1976 Australian Touring Car Championship

The 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for Group C Touring Cars.[1] It was the 17th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship.[2] The championship began at Symmons Plains Raceway on 29 February and ended at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 28 November in the longest season in the history of the series. 1976 saw a substantial change to the ATCC calendar which was expanded to eleven rounds, incorporating the end-of-season long distance Australian Championship of Makes races for the first time. These races included Sandown's Hang Ten 400 and the Phillip Island 500K, although notably not the Bathurst 1000.[3]

1976 Australian Touring Car Championship
Previous: 1975 Next: 1977

After contesting only selected rounds of the 1975 championship, Allan Moffat won his second Australian Touring Car Championship in 1976. He won the Calder, Oran Park and Adelaide rounds, building up a mid-season points lead that his rivals could not bridge. At the Hang Ten 400 at Sandown in September, Moffat re-launched his team as the Moffat Ford Dealers team with a new Ford XB Falcon GT, built after Moffat's original car and transporter were destroyed by fire on the way to the Adelaide round in June. Moffat borrowed the Ford Falcon of John Goss for the Adelaide and Lakeside rounds to stay in the series until the new car was built.

Barry Seton, driving a Ford Capri in the Up to 3000 cc class, was Moffat's main title threat for most of the year, winning his class four times, with a best finish of sixth outright at Sandown. Seton lost second place in the championship to Colin Bond when the Holden Torana driver won the final race of the season at Phillip Island. Bond had previously won at Sandown and Lakeside, but had mechanical failures that Moffat, even in his borrowed machinery, did not.

