litre cars and one for under 3 litre cars.
Classes and points system
Cars were classified into one of two displacement classes:[1]
Points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the first six place-getters in each class and on a 4-3-2-1 basis for the first four place-getters outright, irrespective of class.[1]
Championship standings
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References & notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Conditions for Australian Titles, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1974, pages 84 to 90
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Program, Amaroo Park Raceway, 14th April, 1974
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Official Programme, Surfers Paradise International Raceway, Sun. 19th May 1974
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Official Raceway Program, Calder, March 17, 1974
- 1 2 3 Adelaide International Raceway Programme (9 June 1974)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Official Programme, Sandown, April 7th (1974)
- 1 2 Programme, Symmons Plains, 4 March 1974
- โ Touring Car Champs, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1975 Edition, pages 102 to 119
- 1 2 3 Graham Howard , Stewart Wilson, David Greenhalgh, The official history - Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years
- โ Mollison's Mazda RX-3 is shown in the Calder Program as having an engine capacity of 1964 cc.
- โ Haehnle's Mazda RX-3 is shown in the Amaroo Program as having an engine capacity of 2292 cc.