Appendix J Touring Cars was an Australian motor racing category for modified, production based sedans. It was the premier form of
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move a ...
in Australia from 1960 to 1964.
The category was introduced by the
Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to take effect from January 1960. Prior to the introduction of Appendix J, there had been no national regulations for touring car racing in Australia with individual race promoters applying differing rules regarding eligibility and modification of the cars being raced.
[Graham Howard & Stewart Wilson, Australian Touring Car Championship, 30 Fabulous Years, 1989, page 13] Under Appendix J, eligibility was restricted to closed cars with seating for four persons and at least one hundred examples of the model had to have been produced.
[The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 485] Bodywork and interior trim had to remain virtually standard; however, engines and suspensions could be modified to improve performance and handling. Modifications were permitted in the areas of carburettors, valves, pistons, camshafts, inlet systems, exhaust systems, springs and shock absorbers.
[The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 13] Cars competed in numerous classes based on engine capacity with the regulations allowing an increase in capacity up to the limit of the relevant class.
Many highly modified cars which were no longer eligible to compete as Touring Cars found a home in another new CAMS category,
Appendix K.
[Graham Howard & Stewart Wilson, Australian Touring Car Championship, 30 Fabulous Years, 1989, page 16] This was ostensibly for
GT cars but in reality allowed virtually any form of closed vehicle to participate
The
Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the troph ...
was open to cars complying with Appendix J from its inception in 1960 up to and including the 1964 title.
[Graham Howard & Stewart Wilson, Australian Touring Car Championship, 30 Fabulous Years, 1989, page 58] The
inaugural Australian Touring Car Championship race at
Gnoo Blas circuit at
Orange, New South Wales on 1 February 1960 was in fact the first race to be staged for Appendix J cars.
From January 1965, Appendix J was replaced by a new category,
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
for Improved Production Touring Cars.
In 1981 CAMS introduced the
Group N Touring Cars category which was intended to recreate the style of racing which had existed under the Appendix J rules.
Originally Group N was restricted to cars manufactured before January 1965; however, this was later extended to permit models produced up to the end of 1972.
Appendix J Association of NSW
Retrieved on 27 August 2008
References
{{Australian Touring Car Racing
Motorsport categories in Australia
Touring car racing