1973 Australian Touring Car Championship
The 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship was the 14th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship. It began at Symmons Plains on 5 March 1973 and ended at Warwick Farm after eight rounds. The series was won by Allan Moffat in a Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III.
The night before Round 6 of the series at the Adelaide International Raceway, Moffat's GTHO Falcon was stolen from Stillwell Ford in the northern Adelaide suburb of Medindie. Rather than see Moffat out of the race (he was the series points leader at the time having won the opening 4 rounds and finishing 3rd in round 5), Murray Carter loaned Moffat his GTHO Falcon for the race. Peter Brock won the race while Moffat kept his points lead by finishing second. Moffat's stolen Falcon was later found abandoned in the Adelaide Hills where the thieves who had taken it for a "joy ride" dumped it when it ran out of fuel.
Teams and drivers
The following drivers competed in the 1973 ATCC. The series consisted of eight rounds held in six different states. As of 2022, Elemer Vajda's entry is still the only Subaru to have contested an ATCC/V8 Supercars race.[1]
| Sponsor | Car | No | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holden Dealer Team | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 1 | Peter Brock |
| Grace Bros/Exacto Tape | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 1 | Ian Geoghegan |
| Holden Dealer Team | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 2 | Peter Brock |
| Shell Racing | Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III | 3 | Murray Carter |
| Dick Johnson | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 4 | Dick Johnson |
| McLeod Ford | Ford XA Falcon GT Hardtop | 5 | John Goss |
| Fred Gibson | Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III | 6 | Fred Gibson |
| Bob Jane | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 7 | Bob Jane |
| Ansett/Motorcraft/BP | Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III | 9 | Allan Moffat |
| Grace Bros/Exacto Tape | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 10 | Ian Geoghegan |
| Holden Dealer Team | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 11 | Peter Brock |
| Ron Hodgson Motors | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 11 | Bob Morris |
| Bob Holden | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 13 | Bob Holden |
| Peter Robinson Motors Lilydale | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 14 | Tony Niovanni |
| John Stoopman | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 15 | John Stoopman |
| Graeme Blanchard | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 16 | Graeme Blanchard |
| Bryan Thomson | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 17 | Bryan Thomson |
| Ted Mudie | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 18 | Ted Mudie |
| Cessnock Motor Works | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 19 | Allan Grice |
| Rod McRae | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 20 | Rod McRae |
| Phil Barnes | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 21 | Phil Barnes |
| Phillip Lyon | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 23 | Phillip Lyon |
| Holden Dealer Team | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 24 | Colin Bond |
| Graham Parsons | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 25 | Graham Parsons |
| Lakis Manticas | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 27 | Lakis Manticas |
| Stuart Saker | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 29 | Stuart Saker |
| Don Holden | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 30 | Don Holland |
| Gary Cooke | Mazda RX-3 | 31 | Gary Cooke |
| Graham Ryan | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 32 | Graham Ryan |
| Ken Loughan | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 34 | Ken Loughan |
| Alan Cant | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 37 | Alan Cant |
| John Duggan | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 39 | John Duggan |
| John French | Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III | 44 | John French |
| Rod Housego | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 45 | Rod Housego |
| Lyndon Arnel | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 47 | Lyndon Arnel |
| Geoff Leeds | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 49 | Geoff Leeds |
| Tony Farrell | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 52 | Tony Farrell |
| Barry Bassingthwaite | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 57 | Barry Bassingthwaite |
| Strapp Ford Doncaster/Marlboro | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 58 | Graham Ritter |
| David Jamieson | Ford Mustang | 60 | David Jamieson |
| Campbell Lambert | Morris Cooper S | 61 | Campbell Lambert |
| Tony Watts | Morris Cooper S | 62 | Tony Watts |
| Colin Pawson | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 63 | Colin Pawson |
| Westland Autos | Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III | 64 | Bill Dickson |
| Werner Tulipan | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 66 | Werner Tulipan |
| Peter Granger | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 67 | Peter Granger |
| John Dellaca | Morris Cooper S | 69 | John Dellaca |
| Rod Miles | Morris Clubman GT | 72 | Rod Miles |
| Stewart McLeod | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 73 | Stewart McLeod |
| Gary Keen | Mazda RX-3 | 75 | Gary Keen |
| Total/Castrol/TAA | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | 76 | Bob Jane |
| Garry Rowe | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 77 | Garry Rowe |
| Martin Anderson | Morris Cooper S | 78 | Martin Anderson |
| Jim Stewart | Morris Cooper S | 79 | Jim Stewart |
| Brett Keightley | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 80 | Brett Keightley |
| Elemer Vajda | Subaru 1300 | 81 | Elemer Vajda |
| Eric Olsen | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 83 | Eric Olsen |
| Paul Gulson | Fiat 128 Coupe | 85 | Paul Gulson |
| Tony Allen | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 87 | Tony Allen |
| Lawrie Nelson | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 88 | Lawrie Nelson |
| John Piper | Ford Escort Twin Cam | 90 | John Piper |
| Mel McEwin | Toyota Corolla | 91 | Mel McEwin |
| Keith McCloy | Morris Cooper S | 94 | Keith McCloy |
| Rod Boyle | Morris Cooper S | 95 | Rod Boyle |
| Graeme Adams | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 96 | Graeme Adams |
| Bill Nitschke | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 97 | Bill Nitschke |
| World of Tyres | Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T E49 | 98 | Ian Diffen |
| Alfred Colledge | Morris Cooper S | 99 | Alfred Colledge |
| John Lewis | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 101 | John Lewis |
| Paul Moore | Toyota Corolla | 102 | Paul Moore |
| Rod Morris | Morris Cooper S | 107 | Rod Morris |
| Neil Nunting | Toyota Corolla | 111 | Neil Nunting |
| Motorama/Castrol GTX | Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 | 154 | Ray Thackwell |
Calendar
The 1973 Australian Touring Car Championship consisted of eight rounds.[2]
| Rd. | Race title | Circuit | City / state | Date | Winner | Team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Symmons Plains | Symmons Plains Raceway | Launceston, Tasmania | 5 March | Allan Moffat | Ford Works Team | |
| 2 | Calder | Calder Park Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 18 March | Allan Moffat | Ford Works Team | |
| 3 | Sandown | Sandown International Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 15 April | Allan Moffat | Ford Works Team | |
| 4 | Wanneroo | Wanneroo Park | Perth Western Australia | 6 May | Allan Moffat | Ford Works Team | |
| 5 | Surfers Paradise | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 20 May | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | |
| 6 | Datsun Trophy[3] | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide, South Australia | 10 June | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team | |
| 7 | Oran Park | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 24 June | Allan Moffat | Ford Works Team | |
| 8 | Warwick Farm | Warwick Farm Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 15 July | Peter Brock | Holden Dealer Team |
Drivers Championship
Points were awarded 4-3-2-1 for the first four race positions, and then 9-6-4-3-2-1 for the top 6 of each class.
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Two litre class competitors
References
- Howard, Graham (1986). Australian Touring Car Championship - 25 fabulous years. Sydney, Australia: R & T Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 0959037829.
- V8 Central website
- "1973 Australian Touring Car Championship Programmes". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
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