Drivers

The following drivers competed in the 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Entrant No Car Driver
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team 1 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Colin Bond
Bob Skelton 3 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Bob Skelton
John Goss 3 Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop John Goss
O'Brien's Transport [4] 4 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Charlie O'Brien
Jim Keogh 4 Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Jim Keogh
Team Brock [5] 5 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Peter Brock
Bruce Hindhaugh 6 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Bruce Hindhaugh
Ron Hodgson Motors [5] 7 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Bob Morris
Jack Brabham 7 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Jack Brabham
Charlie O'Brien 8 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Charlie O'Brien
Allan Moffat Racing [4]
Moffat Ford Dealers		 9 Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Allan Moffat
Jim Richards 10 Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Jim Richards
Bob Forbes 11 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Bob Forbes
Gary Cooke 11 Mazda RX-3 Gary Cooke
Craven Mild Racing [6] 12 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Allan Grice
Bob Holden Motors 13 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Bob Holden
B&D Autos,
Marlboro Holden Dealer Team		 14 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 John Harvey
John English 14 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 John English
Phil Brock 15 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Phil Brock
Garth Wigston 15 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Garth Wigston
Graeme Blanchard 16 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Graeme Blanchard
Ray Kaleda 17 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Ray Kaleda
Bob Forbes 17 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Bob Forbes
Shell Racing 18 Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Murray Carter
Garth Wigston 19 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Garth Wigston
Christine Gibson 19 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Christine Gibson
Peter Janson 20 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Peter Janson
Gown-Hindhaugh 21 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Frank Gardner
Kevin Kennedy 22 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Kevin Kennedy
Don Holland 23 Mazda RX-3 Don Holland
Johnnie Walker 24 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Johnnie Walker
John Duggan 24 Mazda RX-3 John Duggan
Graham Parsons 25 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Graham Parsons
Barry Seton 25 Ford Capri V6 Barry Seton
Craven Mild 25 Mazda RX-3 Allan Grice
Warren Cullen 26 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Warren Cullen
Lakis Manticas 27 Mazda RX-3 Lakis Manticas
Lakis Manticas 27 Ford Capri V6 Lakis Manticas
Kelvin Gough 28 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Kelvin Gough
Dick Johnson 28 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Dick Johnson
Garry Willmington 29 Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Garry Willmington
Graeme Ibbotson 29 Ford Capri V6 Graeme Ibbotson
Russell Skaife 30 Ford Capri V6 Russell Skaife
Graham Parsons 31 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Graham Parsons
Alan Cant 31 Ford Capri V6 Alan Cant
Lawrie Nelson 32 Ford Capri V6 Lawrie Nelson
Paul Older 34 BMW 3.0Si Paul Older
Jim Murcott 35 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Jim Murcott
Ron Dickson 36 Triumph Dolomite Sprint Ron Dickson
John Pollard 37 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 John Pollard
Bob Morris 37 Triumph Dolomite Sprint Bob Morris
David Seldon 38 Triumph Dolomite Sprint David Seldon
Phil Arnull 39 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Phil Arnull
Wally Scott 42 Toyota Corolla Wally Scott
Bernie Stack 44 Volkswagen Passat 1300 Bernie Stack
Lyndon Arnel 45 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Lyndon Arnel
Ben Penhall 45 Mazda RX-3 Ben Penhall
Ray Farrar 46 Ford Escort Mark I 1300 Ray Farrar
Jeremy Braithwaite 47 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Jeremy Braithwaite
Graham Moore 49 Ford Capri V6 Graham Moore
Brian Wheeler 51 Mazda RX-3 Brian Wheeler
Eric Boord 51 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Eric Boord
Fred Gibson 51 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Fred Gibson
Allan Nuttall 52 Fiat 124 Sport Coupé Allan Nuttall
John Wharton 53 Mazda RX-3 John Wharton
Chris Heyer 53 Volkswagen Golf GTI Chris Heyer
Geoff Newton 54 Ford Capri V6 Geoff Newton
Bernie McClure 58 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Bernie McClure
Frank Porter 59 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT Frank Porter
Wayne Negus 61 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Wayne Negus
Max McGinley 61 Honda Civic Max McGinley
Roger Bonhomme 62 Honda Civic Roger Bonhomme
Craig Bradtke 63 Mazda RX-3 Craig Bradtke
Wayne Mitchell 63 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Wayne Mitchell
Peter Kuebler 63 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Peter Kuebler
Peter Brown 63 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Peter Brown
David Langman 64 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 David Langman
Barry Wraith 64 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Barry Wraith
Ken Brian 64 Honda Civic Ken Brian
James Liang-Peach 65 Triumph Dolomite Sprint James Liang-Peach
David Crowther 66 Alfa Romeo GT1300 Junior David Crowther
Robin Dudfield 67 Alfa Romeo GT1300 Junior Robin Dudfield
Barry Sharp 69 Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop Barry Sharp
Tony Niovanni 69 Holden Gemini Tony Niovanni
Fred Sayers 70 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Fred Sayers
Colin Campbell 70 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Colin Campbell
Bill Evans 71 Datsun 1200 Bill Evans
Jeff Harris 74 Morris Clubman GT Jeff Harris
Jim Stewart 75 Morris Clubman GT Jim Stewart
Ray Molloy 76 Morris Clubman GT Ray Molloy
Martin Power 77 Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 Martin Power
Garry McGrath 77 Ford Escort Mark I 1600 Garry McGrath
Peter Granger 78 BMW 2002tii Peter Granger
Hugh Donaldson 78 Morris Clubman GT Hugh Donaldson
Pat Crea 79 Ford Escort Mark I RS2000 Pat Crea
John Millyard 80 Ford Escort Mark I 1300 John Millyard
Geoff Moran 88 Ford Capri V6 Geoff Moran
Brian Rhodes 89 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Brian Rhodes
Jim Richards 90 Mazda RX-3 Jim Richards
Chris Trengrove 91 Renault 12 Chris Trengrove
Terry Wade 95 Triumph Dolomite Sprint Terry Wade
Herb Vines 96 Ford Capri V6 Herb Vines
Geoff Wade 96 Ford Escort Mark I 1300 Geoff Wade
Bob Nissen 98 Ford Capri V6 Bob Nissan
Graham Harrison 99 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV Graham Harrison
Russell Worthington 100 Mazda RX-3 Russell Worthington
Frank Brewster 110 Honda Civic Frank Brewster

Calendar

The 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over eleven rounds.[7]

