1997

Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) — Group 3A 5.0L 'V8 Supercars'

TWO-CHAMPIONSHIP SPLIT YEAR. The 5.0L V8s ran the ATCC (last seasons under the ATCC name). Separately, the 2.0L Super Touring cars ran their own Australian Super Touring Championship. The rift produced TWO Bathurst 1000s in 1997: the Super Touring 'AMP Bathurst 1000' and the V8 'Primus 1000 Classic' (FND-021). The cars were now marketed as 'V8 Supercars' but the CAMS title stayed ATCC until 1999.

Champion

Glenn Seton

Ford EL Falcon · Glenn Seton Racing (Ford Credit) Grade D

FND-021: Seton was the last owner/driver / single-car-team ATCC champion; ahead of Bowe and Ingall (top Holden).

Format

Qualifying

Timed qualifying set the grid. Qualitative.

Sprint / race format

Multi-race sprint rounds, points per race. LOW CONFIDENCE on specifics.

Calendar

Event	Circuit	Type
Sandown 500	Sandown Raceway	endurance
Primus 1000 Classic (V8 Bathurst 1000)	Mount Panorama, Bathurst	endurance
AMP Bathurst 1000 (Super Touring)	Mount Panorama, Bathurst	endurance

ATCC (V8) sprint rounds (grade D): typical period circuit set. Exact per-round order/dates NOT pinned from primary. The two Bathurst races belong to different categories — distinguish carefully.