# 1982 Australian Touring Car Championship

The 1982 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Group C Touring Cars. It began on 18 February 1982 at Sandown Raceway and ended on 16 May at Oran Park Raceway after eight rounds. The title, which was the 23rd Australian Touring Car Championship, was won by defending champion Dick Johnson, driving a Ford XD Falcon.
Peter Brock had actually scored more points than Johnson throughout the championship driving Marlboro Holden Dealer Team entered Holden Commodore VC and VH SS models. However, the use of not yet homologated engine heads on the cars saw him disqualified from all but two rounds of the championship. The matter between CAMS and the HDT ended in court with Brock agreeing to the loss of points and the championship to avoid a three-month suspension for himself and the team which would have actually excluded them from competing in the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst.
Allan Moffat's win in Round 5 at Lakeside with a Mazda RX-7 was the first ever ATCC race win by a Mazda and the first ever ATCC race win by a Japanese car. It was also the first ATCC race to be won by a car not powered by a V8 engine since Peter Brock's victory in Round 4 of the 1974 championship at Amaroo Park driving a 6 cylinder, Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1.
Under 3000cc class competitor Bob Holden finished second in the championship driving a Ford Escort Mk.II. Though he would finish no higher than 8th outright in any race, points scored for class placings saw him finish second on 36 points, 21 behind Johnson and 5 points in front of both Moffat and Kevin Bartlett (Chevrolet Camaro Z28).

## Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the championship:
| Team | Car | Class | No | Driver |
| Masterton Homes Pty Ltd | Ford Capri Mk.II | 3000cc | 2 | Steve Masterton |
| Masterton Homes Pty Ltd | Ford Capri Mk.II | 3000cc | 31 | Colin Bond |
| Cadbury Schweppes Pty Ltd | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 3 | Peter Janson |
| Wayne Negus | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 3 | Wayne Negus |
| Re-Car Racing | Holden VC Commodore Holden VH Commodore | 6000cc | 4 | Alan Browne Allan Grice |
| Re-Car Racing | Holden VC Commodore Holden VH Commodore | 6000cc | 6 16 | Ron Wanless |
| Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore | 6000cc | 05 | Peter Brock |
| John Sands Racing | Ford XD Falcon | 6000cc | 6 | Rusty French |
| Launceston Hotel | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 7 11 | Clive Benson-Brown Garry Rogers |
| Garry Willmington Performance | Ford XD Falcon | 6000cc | 8 | Garry Willmington |
| Nine Network Racing Team | Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | 6000cc | 9 | Kevin Bartlett |
| John Duggan | Mazda RX-7 | 3000cc | 10 | John Duggan |
| Gary Rowe | Isuzu Gemini ZZ/R | 3000cc | 11 | Gary Rowe |
| Cullen Automotive Industries | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 12 22 | Warren Cullen |
| Bob Holden Motors Manly Vale | Ford Escort Mk.II | 3000cc | 13 | Bob Holden |
| Bob Holden Motors Manly Vale | Ford Escort Mk.II | 3000cc | 14 | Brian Nightingale |
| John Donnelly | Ford XD Falcon | 6000cc | 14 | John Donnelly |
| John English | Ford XD Falcon | 6000cc | 15 | John English |
| Palmer Tube Mills | Ford XD Falcon | 6000cc | 17 | Dick Johnson |
| Murray Carter | Ford XD Falcon | 6000cc | 18 | Murray Carter |
| JPS Team BMW | BMW 635 CSi | 6000cc | 21 | Jim Richards |
| Robert Muir | Ford XD Falcon | 6000cc | 24 | Robert Muir |
| Roadways Racing | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 27 | Steve Harrington |
| Bayside Spares | Holden VH Commodore | 6000cc | 28 | Barry Lawrence |
| Tony Kavich | Mazda RX-7 | 6000cc | 30 | Tony Kavich |
| Alexander Rotary Engines | Mazda RX-7 | 6000cc | 35 | Phil Alexander |
| Penrith Mazda Centre | Mazda RX-7 | 6000cc | 37 | Terry Shiel |
| Strongbow Racing Team | Mazda RX-7 | 3000cc 6000cc | 40 | Peter McLeod |
| Barry Jones | Mazda RX-7 | 6000cc | 41 | Barry Jones |
| Peter Stuyvesant International | Mazda RX-7 | 6000cc | 43 | Allan Moffat |
| Beninca Motors | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV | 3000cc | 46 | Joe Beninca |
| David Parsons | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 50 | David Parsons |
| Les Grose | Ford Capri Mk.III | 3000cc | 54 | Les Grose |
| Maurice Spalding | Toyota Celica | 3000cc | 55 | Maurice Spalding |
| Nissan Motor Australia | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | 3000cc | 55 | George Fury |
| Nissan Motor Australia | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | 3000cc | 56 | Fred Gibson |
| Wally Scott | Toyota Celica | 3000cc | 57 | Wally Scott |
| Capri Components | Ford Capri Mk.III S | 3000cc | 58 | Lawrie Nelson |
| Chickadee Chicken | Toyota Celica | 3000cc | 61 | Graeme Bailey |
| Graeme Hooley | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 71 | Graeme Hooley |
| Ross Burbidge | Mazda RX-3 | 3000cc | 77 | Ross Burbidge |
| Gary Whittaker | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | 6000cc | 78 | Gary Whittaker |
| Lester Smerdon | Isuzu Gemini | 3000cc | 83 | Lester Smerdon |
| Fred Geissler | Holden VC Commodore | 6000cc | 88 | Fred Geissler |
| Daily Planet | Toyota Celica | 3000cc | 88 | Craig Bradtke |

