History Australian GT Championship

1 history

1.1 appendix k
1.2 gt , sports sedan
1.3 gt3 , gt4

history
appendix k

the 1962 championship winning centaur waggott of john french

in first era championship races open closed roof cars (not production based) complying cams appendix k regulations. appendix k catered modified production grand touring cars (such lotus elite), sports cars (such jaguar d-type) fitted roofs, specials (such centaur waggott) , touring cars modified beyond limits of current appendix j regulations. numbers dropped rapidly away years went on , both category , championship discontinued @ end of 1963.

gt , sports sedan

from 1976 1981 australian sports car championship had been contested group d production sports cars. re-introduction of group sports cars in 1982 saw group d needing new home. australian gt championship re-introduced home both group d , group b sports sedans of australian sports sedan championship (assc). category of hybrid european racing cars, american imsa racers , wide variety of australian sports sedans competing together. 1 major difference between sports sedans , gt cars sports sedans restricted 10 wheels gt cars allowed 18 of rubber. although many of top v8 sports sedans had similar power gt cars, difference in rubber on road saw gt cars able power ground more efficiently , go faster through turns.

porsche 935 s dominated 1980 formula 1 world champion alan jones winning 1982 championship in entry backed former race driver alan hamilton s porsche cars australia (hamilton australia s major porsche distributor @ time). porsche won again in 1983, time rusty french driving 1982 title winning car had acquired hamilton, while both 1984 , 1985 championships won allan grice , bryan thomson respectively, both driving ex-bob jane dekon chevrolet monza 6.0 l v8 engine produced reported 600 bhp (447 kw; 608 ps), thomson driving exotic chevrolet v8 powered twin turbo mercedes-benz 450 slc in 1985 series. thomson mercedes alleged produce on 1,000 bhp (746 kw; 1,014 ps) making arguably powerful race car in australian motor racing. downside though without large budget, thompson mercedes suffered numerous reliability problems (usually turbo) , neither thompson nor team driver (1985–86) brad jones, or indeed john bowe had driven car in 1980s while thompson in short lived retirement, able show true potential.

as time went on slower sports sedans started usurp category more expensive sports car refugees dropped in numbers. sports sedans became more effective, once local racing car factories , professional racing teams adelaide based elfin sports cars , k&a engineering, , top level touring car teams such allan browne s re-car team , former assc frank gardner s jps team bmw became involved. appendix k of 1960s, grids varied turbocharged porsche 935s, bmw 318is, 5.0 , 6.0 litre v8 powered chevrolet monzas, holden commodores, alfa romeo alfettas, thomson s lone mercedes-benz 450 slc, peter fitzgerald s non-turbo porsche carrera rsr, couple of v12 jaguar xjs , variety of sports sedans such holden monaro , holden torana, ford falcon , ford escort, , various turbocharged toyotas, nissans , mazda rx-7s.

by 1985 field sports sedans bolstered obsolete (from end of 1984) group c touring cars , championship run concurrently australian sports car championship. veteran driver kevin bartlett introduced quick ground effects de tomaso pantera in 1985 brought needed spice gt category.

for 1986 sports sedans went own way. within couple of years porsche drivers had own series porsche cup.

gt3 , gt4

the porsche 911 gt3 cup type 997 of 2009 , 2010 champion david wall @ opening round of 2010 australian gt championship.



the audi r8 lms of 2011 champion mark eddy



klark quinn won 2013 australian gt championship driving porsche 911 gt3-r type 997

the australian gt championship revived second time in 2005 after disbandment of australian nations cup championship. of competing 2004 cars remained eligible 2005, although controversial holden monaro 427c s had won 2 bathurst 24 hour races in 2002 , 2003 notable exception. because monaros under nations cup rules had been permitted use 7.0 litre, 427 cui ls6 chevrolet v8 engine had been used in chevrolet corvette c5-r, while road going cv8 monaros came 5.7 litre gen iii v8. australian porsche drivers championship (the former australian porsche cup) merged gt championship.

the fia gt3 regulations, in use in fia gt3 european championship core of new series. series vehicles reflected gt3, porsches, ferraris, lamborghinis, controversial mosler, although series regulations specified cars two-three years old cut down on costs. competing drivers seeded , penalised not flood series professional drivers other categories , increasing there has been emphassis on longer races, allowing more 1 driver per car.

the series has grown steadily, helped transition of bathurst 12 hour race production car race gt race. manufacturers have diversified porsche base , in addition 12 hour has seen creation of other long distance races, phillip island 101 , highlands 101 in new zealand.

the australian gt trophy series introduced support series in 2016, featuring older-specification gt3, gt4, challenge , marc cars. gt4 cars integrated main championship in 2018.