The 1998 Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title[1] for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars. The championship, which was promoted by Procar Australia, was the third Australian GT Production Car Championship.[2]
Calendar edit
The title was contested over an eight round series[3] with two races per round.[4]
| Round | Circuit | State | Date |
| 1 | Calder Park | Victoria | 5 April |
| 2 | Oran Park | New South Wales | 26 April |
| 3 | Phillip Island | Victoria | 17 May |
| 4 | Eastern Creek | New South Wales | 7 June |
| 5 | Lakeside | Queensland | 28 June |
| 6 | Mallala | South Australia | 19 July |
| 7 | Winton | Victoria | 9 August |
| 8 | Oran Park | New South Wales | 30 August |
The final round had been scheduled to be run at Amaroo Park on 30 August but was moved to Oran Park on the same date.
Points system edit
Championship points were awarded on a 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first ten classified finishers in each race. A bonus point was awarded to the driver setting pole position at each round.
Points for the five class titles were awarded on a similar basis but with no bonus point for pole position.
Results edit
| Position | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Total[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Domenic Beninca | 52 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Beninca Motors | 31 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 18 | 26 | 18 | 29 | 186 |
| 2 | Peter Fitzgerald | 1 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Falken Tyres | 20 | 23 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 24 | 18 | 172 |
| 3 | Gary Waldon | 5 | Dodge Viper GTS | Gary Waldon Racing | 13 | 25 | 31 | 27 | 27 | - | - | - | 123 |
| 4 | Rodney Forbes | 85 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Bob Forbes Corporation Pty Ltd | - | 16 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 115 |
| 5 | John Bowe | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 24 | 20 | - | - | 29 | - | 25 | 15 | 113 |
| 6 | Paul Stokell | 50 | Lotus Elise Sport | Monarch Motor Imports Pty Ltd | 8 | 4 | 10 | - | - | 12 | 12 | 14 | 60 |
| 7 | Ross Almond | 26 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | - | - | 3 | 3 | 39 |
| 8 | Alfredo Costanzo | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | 16 | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | 9 | - | 37 |
| 9 | Neil Crompton | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | - | - | 16 | 13 | - | - | - | - | 29 |
| 10 | Terry Bosnjak | 12 | Mazda RX-7 SP | Terry Bosnjak | - | - | - | - | 12 | 16 | - | - | 28 |
| 11 | Dean Canto | 44 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Edge Motor Sport | - | - | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 26 |
| 12 | Chris Kousparis | 6 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Nepean EFI | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 25 |
| 13 | Murray Carter | 18 | Nissan 200SX Turbo | Murray Carter | 2 | 3 | - | 7 | - | 5 | 3 | 4 | 24 |
| 14 | Ross Halliday | 17 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | 11 | 21 |
| 15 | Peter McKay | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 14 |
| 16 | Chris Smith | 30 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | C Smith | - | - | - | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | 10 |
| 17 | Ed Aitken | 8 | Porsche 911 RSCS | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | - | 9 | |
| 18 | John Bourke | 9 | Toyota Supra RZ | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | |
| Peter Boylan | 7 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Peter Boylan | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 8 | |
| 20 | John Trimbole | 47 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | Daily Planet | - | 2 | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
| 21 | Bob Thorn | 64 | Toyota Supra RZ | Supercheap Auto Racing | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Michael Simpson | 32 | BMW 323i | Bruce Lynton | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 2 | 5 | |
| 23 | Craig Dean | 41 | Toyota Soarer Turbo | Crossover Car Conversions | - | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 24 | John Cowley | 2 | HSV VS GTS-R | John Cowley | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
| 25 | Marcus Marshall | 24 | Nissan 300ZX | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | |
| Mark King | 34 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | ||
| Luke Searle | 15 | BMW 323i | Roadchill Express | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
Classes edit
| Position | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Total[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A : Super Cars | |||||