## Race calendar

The championship was contested over an eight-round series. The Sandown round was contested over two parts and all other rounds were contested as single races.
| Rd. | Race / circuit | Location / state | Date | Winner | Team |
| 1 | Sandown Sandown International Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 17–18 Feb | Dick Johnson | Palmer Tube Mills |
| 2 | Calder Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 27–28 Feb | Dick Johnson | Palmer Tube Mills |
| 3 | Symmons Plains Symmons Plains Raceway | Launceston, Tasmania | 6–7 Mar | Peter Brock | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team |
| 4 | ARCO Cup Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 20–21 Mar | Kevin Bartlett | Nine Network Racing Team |
| 5 | Lakeside Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | 3–4 Apr | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International |
| 6 | Walpamur Cup Wanneroo Park | Perth, Western Australia | 27–28 Apr | Allan Grice | Re-Car Racing |
| 7 | Mazda Dealers of South Australia Race Adelaide International Raceway | Virginia, South Australia | 1–2 May | Dick Johnson | Palmer Tube Mills |
| 8 | Surfers Paradise Surfers Paradise International Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 15–16 May | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International |
Note: Brock was excluded from Calder and lost all points from Oran Park to Surfers Paradise, however, kept the Symmons Plains win.

## Classes

Cars competed in two engine capacity classes:
* Up to and including 3000cc
* 3001 to 6000cc
Note: Mazda RX-7s fitted with bridge port engines competed in the Up to and including 3000cc class and those fitted with peripheral port engines were re-classified into the 3001 to 6000cc class.

## Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first six placegetters in each class at each round. Bonus points were awarded on a 4–3–2–1 basis to the first four placegetters, irrespective of class, at each round. Results from seven of the eight rounds could be retained by each driver.