Rd. Event Title Circuit Location / State Date Format Winner Team Report
1 Symmons Plains Symmons Plains Launceston, Tasmania 29 February John Harvey B&D Autos
2 Calder Calder Melbourne, Victoria 17 March Allan Moffat Allan Moffat Racing
3 Oran Park Oran Park Sydney, New South Wales 28 March Allan Moffat Allan Moffat Racing
4 Sandown Sandown Melbourne, Victoria 11 April Colin Bond Marlboro Holden Dealer Team
5 Amaroo Park Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 18 April Charlie O'Brien O'Brien's Transport Shell Sport
6 Datsun Trophy Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide, South Australia 6 June Two heats Allan Moffat John Goss Racing Pty Ltd
7 The Governor's Trophy[8] Lakeside Brisbane, Queensland 27 June Colin Bond Marlboro Holden Dealer Team
8 Hang Ten 400 Sandown Melbourne, Victoria 12 September One race (400 km) Peter Brock Team Brock report
9 Rothmans 250 Adelaide International Raceway Adelaide, South Australia 24 October One race (250 km) Allan Grice Craven Mild Racing
10 Rothmans 300 [9] Surfers Paradise International Raceway Surfers Paradise, Queensland 30 October One race (300 km) Peter Brock Team Brock
11 Rover 500K Phillip Island Phillip Island, Victoria 28 November One race (500 km) Colin Bond Marlboro Holden Dealer Team report

Class system

Cars competed in two classes,[1] based on engine capacity:

  • Up to 3000 cc [1]
  • 3001 to 6000 cc [1]

Points system

Championship points were awarded to drivers on the following basis:

Pos.[1] 1st [1] 2nd [1] 3rd [1] 4th [1] 5th [1] 6th [1]
All Rounds
Outright		 4 3 2 1
Rounds 1-7
each class		 9 6 4 3 2 1
Round 8-11
each class		 12 8 6 4 2 1

Points were only awarded to a driver where the car had completed 75% of race distance and was running at the completion of the final lap.

Only the best two results from the four long distance races could be counted by each driver.[1]

