# South Pacific Touring Car Championship

The South Pacific Touring Car Championship was a motorsport championship staged in Australia and New Zealand for Group A touring cars between October and December in 1986. The championship was won by Australian driver Allan Grice.
The series received little support from the top teams, especially the Australians other than for the first two rounds held in Australia, while all bar a couple of the New Zealand teams only contested NZ races. Once the series went to New Zealand, Grice and Charlie O'Brien were in fact the only Australian drivers to support the series while those such as Peter Jackson Nissan, JPS Team BMW and the Mobil Holden Dealer Team completely ignored the NZ races.
The series was reportedly set to continue in 1987, however after the first race in Adelaide, interest flagged as the Australian teams were not interested in going to New Zealand after a long season which included the 1987 World Touring Car Championship rounds at Bathurst, Calder and Wellington and the series was cancelled.

## Champions

| Year | Driver | Team | Car |
| 1986 | Allan Grice | Roadways Racing Team Nissan Racing NZ | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A Nissan Skyline DR30 RS |
| 1987 | Dick Johnson | Shell Ultra Hi-Tech Racing Team | Ford Sierra RS500 |

## 1986 race calendar

The 1986 South Pacific Touring Car Championship was contested over a five-round series with two races in Australia and three races in New Zealand.
Round 1 of the series also doubled as Round 5 of the 1986 Australian Endurance Championship, while Round 2 in Adelaide also doubled as the Group A support race at the 1986 Australian Formula One Grand Prix.
| Rd. | Race Title | Circuit | City | Date | Winner | Car | Team |
| 1 | The Sun South Pacific 300 | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne | 19 October | George Fury Glenn Seton | Nissan Skyline DR30 RS | Peter Jackson Nissan Racing |
| 2 | South Australia Cup | Adelaide Street Circuit | Adelaide | 25 October | Allan Grice | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | Roadways Racing |
| 3 | Manfeild SPTCC | Manfeild Autocourse | Palmerston North | 30 November | Graeme Crosby Wayne Wilkinson | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | Bob Jane T-Marts |
| 4 | Baypark SPTCC | Baypark Raceway | Mount Maunganui | 7 December | Allan Grice Kent Baigent | Nissan Skyline DR30 RS | Team Nissan Racing NZ |
| 5 | Pukekohe SPTCC | Pukekohe Park Raceway | Pukekohe | 14 December | Charlie O'Brien Glenn McIntyre | BMW 635 CSi | State Coal BMW |

## Championship results

| Position | Driver | Team | Car | Points |
| 1 | Allan Grice | Roadways Racing Team Nissan Racing NZ | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A Nissan Skyline DR30 RS | 81 |
| 2 | Trevor Crowe | Archibalds | BMW 635 CSi | 73 |
| 3 | Graeme Crosby | Bob Jane T-Marts | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | 67 |
| 4 | Charlie O'Brien | Bob Jane T-Marts State Coal BMW | BMW 635 CSi | 66 |
| 4 | Glenn McIntyre | State Coal BMW | BMW 635 CSi | 66 |
| 6 | George Fury | Peter Jackson Nissan Racing | Nissan Skyline DR30 RS | 57 |
| 7 | Ed Lamont | Lamont Racing/Can-Am Construction | BMW 325i | 55 |
| 8 | Glenn Seton | Peter Jackson Nissan Racing | Nissan Skyline DR30 RS | 47 |
| 9 | Robbie Ker | | Ford Mustang GT | 45 |
| 9 | Wayne Huxford | | Ford Mustang GT | 45 |
| 11 | Wayne Wilkinson | Bob Jane T-Marts | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | 43 |
| 11 | Graham Lorimer | | BMW 635 CSi | 43 |
| 11 | Tony Lawrence | | BMW 635 CSi | 43 |
| 14 | Larry Perkins | Enzed Team Perkins | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | 40 |
| 15 | John Harvey | Mobil Holden Dealer Team | Holden VK Commodore SS Group A | 34 |
| 16 | Denny Hulme | Bob Jane T-Marts Rocket Cargo/Bill Bryce | Mercedes-Benz 190E BMW 325i | 32 |
| 16 | Dave Barrow | Toyota Team New Zealand | Toyota Corolla FX-GT AE82 | 32 |
| 18 | Kent Baigent | Team Nissan Racing NZ | Nissan Skyline DR30 RS | 30 |