1998

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

Final year under the ATCC name (became the Shell Championship Series in 1999). VS Commodore still the title-winning model; the new VT Commodore debuted only late-season. Last OPEN tyre-war year before Bridgestone control in 1999.

Champion

Craig Lowndes

Holden VS Commodore · Holden Racing Team Grade D

FND-022: Lowndes won six of ten rounds; champion car is a VS, NOT the new VT (which only debuted at the Calder round, HRT Car #1 first out 21 June 1998).

Format

Qualifying

Timed qualifying set the grid. Note (FND-025): in 1998 the Level One (works) teams ran open, tyre-company-sponsored tyres while privateers ran a controlled tyre — a works/privateer split that predates full control-tyre supply. Qualitative.

Sprint / race format

Ten sprint rounds, multi-race format, points per race. LOW CONFIDENCE on exact race counts/distances.

Calendar

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

ATCC ran ~10 sprint rounds in 1998 (grade D; six won by Lowndes). Circuits from the typical period set — exact per-round order/dates NOT pinned from primary. The VT debuted at the Calder round late in the year.