title: 1998 Australian GT Production Car Championship
text: # 1998 Australian GT Production Car Championship
  
  The 1998 Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars. The championship, which was promoted by Procar Australia, was the third Australian GT Production Car Championship.
  
  ## Calendar
  
  The title was contested over an eight round series with two races per round.
  
  | Round | Circuit | State | Date |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Calder Park | Victoria | 5 April |
  | 2 | Oran Park | New South Wales | 26 April |
  | 3 | Phillip Island | Victoria | 17 May |
  | 4 | Eastern Creek | New South Wales | 7 June |
  | 5 | Lakeside | Queensland | 28 June |
  | 6 | Mallala | South Australia | 19 July |
  | 7 | Winton | Victoria | 9 August |
  | 8 | Oran Park | New South Wales | 30 August |
  
  The final round had been scheduled to be run at Amaroo Park on 30 August but was moved to Oran Park on the same date.
  
  ## Points system
  
  Championship points were awarded on a 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first ten classified finishers in each race. A bonus point was awarded to the driver setting pole position at each round.
  
  Points for the five class titles were awarded on a similar basis but with no bonus point for pole position.
  
  ## Results
  
  | Position | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Total |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Domenic Beninca | 52 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Beninca Motors | 31 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 18 | 26 | 18 | 29 | 186 |
  | 2 | Peter Fitzgerald | 1 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Falken Tyres | 20 | 23 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 24 | 18 | 172 |
  | 3 | Gary Waldon | 5 | Dodge Viper GTS | Gary Waldon Racing | 13 | 25 | 31 | 27 | 27 | - | - | - | 123 |
  | 4 | Rodney Forbes | 85 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Bob Forbes Corporation Pty Ltd | - | 16 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 115 |
  | 5 | John Bowe | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 24 | 20 | - | - | 29 | - | 25 | 15 | 113 |
  | 6 | Paul Stokell | 50 | Lotus Elise Sport | Monarch Motor Imports Pty Ltd | 8 | 4 | 10 | - | - | 12 | 12 | 14 | 60 |
  | 7 | Ross Almond | 26 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | - | - | 3 | 3 | 39 |
  | 8 | Alfredo Costanzo | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | 16 | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | 9 | - | 37 |
  | 9 | Neil Crompton | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | - | - | 16 | 13 | - | - | - | - | 29 |
  | 10 | Terry Bosnjak | 12 | Mazda RX-7 SP | Terry Bosnjak | - | - | - | - | 12 | 16 | - | - | 28 |
  | 11 | Dean Canto | 44 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Edge Motor Sport | - | - | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 26 |
  | 12 | Chris Kousparis | 6 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Nepean EFI | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 25 |
  | 13 | Murray Carter | 18 | Nissan 200SX Turbo | Murray Carter | 2 | 3 | - | 7 | - | 5 | 3 | 4 | 24 |
  | 14 | Ross Halliday | 17 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | 11 | 21 |
  | 15 | Peter McKay | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 14 |
  | 16 | Chris Smith | 30 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | C Smith | - | - | - | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | 10 |
  | 17 | Ed Aitken | 8 | Porsche 911 RSCS | | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | - | 9 |
  | 18 | John Bourke | 9 | Toyota Supra RZ | | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
  | 18 | Peter Boylan | 7 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Peter Boylan | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
  | 20 | John Trimbole | 47 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | Daily Planet | - | 2 | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 6 |
  | 21 | Bob Thorn | 64 | Toyota Supra RZ | Supercheap Auto Racing | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
  | 21 | Michael Simpson | 32 | BMW 323i | Bruce Lynton | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 2 | 5 |
  | 23 | Craig Dean | 41 | Toyota Soarer Turbo | Crossover Car Conversions | - | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
  | 24 | John Cowley | 2 | HSV VS GTS-R | John Cowley | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 2 |
  | 25 | Marcus Marshall | 24 | Nissan 300ZX | | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
  | 25 | Mark King | 34 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
  | 25 | Luke Searle | 15 | BMW 323i | Roadchill Express | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
  
