# 1983 Australian Touring Car season

The 1983 Australian Touring Car season was the 24th season of touring car racing in Australia commencing from 1960 when the first Australian Touring Car Championship and the first Armstrong 500 (the forerunner of the present day Bathurst 1000) were contested.
The year was known for its political infighting over the homologation of parts by the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS). The new homologation grants for 1 August were announced on 29 May during the running of Round 7 of the Touring Car Championship at Sydney's Oran Park by ABC television commentators Will Hagon and John Smailes. This drew public criticism from the drivers who were only told about the grants post race. As a result of the way CAMS announced the homologation grants, both the Roadways and Nissan teams boycotted of the final round at Lakeside, despite Nissan driver George Fury going into the round as the championship leader and needing only to finish 9th in the race to claim the title. The boycott ultimately cost Fury the championship as his only rival Allan Moffat finished a safe 3rd to claim his fourth and last ATCC series win.
During the year CAMS also announced that the 1984 season would be the last for the locally developed Group C category which had been in place since 1973, before the move to the FIA's international Group A rules from 1985. This in effect took the homologation issue out of CAMS hands, with the FIA having the final say on all homologated cars and parts.
Touring Cars competed at 19 race meetings in Australia during the 1983 season, contesting the following events:
* The eight rounds of the 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC)
* The six rounds of the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship, run concurrently with the 1983 Australian Endurance Championship of Makes
* The four rounds of the 1983 AMSCAR series, held exclusively at Amaroo Park in Sydney (each round consisted of three races).
* A touring car support race at the 1983 Australian Grand Prix meeting held at Calder Park in Melbourne.

## Race calendar

| Date | Series | Circuit | City / state | Winner | Team | Car | Report |
| 6 February | ATCC Round 1 | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International Racing | Mazda RX-7 | |
| 20 February | ATCC Round 2 | Sandown Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | Allan Grice | STP Roadways Racing | Holden VH Commodore SS | |
| 6 March | AMSCAR Round 1 | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | Terry Shiel | Terry Shiel | Mazda RX-7 | |
| 13 March | ATCC Round 3 | Symmons Plains Raceway | Launceston, Tasmania | Allan Grice | STP Roadways Racing | Holden VH Commodore SS | |
| 10 April | AMSCAR Round 2 | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | Terry Shiel | Terry Shiel | Mazda RX-7 | |
| 24 April | ATCC Round 4 | Wanneroo Park | Perth, Western Australia | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International Racing | Mazda RX-7 | |
| 1 May | ATCC Round 5 | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide, South Australia | Peter Brock | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore SS | |
| 15 May | ATCC Round 6 | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International Racing | Mazda RX-7 | |
| 22 May | AMSCAR Round 3 | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | Fred Gibson | Nissan Motor Co | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | |
| 29 May | ATCC Round 7 | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International Racing | Mazda RX-7 | |
| 19 June | ATCC Round 8 | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | Peter Brock | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore SS | |
| 10 July | AMSCAR Round 4 | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | Terry Shiel | Terry Shiel | Mazda RX-7 | |
| 7 August | Silastic 300 AEC Round 1 AECM Round 1 | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | George Fury | Nissan Motor Co | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | |
| 21 August | Valvoline 250 AEC Round 2 AECM Round 2 | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | George Fury | Nissan Motor Co | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | |
| 11 September | Castrol 400 AEC Round 3 AECM Round 3 | Sandown Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International Racing | Mazda RX-7 | report |
| 2 October | James Hardie 1000 AEC Round 4 AECM Round 4 | Mount Panorama Circuit | Bathurst, New South Wales | John Harvey Peter Brock Larry Perkins | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore SS | report |
| 27 October | Gold Coast 300 AEC Round 5 AECM Round 5 | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | Allan Grice | STP Roadways Racing | Holden VH Commodore SS | |
| 13 November | Berri Fruit Juices Trophy Australian Grand Prix support race | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | George Fury | Nissan Motor Co | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | |
| 20 November | Humes Guardrail 300 AEC Round 6 AECM Round 6 | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide, South Australia | Peter Brock | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore SS | |

## Australian Grand Prix support race

A Group C race was a support event at the 1983 Australian Grand Prix meeting. Known as the "Berri Fruit Juices Trophy" race, George Fury won driving his Nissan Motor Co. Bluebird Turbo. Peter Brock finished second in his Holden Dealer Team Commodore, with team mate Larry Perkins driving the Bathurst winning #25 car to 3rd place.
| Pos. | Driver | No. | Team | Car |
| 1 | George Fury | 15 | Nissan Motor Co | Nissan Bluebird Turbo |
| 2 | Peter Brock | 05 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore SS |
| 3 | Larry Perkins | 25 | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore SS |