1997 Australian Touring Car Championship

The 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to 5.0 Litre Touring Cars complying with Group 3A regulations. The championship, which was the 38th Australian Touring Car Championship, began on 15 March at Calder Park Raceway and ended on 3 August at Oran Park Raceway after 10 rounds.
Promoted as the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship, the series was won by Glenn Seton driving a Ford EL Falcon.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship.

Team

Car

Drivers

Gibson Motorsport

Holden VS Commodore

Race calendar

The championship was contested over ten rounds with three races per round.

Rd.	Circuit	Location / state	Date	Round winner	Car	Team
1	Calder Park Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	13–15 Mar	Wayne Gardner	Holden VS Commodore	Wayne Gardner Racing
2	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	11–13 Apr	Russell Ingall	Holden VS Commodore	Perkins Engineering
3	Sandown International Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	25–27 Apr	Glenn Seton	Ford EF Falcon	Glenn Seton Racing
4	Symmons Plains Raceway	Launceston, Tasmania	2–4 May	Greg Murphy	Holden VS Commodore	Holden Racing Team
5	Winton Motor Raceway	Benalla, Victoria	16–18 May	Russell Ingall	Holden VS Commodore	Perkins Engineering
6	Eastern Creek Raceway	Sydney, New South Wales	23–25 May	Glenn Seton	Ford EF Falcon	Glenn Seton Racing
7	Lakeside International Raceway	Brisbane, Queensland	13–15 Jun	John Bowe	Ford EF Falcon	Dick Johnson Racing
8	Barbagallo Raceway	Perth, Western Australia	4–6 Jul	Peter Brock	Holden VS Commodore	Holden Racing Team
9	Mallala Motor Sport Park	Mallala, South Australia	11–13 Jul	Greg Murphy	Holden VS Commodore	Holden Racing Team
10	Oran Park Raceway	Sydney, New South Wales	1–3 Aug	Greg Murphy	Holden VS Commodore	Holden Racing Team

Race winners

Round	Race	Circuit	Winner	Team
1	1	Calder Park Raceway	Greg Murphy	Holden Racing Team
1	2	Calder Park Raceway	Wayne Gardner	Wayne Gardner Racing
1	3	Calder Park Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
2	4	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
2	5	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Russell Ingall	Perkins Engineering
2	6	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Larry Perkins	Perkins Engineering
3	7	Sandown International Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
3	8	Sandown International Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
3	9	Sandown International Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
4	10	Symmons Plains Raceway	Peter Brock	Holden Racing Team
4	11	Symmons Plains Raceway	Greg Murphy	Holden Racing Team
4	12	Symmons Plains Raceway	Greg Murphy	Holden Racing Team
5	13	Winton Motor Raceway	Larry Perkins	Perkins Engineering
5	14	Winton Motor Raceway	Russell Ingall	Perkins Engineering
5	15	Winton Motor Raceway	Russell Ingall	Perkins Engineering
6	16	Eastern Creek Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
6	17	Eastern Creek Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
6	18	Eastern Creek Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
7	19	Lakeside International Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing
7	20	Lakeside International Raceway	John Bowe	Dick Johnson Racing
7	21	Lakeside International Raceway	Russell Ingall	Perkins Engineering
8	22	Barbagallo Raceway	Larry Perkins	Perkins Engineering
8	23	Barbagallo Raceway	John Bowe	Dick Johnson Racing
8	24	Barbagallo Raceway	Greg Murphy	Holden Racing Team
9	25	Mallala Motor Sport Park	Greg Murphy	Holden Racing Team
9	26	Mallala Motor Sport Park	Greg Murphy	Holden Racing Team
9	27	Mallala Motor Sport Park	Larry Perkins	Perkins Engineering
10	28	Oran Park Raceway	Peter Brock	Holden Racing Team
10	29	Oran Park Raceway	Alan Jones	Alan Jones Racing
10	30	Oran Park Raceway	Glenn Seton	Glenn Seton Racing

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 30–26–24–22–20–18–16–14–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 basis to the top 15 finishers in each race.

Championship results

Privateers' Cup

The Privateers' Cup was open to Category 2 and Category 3 entries only. Points were awarded on a 30–26–24–22–20–18–16–14–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 basis to the top 15 eligible finishers in each race.

Pos.	Driver	Car
1	John Faulkner	Holden VS Commodore
2	Mark Poole	Holden VS Commodore
3	Terry Finnigan	Holden VS Commodore
4	Darren Hossack	Holden VS Commodore
5	Trevor Ashby	Holden VS Commodore

Note: Only the top five positions are shown.