# 1998 Australian Super Touring Championship

The 1998 Australian Super Touring Championship was the sixth running of a CAMS sanctioned motor racing series in Australia under the Super Touring Car regulations and the fourth to carry the Australian Super Touring Championship name. It began on 5 April 1998 at Calder Park Raceway and ended on 30 August at Oran Park Raceway after eight rounds. The series was promoted by TOCA Australia as the 1998 BOC Gases Australian Super Touring Championship. As in the British Touring Car Championship the race format changed with each meeting now consisting a shorter "sprint" race and a "feature" race, 25% longer than previous races featuring a mandatory two-tyre stop to be taken between 15 and 75% distance. The one exception was the round at Lakeside Raceway where the pit lane was deemed unsuitable.

## Team and Driver changes

* 1997 championship winners Paul Morris and BMW left the series as BMW scaled back its touring car operation.
* Volvo switched from the 850 to the new S40 for Jim Richards.
* Cameron McLean drove the 1997 championship winning BMW switching from the Opel/Holden Vectra he raced in 1997.
* Tony Newman upgraded to an ex BTCC Peugeot 406
* Mark Adderton switched from the Phoenix Motorsport Toyota Camry to a Honda Accord.

## Entry List

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1998 Australian Super Touring Championship.
| Team | Manufacturer | Car model | No | Driver |
| Audi Sport Australia | Audi | A4 Quattro | 3 | Cameron McConville |
| Audi Sport Australia | Audi | A4 Quattro | 4 | Brad Jones |
| Audi Sport Australia | Audi | A4 Quattro | 14 | Trevor Sheumack |
| TC Motorsport | Peugeot | 406 | 10 | Tony Newman |
| TC Motorsport | Peugeot | 405 Mi16 | 38 | Dwayne Bewley |
| AAP Racing | Toyota | Carina | 11 | Milton Leslight |
| Greenfield Mowers Racing | BMW | 320i | 12 | Cameron McLean |
| Grid Motorsport | BMW | 318i | 13 | Anthony Robson Craig Bradshaw |
| Racing Projects | Honda | Accord | 15 | Mark Adderton |
| Racing Projects | Nissan | Primera | 22 | Adam Kaplan |
| Bob Holden Motors | BMW | 318i | 16 | Bob Holden Trevor Sheumack Justin Mathews Paul Nelson |
| Carlos Rolfo | BMW | 318i | 20 | Carlos Rolfo Rod Wilson |
| M-F Racing | Peugeot | 405 Mi16 | 21 | Mike Fitzgerald |
| Novacastrian Motorsport | BMW | 320i | 30 | Troy Searle |
| Volvo Dealer Racing | Volvo | S40 | 40 | Jim Richards |
| Gun Racing | Alfa Romeo | 155 TS | 45 | David Auger |
| John Henderson Racing | Opel | Vectra | 56 | John Henderson |
| Triple P Racing | Hyundai | Lantra | 58 | Claude Elias |
| Knight Racing | Ford | Mondeo | 60 | Warren Luff |
| Knight Racing | Ford | Mondeo | 88 | Peter Hills |
| Knight Racing | Ford | Mondeo | 89 | Paul Pickett Ric Shaw Aaron McGill Kurt Kratzmann Dwayne Bewley Mark Zonneveld |
| Graham Dodd | Honda | Accord | 69 | Graham Dodd |
| Motorsport Developments | Toyota | Carina | 77 | Malcolm Rea |
| Robert Tweedie | Vauxhall | Cavalier | 79 | Bob Tweedie |
| Phoenix Motorsport | Toyota | Camry | 95 | Ron Searle |

## Results and standings
### Race calendar

The 1998 Australian Super Touring Championship was contested over eight rounds with two races per round.
| Rd. | Race | Race title | Circuit | City / state | Date | Winner | Team |
| NC | 1 | Australian Grand Prix support | Albert Park Circuit | Melbourne, Victoria | 6–7 Mar | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| NC | 2 | Australian Grand Prix support | Albert Park Circuit | Melbourne, Victoria | 6–7 Mar | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 1 | 1 | Calder Park | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 4–5 Apr | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 1 | 2 | Calder Park | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 4–5 Apr | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 2 | 1 | Oran Park | Oran Park Raceway South Circuit | Sydney, New South Wales | 26–27 Apr | Brad Jones | Audi Sport Australia |
| 2 | 2 | Oran Park | Oran Park Raceway South Circuit | Sydney, New South Wales | 26–27 Apr | Brad Jones | Audi Sport Australia |
| 3 | 1 | Phillip Island | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 16–17 May | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 3 | 2 | Phillip Island | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 16–17 May | Jim Richards | Volvo Dealer Racing |
| 4 | 1 | Eastern Creek | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 6–7 Jun | Jim Richards | Volvo Dealer Racing |
| 4 | 2 | Eastern Creek | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 6–7 Jun | Brad Jones | Audi Sport Australia |
| 5 | 1 | Lakeside | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | 27–28 Jun | Brad Jones | Audi Sport Australia |
| 5 | 2 | Lakeside | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | 27–28 Jun | Brad Jones | Audi Sport Australia |
| 6 | 1 | Mallala | Mallala Motorsport Park | Adelaide, South Australia | 18–19 Jul | Brad Jones | Audi Sport Australia |
| 6 | 2 | Mallala | Mallala Motorsport Park | Adelaide, South Australia | 18–19 Jul | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 7 | 1 | Winton | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | 8–9 Aug | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 7 | 2 | Winton | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | 8–9 Aug | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 8 | 1 | Oran Park | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 29–30 Aug | Cameron McConville | Audi Sport Australia |
| 8 | 2 | Oran Park | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 29–30 Aug | Brad Jones | Audi Sport Australia |
| NC | 1 | AMP Bathurst 1000 | Mount Panorama Circuit | Bathurst, New South Wales | 4 Oct | Rickard Rydell & Jim Richards | Volvo S40 Racing |

