1997 ATCC Launceston round
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| Round 4 of 10 in the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship | ||||||||||||||
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| Date | 2–4 May 1997 | |||||||||||||
| Location | Launceston, Tasmania | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Symmons Plains Raceway | |||||||||||||
| Weather | Rain | |||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||
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The 1997 ATCC Launceston round was the fourth round of the 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship. It was held on the weekend of 2 to 4 May at Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston, Tasmania.
The Holden Racing Team dominated the weekend with Peter Brock claiming pole position and winning race one while teammate Greg Murphy won the second and third races en route to claiming overall round honours.
Background
The event was held on the weekend of 2 to 4 May 1997. It was the 29th ATCC/V8 Supercar event to be held at Symmons Plains Raceway and consisted of three 50 km sprint races.
The conditions throughout the weekend consisted of constant heavy rain and bitterly low temperatures. Such was the cold climate that at least three marshals were transferred to hospital with hypothermia.
Entry list
A total of 17 drivers entered the weekend. Jason Bright made his Australian Touring Car debut driving for Garry Rogers Motorsport after regular driver Steven Richards was unavailable due to his Super Touring commitments.
Notable absentees from the entry list included Gibson Motorsport's Mark Skaife as the team continued to struggle with finances. Skaife did attend in the round albeit in a commentary role.
Race report
Qualifying
Peter Brock secured his first pole position of the season by less than one tenth of a second over teammate Greg Murphy.
Race 1
Both Holden Racing Team cars shot away from the field immediately while Glenn Seton lost a handful of positions due to a slow start. Larry Perkins assumed third position but promptly lost it after straying wide at the hairpin thus ceding position to Wayne Gardner.
While Seton struggled with visibility, John Faulkner had worked his way past and began to battle Perkins for fourth. The battle between the three drivers ensued for the duration of the race, eventually working in favour of Seton after Perkins strayed wide on the approach to turn one with two laps remaining. Alan Jones struggled with the rear brakes before retiring from the race on lap 12. Dick Johnson crashed on the front straight on lap 20 and failed to make it to the finish.
At the front, Peter Brock remained untroubled on the run to the flag to take victory ahead of teammate Greg Murphy. Such was the dominance of the Holden Racing Team outfit that third placed Wayne Gardner was left 13 seconds arrears of Brock.
Race 2
Murphy took the lead off the start while Gardner snatched second place from Brock to split the Holden Racing Team duo. By this stage of the weekend, it was evident that the Bridgestone tyres were the superior compound and those without suffered in comparison.
For much of the race, Seton pressured Brock for second place. Down the pack, Tony Longhurst battled with a Ford contingent that included teammate Steven Ellery, Dick Johnson, Mark Larkham and Alan Jones. In his debut V8 Supercar round, Jason Bright made an impression by scything through the battle pack onto an ninth-place finish. Ray Hislop spun off at turn one with a handful of laps remaining. One lap later, Gardner was spun at the hairpin after being hit by Seton on the approach to the corner thus relegating Gardner to fifth place.
On lap 20, Bright spun off the circuit and became bogged in the runoff area. At the same time, Gardner was broadsided by Russell Ingall at the hairpin, and all three drivers were subsequently out of the race. With all three cars rendered immobile, in addition to the stranded car of Hislop, the deteriorating conditions led to the officials deploying the red flag and declaring the race a few laps shy of the 22-lap scheduled race distance. Murphy was declared the winner from Brock and Seton.
Race 3
Despite expressing doubt as to whether his car could be repaired in time for the race, Wayne Gardner would line up on the third row for the event. Ray Hislop would not line up to take the start.
Gardner, who earlier expressed disgust over the driving standards in the category, escorted John Faulkner off the track on the exit of turn one. Faulkner then skirted through the gravel trap, made heavy contact with the tyre barrier and was forced out of the race. Jones withdrew from the race at the end of lap one due to a mechanical issue. Bright's impressive debut weekend came to an end at the hairpin after suffering from a misfire and damage to the front-right suspension after contact with the barrier. With multiple stranded cars on track, the safety car was deployed.
On the resumption of the race, Murphy continued to lead from Brock and Seton. The remainder of the race was largely undramatic and the Holden Racing Team duo cruised home in formation to take a one-two victory with Murphy claiming overall round honours for the first time in his V8 Supercar career.
Championship points
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References
- 1 2 "On this day: Bright begins his V8 Supercars career". Supercars. 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
- 1 2 "1997 Australian Touring Car Symmons Plains (Race 1)". Racing Years. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
- ↑ "1997 Australian Touring Car Symmons Plains (Race 2)". Racing Years. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
- ↑ "1997 Australian Touring Car Symmons Plains (Race 3)". Racing Years. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
External links
| Supercars Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous race: 1997 ATCC Sandown round |
1997 Supercars Championship | Next race: 1997 ATCC Winton round |
| Previous year: 1996 ATCC Launceston round |
Symmons Plains Raceway | Next year: 1998 ATCC Launceston round |