1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship

The 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of under 2.0-litre cars complying with the provisions of the FISA Class II section of Australian Group 3A Touring Car regulations. It was contested in conjunction with the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, which began on 28 February 1993 at Amaroo Park and ended on 8 August at Oran Park Raceway after nine rounds. It was the third Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship and the first for cars aligned with FISA Class II regulations and thus the fore-runner of the Australian Super Touring Championship.

The championship was won by Peter Doulman, driving a 2.0-litre version of his old Group A BMW M3 (the car was an ex-JPS Team BMW and Mobil 1 Racing team car that had been built by Frank Gardner's JPS Team in 1987. Doulman had raced the car since 1989 with a 2.3 L engine). The championship went down to the wire with Doulman beating out the Caltex Team Toyota of John Smith. Smith's Caltex team boss Colin Bond finished third in the championship despite not being a starter in the final round at Oran Park.

Most of the 2.0 Litre field consisted of regular 'baby car class' competitors from Group A, including Frank Binding, Brad Stratton, Mike Conway, and veteran racer Bob Holden.

Teams and drivers

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The BMW M3 of 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Champion, Peter Doulman (pictured in 1994)

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship.

Team Car No. Driver
Caltex Team Toyota Toyota Corolla AE90 FX-GT
Toyota Corolla Seca AE93
6   John Smith
Toyota Corolla Seca AE93 8   Colin Bond
Bob Holden Motors Toyota Sprinter AE86 13   Bob Holden
Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 75   Frank Binding
M3 Motorsport BMW M3 52   John Cotter
53   Peter Doulman
Brad Stratton Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 72   Brad Stratton
Easton Motorsport Toyota Sprinter AE86 77   Gregg Easton
Cadillac Productions Toyota Sprinter AE86 79   Mike Conway
Malcolm Rea Toyota Sprinter AE86 88   Ken Talbert
  Malcolm Rea

Race calendar

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The championship was contested over nine rounds, held across six states.[1]

Rd. Circuit Location / state Date Winning driver Car Team
1 Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 26–28 Feb   Peter Doulman BMW M3 M3 Motorsport
2 Symmons Plains Raceway Launceston, Tasmania 12–14 Mar   Peter Doulman BMW M3 M3 Motorsport
3 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria 2–4 Apr   Peter Doulman BMW M3 M3 Motorsport
4 Lakeside International Raceway Brisbane, Queensland 16–18 Apr   Colin Bond Toyota Corolla Seca AE93 Caltex Team Toyota
5 Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 14–16 May   Peter Doulman BMW M3 M3 Motorsport
6 Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 4–6 Jun   Colin Bond Toyota Corolla Seca AE93 Caltex Team Toyota
7 Mallala Motor Sport Park Mallala, South Australia 2–4 Jul   John Smith Toyota Corolla Seca AE93 Caltex Team Toyota
8 Barbagallo Raceway Perth, Western Australia 9–11 Jul   John Smith Toyota Corolla Seca AE93 Caltex Team Toyota
9 Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 6–8 Aug   Peter Doulman BMW M3 M3 Motorsport

Points system

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All rounds of the 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship were staged in conjunction with rounds of the 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, which was open to both 2.0 Litre Touring Cars and 5.0 Litre Touring Cars.

At the opening round at Amaroo Park both the 2.0 Litre cars and the 5.0 Litre cars had a separate Heat of their own before competing together in the Final. Points towards the 1993 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six positions in the 2.0 Litre Heat.

At the Symmons Plains Raceway round only three 2.0 Litre cars were entered (Doulman, Smith and Bond), and they ran together with the 5.0 Litre cars in both the Heat and the Final. Points for the 2.0 Litre championship were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six positions in the 2.0 Litre class of the Heat. This practice was continued at all subsequent rounds even after 2.0 Litre grids returned to the size displayed at Amaroo.

Whilst drivers of 2.0 Litre cars finishing in the top ten outright positions in the Final were eligible to score points towards the Australian Touring Car Championship,[2] in reality, no 2.0 Litre car finished in the top ten placings in the Final at any round.

Championship results

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Pos.[3] Driver[3] Car Ama. Sym. Phi. Lak. Win. Eas. Mal. Bar. Ora. Pts.[3]
1 Peter Doulman BMW M3[4] 1st 1st 1st 3rd 1st Ret 2nd 3rd 1st 59
2 John Smith Toyota Corolla AE90 FX-GT[4]
Toyota Corolla Seca AE93[5]
2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd Ret 1st 1st Ret 48
3 Colin Bond Toyota Corolla Seca AE93[4] Ret 3rd 3rd 1st Ret 1st Ret 2nd DNS 32
4 Brad Stratton Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82[6] 5th 5th 4th 3rd 5th 4th 4th 19
5 John Cotter BMW M3[4] 3rd 2nd 2nd 16
6 Mike Conway Toyota Sprinter AE86[4] 4th 4th 4th 3rd 5th 15
7 Bob Holden Toyota Sprinter AE86[7] 5th 6th 3rd 6th 8
Frank Binding Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82[8] 6th Ret 4th 3rd 8
9 Gregg Easton Toyota Sprinter AE86[6] 5th 2
10 Ken Talbert Toyota Sprinter AE86[4] 7th 6th 1
Pos. Driver Car Ama. Sym. Phi. Lak. Win. Eas. Mal. Bar. Ora. Pts.
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)
  • Positions shown for Round 1 are those achieved in the 2.0 Litre Heat.[1]
  • Positions shown for Rounds 2 to 9 are those achieved in the 2.0 Litre class of the combined Heat.[1]

See also

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1993 Australian Touring Car season

References

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  1. ^ a b c Australian Motor Racing Year 1993/94, pages 294–298
  2. ^ Scoring Points, Official Programme, Mallala, 4 July 1993, pages 63–64
  3. ^ a b c Fast Facts, Official Programme, Mallala, 11 August 1996, pages 34–35
  4. ^ a b c d e f Amaroo Park, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 9 October 2013
  5. ^ Mallala, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 9 October 2013
  6. ^ a b Phillip Island, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 9 October 2013
  7. ^ Winton, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 9 October 2013
  8. ^ Eastern Creek, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 9 October 2013