### Drivers Championship

Points were awarded 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 based on the top ten race positions in each race. There was a bonus point allocated for pole position.
| Pos | Driver | CAL 1 | CAL 2 | ORA 1 | ORA 2 | PHI 1 | PHI 2 | EAS 1 | EAS 2 | LAK 1 | LAK 2 | MAL 1 | MAL 2 | WIN 1 | WIN 2 | ORA 1 | ORA 2 | Pts |
| 1 | Brad Jones | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 10th | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | Ret | 4th | 2nd | 1st | 191 |
| 2 | Cameron McConville | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 4th | 3rd | Ret | 2nd | DSQ | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 184 |
| 3 | Jim Richards | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Ret | 161 |
| 4 | Cameron McLean | 2nd | 3rd | Ret | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | Ret | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 139 |
| 5 | Mark Adderton | 5th | 5th | 7th | 4th | 4th | 5th | 5th | Ret | 5th | 4th | 7th | Ret | 4th | 5th | 6th | Ret | 81 |
| 6 | Peter Hills | 6th | 7th | 10th | 8th | 6th | 7th | 7th | 7th | Ret | 5th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 5th | 6th | 70 |
| 7 | Bob Tweedie | 7th | 6th | 9th | 9th | 7th | 9th | 10th | 9th | 10th | 8th | 6th | 8th | 7th | 9th | 8th | 11th | 43 |
| 8 | Ron Searle | DNS | DNS | 6th | 5th | DNS | DNS | 6th | 5th | 8th | DSQ | Ret | DNS | Ret | DNS | 7th | 8th | 32 |
| 9 | Troy Searle | | | 18th | 11th | 5th | 6th | Ret | 3rd | Ret | 6th | | | Ret | DNS | 10th | Ret | 27 |
| 10 | David Auger | 8th | 8th | 13th | 13th | 8th | 10th | Ret | 10th | 6th | 9th | 13th | 9th | 8th | Ret | 11th | 9th | 25 |
| 11 | Justin Mathews | | | | | 9th | 8th | 8th | 4th | 7th | 10th | 11th | 12th | | | | | 21 |
| 12 | Adam Kaplan | | | 12th | 7th | | | 9th | 6th | | | 8th | 6th | Ret | 11th | Ret | 13th | 19 |
| 13 | Trevor Sheumack | | | 5th | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | 4th | 14 |
| 14 | Anthony Robson | 9th | 11th | | | Ret | DNS | | | 11th | Ret | 10th | 10th | 6th | 7th | Ret | 12th | 13 |
| 15 | Mark Zonneveld | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 8th | Ret | 5th | 10 |
| 16 | John Henderson | | | 4th | DNS | | | DNS | DNS | | | | | | | Ret | Ret | 8 |
| 17 | Kurt Kratzmann | | | | | | | | | 9th | 7th | | | | | | | 6 |
| 17 | Paul Pickett | 10th | 9th | 8th | 12th | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 19 | Dwayne Bewley | | | Ret | 10th | | | Ret | DNS | | | 12th | 7th | | | | | 5 |
| 20 | Rod Wilson | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12th | 7th | 4 |
| 20 | Tony Newman | Ret | DNS | 11th | Ret | DNS | DNS | | | | | 9th | 11th | Ret | Ret | 9th | Ret | 4 |
| 20 | Bob Holden | 11th | 10th | | | | | | | | | | | 9th | 10th | | | 4 |
| 23 | Aaron McGill | | | | | | | 12th | 8th | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 24 | Graham Dodd | | | | | | | Ret | Ret | | | | | | | 14th | 10th | 1 |
| | Carlos Rolfo | | | 15th | 17th | | | 11th | Ret | Ret | DNS | | | | | | | |
| | Ric Shaw | | | | | 11th | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Paul Nelson | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 13th | 14th | |
| | Craig Bradshaw | | | 14th | 14th | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Claude Elias | | | 17th | 15th | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Milton Leslight | Ret | DNS | 16th | 16th | Ret | DNS | DNS | DNS | | | | | | | | | |
| | Malcolm Rea | | | | | | | | | Ret | Ret | | | Ret | Ret | Ret | DNS | |
| | Mike Fitzgerald | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | DNS | |
| | Warren Luff | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DNS | DNS | |
| Pos | Driver | CAL 1 | CAL 2 | ORA 1 | ORA 2 | PHI 1 | PHI 2 | EAS 1 | EAS 2 | LAK 1 | LAK 2 | MAL 1 | MAL 2 | WIN 1 | WIN 2 | ORA 1 | ORA 2 | 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) |

### Manufacturers Championship

| Position | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Audi | 234 |
| 2 | Volvo | 186 |

### Teams Championship

| Position | Team | Points |
| 1 | Audi Sport Australia | 204 |
| 2 | Knight Racing | 136 |

### TOCA Challenge - Independents Cup

Independents Cup points were awarded on a 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for relative positions achieved by drivers in entries nominated as Independents at each race.
The TOCA Challenge - Independents Cup was won by Cameron McLean in his Greenfield Mowers Racing-entered BMW 320i, scoring 205 points. Second was Mark Adderton on 151 points, and third was Peter Hills on 136 points.