Championship standings
Pos.[10] Driver [10] Car [10] Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Rd 11 Pts.[10]
1 Allan Moffat Ford XB Falcon GT 6th(1) 1st(13) 1st(13) Ret 2nd(9) 1st(13) 2nd(9) 2nd(11) 4th((5)) 2nd(11) 80
2 Colin Bond Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 2nd(9) 2nd(9) 4th(4) 1st(13) Ret 3rd(6) 1st(13) Ret 5th(2) Ret 1st(16) 72
3 Barry Seton Ford Capri V6 9th(9) (4) 8th(9) (4) 8th(9) 7th(9) 6th(12) 9th((6)) 7th(8) 64
4 Allan Grice Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34
Mazda RX-3		 13th 3rd(6) 2nd(9) 5th(2) 2nd(9) Ret 1st(16) 5th(12) 54
5 Peter Brock Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 4th(4) 2nd(9) 1st(16) 1st(16) Ret 45
6 Charlie O'Brien Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 11th 6th(1) 5th(2) 1st(13) 5th(2) 3rd(6) 4th((5)) 3rd(8) 5th((2)) 2nd(11) 43
7 Murray Carter Ford XB Falcon GT 14th 3rd(6) 5th(2) 4th(4) 5th(2) 5th((2)) 2nd(11) 3rd(8) Ret 35
8 Don Holland Mazda RX-3 9th(6) (4) (3) (9) (2) 10th(4) (2) 31
9 Bob Morris Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34
Triumph Dolomite Sprint		 3rd(6) Ret Ret 7th(12) 6th(12) Ret 30
10 Lyndon Arnel Ford Escort RS2000 8th(9) Ret (9) (6) (4) 28
11 John Harvey Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 1st(13) 4th(4) 3rd(6) Ret 23
12 Lawrie Nelson Ford Capri V6 Ret 10th(6) (6) 8th(6) Ret 18
13 Paul Older BMW 3.0Si 10th(4) (3) (1) (3) 9th(6) 17
14 Peter Janson Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 5th(2) 10th 10th 3rd(8) 10
Alan Cant Ford Capri V6 (6) (4) 10
16 Graeme Blanchard Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 6th(1) 3rd(8) 9
Garth Wigston Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 4th(4) 7th Ret Ret 4th(5) 9
Russell Skaife Ford Capri V6 10th(6) (3) 9
Bob Holden Ford Escort RS2000 12th(3) Ret (2) (1) (2) (1) 9
20 Lakis Manticas Ford Capri V6 7th(8) 8
Paul Gulson Triumph Dolomite Sprint 8th(8) Ret 8
Frank Porter Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT 9th(8) 8
Graham Moore Ford Capri V6 9th(4) 9th(4) 8
24 Frank Gardner Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 3rd(6) 6
Barry Wheeler Mazda RX-3 8th(6) 6
Bob Nissen Ford Capri V6 10th(6) 6
27 Jack Brabham Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 4th(5) 5
28 Dick Johnson Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 4th(4) 4
Bob Forbes Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 6th(1) 4th(3) 4
Pat Crea Ford Escort RS2000 10th(4) 4
Geoff Newton Ford Capri V6 (4) 4
32 John Wharton Mazda RX-3 (3) 3
Bruce Hindhaugh Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 5th(2) 6th(1) 3
34 John Stoopman Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 6th(2) 2
Martin Power Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 6th(2) 2
Craig Bradtke Mazda RX-3 (2) 2
Barry Wraith Ford Escort RS2000 (2) 2
David Seldon Triumph Dolomite Sprint (2) 2
Peter Granger BMW 2002 (2) 2
Roger Bonhomme Honda Civic (2) 2
40 Ray Kaleda Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 9th 6th(1) 1
Phil Brock Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 6th(1) 1
Wayne Negus Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 10th(1) 1
Warren Cullen Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 Ret 6th(1) 1
Kevin Kennedy Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 10th(1) 1
John Pollard Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 7th(1) 1
Jeremy Braithwaite Ford Escort RS2000 (1) 1
Russell Worthington Mazda RX-3 (1) 1
Ron Dickson Triumph Dolomite Sprint (1) 1
Graeme Ibbotson Ford Capri V6 (1) 1
John Duggan Mazda RX-3 (1) 1
Chris Heyer Volkswagen Golf (1) 1
Pos. Driver Car Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Rd 11 Pts.
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd 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)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
  Up to 3000 cc class competitors

Points scored in the long distance races which were not retained for championship totals are shown in the above table within double brackets.

Australian Championship of Makes

The 1976 Australian Championship of Makes was contested over a four-round series, staged concurrently with the final four rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship.[7] It was the sixth championship for manufacturers to be awarded by CAMS, and the first to be contested under the Australian Championship of Makes name.[2] The title was won by General Motors-Holden's.[2]

Class system

Cars competed in four classes [1] based on engine capacity.

  • Up to 1300 cc [1]
  • 1301 to 2000 cc [1]
  • 2001 to 3000 cc [1]
  • 3001 to 6000 cc [1]

Points system

Championship points were awarded in each class on a 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis, with the results of all four races counting towards the championship.[1]

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References
  1. Australian Title Conditions, 1976 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 81 to 85
  2. Australian Titles, docs.cams.com.au As archived at www.webcitation.org on 31 October 2013
  3. Howard, Graham; Wilson, Stewart (1986). "1976: Moffat bounces back". Australian Touring Car Championship 25 fabulous years. R&T Publishing. pp. 168–176. ISBN 0-9590378-2-9.
  4. Ray Bell, Australian Touring Car Championship - Rd. 5, Amaroo Park, Racing Car News, May 1976, page 72
  5. Official programme, Hang Ten 400, Sept 12 (1976)
  6. Tom Naughton, Moffat's action-packed Calder, Racing Car News, April 1976, page 76
  7. Australian Touring Car Championship, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1977 Edition, pages 48 to 73
  8. "1976 ATCC". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  9. Brock Torana races away in record 300, The Courier Mail, Monday, 8 November 1976, page 18
  10. Graham Howard, Stewart Wilson & David Greenhalgh, 1976 ATCC, The Official History of Australian Touring Car Championship – 50 Years, page 169
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