# 1997 ARDC AMSCAR series

The 1997 ARDC AMSCAR Sedan Series was an Australian touring car series and was run for cars eligible to V8 Supercar specifications, although the series was not sanctioned by AVESCO. It began on 22 June 1997 at Eastern Creek Raceway and ended on 7 December at Eastern Creek Raceway after four rounds.
The series was run by the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) over the two circuits operated by the club in Sydney, Australia. It was the last such series to bear the AMSCAR name having been last run previously during the 1994 season. The series itself dated back to the Amaroo Park-based Sun-7 Chesterfield Series of the 1970s.
The 1997 series can be seen as the immediate fore-runner for today's Dunlop V8 Supercar Series, acting as a second tier series for touring cars contested by privately owned and funded touring car teams, known colloquially as 'privateers'.

## Teams and drivers

The following drivers and teams competed in the 1997 AMSCAR series. The series consisted of four rounds.
| Team | Car | No | Drivers |
| Clive Wiseman Racing | Holden VP Commodore Holden VS Commodore | 7 | Mick Donaher |
| Gary Cannan | Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV | 8 | Gary Cannan |
| Simon Emerzidis | Holden VR Commodore | 15 | Simon Emerzidis |
| Walden Motorsport | Holden VP Commodore | 21 | Brian Walden |
| Tim Slako | Holden VS Commodore | 24 | Tim Slako |
| M3 Motorsport | Holden VP Commodore | 26 | Peter Doulman |
| Playscape Racing | Ford EF Falcon | 28 | Kevin Waldock |
| Paul Weel Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 31 | Paul Weel |
| West Coast Racing | Ford EL Falcon | 32 | Allan McCarthy |
| Pro-Duct Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 33 | Bob Pearson |
| Schembri Motorsport | Holden VS Commodore | 36 | Neil Schembri |
| Scotty Taylor Racing | Holden VP Commodore | 37 | Bill Attard Scotty Taylor |
| Garry Willmington Performance | Ford EB Falcon | 41 | Garry Willmington |
| Mal Rose Racing | Holden VS Commodore | 44 | Mal Rose |
| V8Racing | Holden VP Commodore | 77 | Richard Mork |
| Cadillac Productions | Ford EB Falcon | 79 | Mike Conway |
| Cadillac Productions | Holden VP Commodore | 92 | Gavin Monaghan |
| Don Pulver | Holden VP Commodore | 88 | Don Pulver |
| Geoff Kendrick | Holden VS Commodore | 92 | Geoff Kendrick |
| Shaun Walker | Holden VS Commodore | 99 | Shaun Walker |

## Results and standings
### Race calendar

The 1997 AMSCAR season consisted of 4 rounds.
| Rd. | Race title | Circuit | City / state | Date | Winner | Team |
| 1 | Eastern Creek | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 21–22 Jun | Allan McCarthy | West Coast Racing |
| 2 | Amaroo Park | Amaroo Park | Sydney, New South Wales | 19–20 Jul | Mal Rose | Mal Rose Racing |
| 3 | Eastern Creek | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 30–31 Aug | Mal Rose | Mal Rose Racing |
| 4 | Eastern Creek | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 6–7 Dec | Mick Donaher | Clive Wiseman Racing |

### Drivers Championship

Points were allocated 18–14–11–9–7–5–4–3–2–1 according to top ten race position in each race with three races being held per round.
| Pos | Driver | Round 1 – EAS 1 | Round 1 – EAS 1 | Round 1 – EAS 1 | Round 2 – AMA 1 | Round 2 – AMA 1 | Round 2 – AMA 1 | Round 3 – EAS 2 | Round 3 – EAS 2 | Round 3 – EAS 2 | Round 4 – EAS 3 | Round 4 – EAS 3 | Round 4 – EAS 3 | Pts |
| Pos | Driver | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Pts |
| 1 | Mal Rose | 4th | 2nd | Ret | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 167 |
| 2 | Mick Donaher | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | | | | 1st | 1st | 1st | 121 |
| 3 | Allan McCarthy | 1st | 1st | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | | | | | | | 91 |
| 4 | Neil Schembri | 6th | 13th | 3rd | 8th | 5th | 5th | 3rd | 5th | 3rd | Ret | 6th | 2nd | 81 |
| 5 | Bob Pearson | 2nd | 9th | 4th | | | | 5th | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | Ret | 6th | 72 |
| 6 | Peter Doulman | Ret | 8th | 8th | 2nd | Ret | DNS | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | | | | 52 |
| 7 | Mike Conway | | | | 5th | 8th | 6th | | | | 4th | 2nd | 5th | 45 |
| 8 | Richard Mork | Ret | Ret | 5th | 12th | 9th | 8th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 7th | 7th | 40 |
| 9 | Geoff Kendrick | 10th | 10th | 9th | | | | 4th | 4th | 4th | | | | 31 |
| 10 | Paul Weel | | | | | | | | | | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 29 |
| 11 | Garry Willmington | 8th | 7th | 6th | 6th | DNS | DNS | 8th | 7th | 7th | | | | 28 |
| 12 | Tim Slako | Ret | 4th | 10th | 9th | 3rd | DNS | | | | | | | 23 |
| 13 | Bill Attard | 7th | 6th | 7th | 10th | 7th | 7th | | | | | | | 22 |
| 14 | Gavin Monaghan | | | | 7th | 6th | 4th | | | | | | | 18 |
| 15 | Kevin Waldock | 5th | 5th | 11th | | | | | | | | | | 14 |
| 15 | Simon Emerzidis | | | | | | | | | | 7th | 5th | 8th | 14 |
| 17 | Don Pulver | Ret | 11th | Ret | 11th | Ret | 10th | 7th | 8th | 8th | | | | 11 |
| 18 | Gary Cannan | 9th | 12th | 12th | 13th | 10th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 9th | | | | 9 |
| 19 | Scotty Taylor | | | | | | | 9th | 9th | 10th | | | | 5 |
| | Brian Walden | 11th | Ret | 13th | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pos | Driver | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | 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) |