| 1 | Domenic Beninca | 52 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Beninca Motors | 181 |
| 2 | Peter Fitzgerald | 1 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Falken Tyres | 171 |
| 3 | Gary Waldon | 5 | Dodge Viper GTS | Gary Waldon Racing | 121 |
| 4 | Rodney Forbes | 85 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Bob Forbes Corporation Pty Ltd | 114 |
| 5 | John Bowe | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 107 |
| 6 | Paul Stokell | 50 | Lotus Elise Sport | Monarch Motor Imports Pty Ltd | 60 |
| 7 | Ross Almond | 26 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | 42 |
| 8 | Alfredo Costanzo | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | 40 |
| 9 | Neil Crompton | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 30 |
| 10 | Terry Bosnjak | 12 | Mazda RX-7 SP | Terry Bosnjak | 28 |
| 11 | Craig Dean | 41 | Toyota Soarer Turbo | Crossover Car Conversions | 25 |
| 12 | Ross Halliday | 17 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | 21 |
| 13 | Peter McKay | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | 14 |
| 14 | Bob Thorn | 64 | Toyota Supra RZ | Supercheap Auto Racing | 12 |
| 15 | Chris Smith | 30 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | C Smith | 10 |
| 16 | Ed Aitken | 8 | Porsche 911 RSCS | 9 | |
| 17 | John Bourke | 9 | Toyota Supra RZ | 8 | |
| 18 | Marcus Marshall | 24 | Nissan 300ZX | 1 | |
| Class B : High Performance Cars | |||||
| 1 | Chris Kousparis | 6 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Nepean EFI | 169 |
| 2 | Murray Carter | 18 | Nissan 200SX Turbo | Murray Carter | 165 |
| 3 | Dean Canto | 44 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Edge Motor Sport | 161 |
| 4 | Peter Boylan | 7 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Peter Boylan | 109 |
| 5 | John Trimbole | 47 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | Daily Planet | 54 |
| 6 | John Cowley | 2 | HSV VS GTS-R | John Cowley | 50 |
| 7 | Richard Davis | 25 | HSV VS GTS-R | Jayco Caravans | 47 |
| 8 | Mark King | 34 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | 18 | |
| 9 | Trevor Haines | 61 | Subaru Impreza WRX | 8 | |
| Class C : Production Cars (Over 2500cc) | |||||
| 1 | David Ratcliff | 88 | Toyota Camry CSi | Phoenix Motorsport | 195 |
| 2 | Mark Cohen | 55 | Holden VS Commodore SS | Mark Cohen | 162 |
| 3 | Robert Chadwick | 20 | Mitsubishi TE Magna | Robert Chadwick | 146 |
| 4 | Jim Myhill | 21 | Mitsubishi TE Magna | Robert Chadwick | 82 |
| 5 | Steve Knight | 21 | Mitsubishi TE Magna | Robert Chadwick | 40 |
| 6 | John Wright | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 22 |
| 7 | Wayne Webster | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 22 |
| 8 | Guy Andrews | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 18 |
| 9 | Peter McKay | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 18 |
| 10 | Paula Elstrek | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 16 |
| 11 | Paul Gover | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 15 |
| 12 | Joshua Dowling | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 12 |
| 13 | Sam Newman | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 12 |
| Class D : Production Cars (1851 - 2500cc) | |||||
| 1 | Ric Shaw | 35 | Toyota MR2 Bathurst | Osborne Motorsport | 175 |
| 2 | Michael Simpson | 32 | BMW 323i | Bruce Lynton | 145 |
| 3 | Phil Kirkham | 71 | Mazda 626 | Rebound Clothing Company | 140 |
| 4 | Colin Osborne | 13 | Toyota MR2 Bathurst | Osborne Motorsport | 134 |
| 5 | Luke Searle | 15 | BMW 323i | Roadchill Express | 117 |
| 6 | Clayton Haynes | 4 | Toyota MR2 GT | Hard Toys Racing | 52 |
| 7 | Carol Jackson | 10 | Honda Civic VTi-R | Pace Racing Pty Ltd | 37 |
| 8 | Allan Letcher | 33 | Honda Civic VTi-R | Burswood Motorsport | 23 |
| 9 | Peter Phelan | 16 | Peugeot 405 Mi16 | 12 | |
| Class E : Production Cars (0 - 1850cc) | |||||
| 1 | Nigel Stones | 42 | Suzuki Swift GTi | Nigel Stones | 229 |
| 2 | Aaron McGill | 75 | Suzuki Swift GTi | Aaron McGill | 163 |
| 3 | Kosi Kalaitzidis | 22 | Proton M21 Coupe | K Kalaitzidis | 92 |
| 4 | Danny Brian | 98 | Suzuki Swift GTi | P Steer | 68 |
| 5 | Darren Best | 78 | Hyundai Excel Sprint | D Best | 48 |
| 6 | Nigel Williams | 98 | Suzuki Swift GTi | 28 | |
| 7 | Jim Myhill | 97 | Ford Laser TX3 | 22 | |
| 8 | Clayton Haynes | 4 | Suzuki Swift GTi | 18 | |
| 9 | Don Pulver | 76 | Suzuki Swift GTi | 10 | |
References edit
- ^ Specific Conditions, 1998 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 7-10 & 7-11
- ^ Australian Titles, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-10
- ^ a b PROCAR Tables Retrieved on 11 December 2009
- ^ The GTP Championship, www.gtprod.com.au via web.archive.org Retrieved on 25 July 2014
- ^ PROCAR - 1998 Drivers Class Championship results sheets, Oran Park – Round 8 – 30 August 1998