  ### Classes
  
  | Position | Driver | No. | Car | Entrant | Total |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Class A : Super Cars ||||||
  | 1 | Domenic Beninca | 52 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Beninca Motors | 181 |
  | 2 | Peter Fitzgerald | 1 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Falken Tyres | 171 |
  | 3 | Gary Waldon | 5 | Dodge Viper GTS | Gary Waldon Racing | 121 |
  | 4 | Rodney Forbes | 85 | Porsche 911 RSCS | Bob Forbes Corporation Pty Ltd | 114 |
  | 5 | John Bowe | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 107 |
  | 6 | Paul Stokell | 50 | Lotus Elise Sport | Monarch Motor Imports Pty Ltd | 60 |
  | 7 | Ross Almond | 26 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | 42 |
  | 8 | Alfredo Costanzo | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | 40 |
  | 9 | Neil Crompton | 27 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 30 |
  | 10 | Terry Bosnjak | 12 | Mazda RX-7 SP | Terry Bosnjak | 28 |
  | 11 | Craig Dean | 41 | Toyota Soarer Turbo | Crossover Car Conversions | 25 |
  | 12 | Ross Halliday | 17 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo V | Ross Almond | 21 |
  | 13 | Peter McKay | 3 | Maserati Ghibli Cup | House of Maserati | 14 |
  | 14 | Bob Thorn | 64 | Toyota Supra RZ | Supercheap Auto Racing | 12 |
  | 15 | Chris Smith | 30 | Ferrari F355 Challenge | C Smith | 10 |
  | 16 | Ed Aitken | 8 | Porsche 911 RSCS | | 9 |
  | 17 | John Bourke | 9 | Toyota Supra RZ | | 8 |
  | 18 | Marcus Marshall | 24 | Nissan 300ZX | | 1 |
  | Class B : High Performance Cars ||||||
  | 1 | Chris Kousparis | 6 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Nepean EFI | 169 |
  | 2 | Murray Carter | 18 | Nissan 200SX Turbo | Murray Carter | 165 |
  | 3 | Dean Canto | 44 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Edge Motor Sport | 161 |
  | 4 | Peter Boylan | 7 | Subaru Impreza WRX | Peter Boylan | 109 |
  | 5 | John Trimbole | 47 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | Daily Planet | 54 |
  | 6 | John Cowley | 2 | HSV VS GTS-R | John Cowley | 50 |
  | 7 | Richard Davis | 25 | HSV VS GTS-R | Jayco Caravans | 47 |
  | 8 | Mark King | 34 | Mitsubishi Lancer RS Evo III | | 18 |
  | 9 | Trevor Haines | 61 | Subaru Impreza WRX | | 8 |
  | Class C : Production Cars (Over 2500cc) ||||||
  | 1 | David Ratcliff | 88 | Toyota Camry CSi | Phoenix Motorsport | 195 |
  | 2 | Mark Cohen | 55 | Holden VS Commodore SS | Mark Cohen | 162 |
  | 3 | Robert Chadwick | 20 | Mitsubishi TE Magna | Robert Chadwick | 146 |
  | 4 | Jim Myhill | 21 | Mitsubishi TE Magna | Robert Chadwick | 82 |
  | 5 | Steve Knight | 21 | Mitsubishi TE Magna | Robert Chadwick | 40 |
  | 6 | John Wright | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 22 |
  | 7 | Wayne Webster | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 22 |
  | 8 | Guy Andrews | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 18 |
  | 9 | Peter McKay | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 18 |
  | 10 | Paula Elstrek | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 16 |
  | 11 | Paul Gover | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 15 |
  | 12 | Joshua Dowling | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 12 |
  | 13 | Sam Newman | 28 | Ford EL Falcon XR8 | Ross Palmer Motorsport | 12 |
  | Class D : Production Cars (1851 - 2500cc) ||||||
  | 1 | Ric Shaw | 35 | Toyota MR2 Bathurst | Osborne Motorsport | 175 |
  | 2 | Michael Simpson | 32 | BMW 323i | Bruce Lynton | 145 |
  | 3 | Phil Kirkham | 71 | Mazda 626 | Rebound Clothing Company | 140 |
  | 4 | Colin Osborne | 13 | Toyota MR2 Bathurst | Osborne Motorsport | 134 |
  | 5 | Luke Searle | 15 | BMW 323i | Roadchill Express | 117 |
  | 6 | Clayton Haynes | 4 | Toyota MR2 GT | Hard Toys Racing | 52 |
  | 7 | Carol Jackson | 10 | Honda Civic VTi-R | Pace Racing Pty Ltd | 37 |
  | 8 | Allan Letcher | 33 | Honda Civic VTi-R | Burswood Motorsport | 23 |
  | 9 | Peter Phelan | 16 | Peugeot 405 Mi16 | | 12 |
  | Class E : Production Cars (0 - 1850cc) ||||||
  | 1 | Nigel Stones | 42 | Suzuki Swift GTi | Nigel Stones | 229 |
  | 2 | Aaron McGill | 75 | Suzuki Swift GTi | Aaron McGill | 163 |
  | 3 | Kosi Kalaitzidis | 22 | Proton M21 Coupe | K Kalaitzidis | 92 |
  | 4 | Danny Brian | 98 | Suzuki Swift GTi | P Steer | 68 |
  | 5 | Darren Best | 78 | Hyundai Excel Sprint | D Best | 48 |
  | 6 | Nigel Williams | 98 | Suzuki Swift GTi | | 28 |
  | 7 | Jim Myhill | 97 | Ford Laser TX3 | | 22 |
  | 8 | Clayton Haynes | 4 | Suzuki Swift GTi | | 18 |
  | 9 | Don Pulver | 76 | Suzuki Swift GTi | | 10 |
  