## Championship results

| Pos. | Driver | Car | San | Cal | Sym | Ora | Lak | Wan | Ade | Sur | Pts. |
| 1 | Dick Johnson | Ford XD Falcon | 1st | 1st | 2nd | Ret | 2nd | Ret | 1st | Ret | 57 |
| 2 | Bob Holden | Ford Escort Mk.II | | 10th | 8th | 12th | 8th | 10th | 12th | 10th | 36 |
| 3 | Allan Moffat | Mazda RX-7 | 6th | | Ret | 7th | 1st | | Ret | 1st | 31 |
| 3 | Kevin Bartlett | Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | 4th | Ret | 3rd | 1st | Ret | | 3rd | | 31 |
| 5 | Peter Brock | Holden VH Commodore SS Holden VC Commodore | 2nd | DSQ | 1st | DSQ | DSQ | DSQ | DSQ | DSQ | 22 |
| 5 | Allan Grice | Holden VH Commodore SS | | | | | | 1st | | 2nd | 22 |
| 7 | Lawrie Nelson | Ford Capri Mk.III S | 5th | 8th | Ret | Ret | | | 8th | | 19 |
| 8 | Ron Wanless | Holden VC Commodore | | | | 5th | 3rd | 2nd | 11th | Ret | 17 |
| 9 | Steve Harrington | Holden VC Commodore | 14th | 3rd | Ret | | | 3rd | 5th | | 16 |
| 10 | Steve Masterton | Ford Capri Mk.II | 3rd | 6th | | Ret | | | | | 15 |
| 10 | Craig Bradtke | Toyota Celica | | | | | Ret | 9th | 10th | | 15 |
| 12 | George Fury | Datsun Bluebird Turbo | 10th | 2nd | | | | | Ret | | 14 |
| 12 | David Parsons | Holden VC Commodore Holden VH Commodore SS | | | 5th | | 4th | Ret | 4th | 4th | 14 |
| 12 | Murray Carter | Ford XD Falcon | 11th | 7th | | 4th | 5th | 4th | 6th | | 14 |
| 15 | Peter McLeod | Mazda RX-7 | 12th | Ret | 7th | Ret | | 5th | Ret | | 12 |
| 16 | Lester Smerdon | Isuzu Gemini | | | | | 9th | | | 11th | 10 |
| 17 | Alan Browne | Holden VH Commodore SS | 14th | | | | | | 2nd | | 9 |
| 17 | Terry Shiel | Mazda RX-7 | 15th | | | 2nd | | | | | 9 |
| 17 | Colin Bond | Ford Capri Mk.II | | | | 6th | | | | | 9 |
| 17 | Ross Burbidge | Mazda RX-3 | | | | | | | | 7th | 9 |
| 21 | Brian Nightingale | Ford Escort Mk.II | | 11th | 9th | 13th | | | | | 7 |
| 22 | Barry Jones | Mazda RX-7 | | | | 3rd | | | | | 6 |
| 22 | Jim Richards | BMW 635 CSi | | | | | | | | 3rd | 6 |
| 22 | Warren Cullen | Holden VC Commodore | 9th | DSQ | 4th | | | Ret | Ret | | 6 |
| 22 | Clive Benson-Brown | Holden VC Commodore | | 5th | 6th | | | 6th | 7th | 6th | 6 |
| 22 | John Duggan | Mazda RX-7 | | | | 10th | | | | | 6 |
| 27 | Peter Janson | Holden VC Commodore | | 4th | | Ret | | | | | 5 |
| 28 | Fred Gibson | Datsun Bluebird Turbo | 7th | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 28 | Graeme Bailey | Toyota Celica | | | | 11th | | | | | 4 |
| 28 | Maurice Spalding | Toyota Celica | | | | | | 11th | | | 4 |
| 31 | Joe Beninca | Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV | 8th | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 31 | Gary Rowe | Isuzu Gemini ZZ/R | | 9th | | | | | | | 3 |
| 33 | Barry Lawrence | Holden VH Commodore SS | | | | | Ret | | | 5th | 2 |
| 34 | Les Grose | Ford Capri Mk.III | | | | 14th | | | | | 1 |
| 34 | Gary Whittaker | Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | | | | | 6th | | | 9th | 1 |
| Pos. | Driver | Car | San | Cal | Sym | Ora | Lak | Wan | Ade | Sur | Pts. |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |
Note: Round results indicate outright round placings, not class placings.