1988 Shell Ultra Australian Touring Car Championship
Round 2 - Symmons Plains, TAS (13/3/1988)
Circuit Length: 2.41 km
Race Distance: 58 laps
Weather: Sunny
Entry is effectively the same as at Calder, except Jim Richards skips this race for family reasons and is replaced by David Parsons. The BMWs are now legal to 1988-spec. Miedecke is quickest in the first qualifying session, before Johnson bolts on a set of qualifiers to dip into the 56-second bracket. First non-Sierra is Perkins in fifth.
Bowe makes another bad start, while Johnson again disappears into the distance. Perkins' race ends when his diff breaks exiting the hairpin on lap 1. Longhurst and Miedecke battle for second, before Bowe charges past the pair to be second by lap 20. Longhurst drops back with brake woes, while Miedecke stops for tyres and drops a lap, before contact with a lapped Tony Hunter puts both out. Johnson slows to allow Bowe to close up for a form finish, the first of many for the season.
| Position | Number | Entrant | Driver | Car | Class | Race Time/Laps | Retirement Cause | Fastest Time | Qualifying Time | Grid Position | |
|---|
| 1 | 17 | Shell Ultra Hi Racing | Dick Johnson | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 0h57m33.38s | | 0m58.00s | 0m56.24s | 1 | |
| 2 | 18 | Shell Ultra Hi Racing | John Bowe | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 0h57m33.60s | | 0m57.94s | 0m57.34s | 3 | |
| 3 | 4 | Caltex CXT Racing Team | Colin Bond | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 0h58m12.32s | | 0m58.66s | 0m57.51s | 4 | |
| 4 | 3 | Freeport Motorsport | Tony Longhurst | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 0h58m21.94s | | 0m58.33s | 0m58.73s | 6 | |
| 5 | 05 | Mobil 1 Racing Team | Peter Brock | BMW M3 | B | 57 laps | | 1m00.64s | 1m00.14s | 7 | |
| 6 | 1 | Mobil 1 Racing | David Parsons | BMW M3 | B | 56 laps | | 1m01.13s | 1m01.29s | 11 | |
| 7 | 26 | Kalari Transport Services | Tony Noske | Holden Commodore VK | A | 55 laps | | 1m02.23s | 1m00.91s | 9 | |
| 8 | 14 | Netcomm (Aust) Pty Ltd | Murray Carter | Nissan Skyline DR-30 | A | 55 laps | | 1m02.07s | 1m02.02s | 14 | |
| 9 | 36 | Everlast Automotive Service | Bill O'Brien | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | 55 laps | | 1m02.56s | 1m01.85s | 12 | |
| 10 | 24 | Jagparts Racing | Gerald Kay | Holden Commodore VK | A | 54 laps | | 1m03.55s | 1m02.94s | 15 | |
| 11 | 8 | A Miedecke Motorsport | Andrew Bagnall | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 54 laps | | 1m00.80s | 1m00.48s | 8 | |
| 12 | 27 | Ray Gulson | Graham Gulson | BMW 635CSi | A | 53 laps | | 1m04.92s | 1m04.76s | 17 | |
| 13 | 32 | Toyota Team Australia | John Smith | Toyota Corolla AE82 Hatch | C | 51 laps | | 1m06.85s | 1m06.24s | 18 | |
| 14 | 87 | Sommariva Concrete | Joe Sommariva | BMW 635CSi | A | 50 laps | | 1m06.90s | 1m09.70s | 21 | |
| 15 | 33 | Colin Fulton | Colin Fulton | Nissan Gazelle | C | 50 laps | | 1m07.50s | 1m07.84s | 19 | |
| 16 | 13 | Bob Holden | Bob Holden | Toyota Corolla AE86 Liftback | C | 49 laps | | 1m08.32s | 1m09.10s | 20 | |
| 17 | 86 | Gemspares | Daryl Hendrick | Isuzu Gemini ZZ | C | 48 laps | | 1m10.47s | 1m10.36s | 22 | |
| DNF | 6 | Miedecke Motorsport | Andrew Miedecke | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 46 laps | accident damage | 0m58.50s | 0m57.07s | 2 | |
| DNF | 46 | Sunliner Motor Campers | Tony Hunter | Holden Commodore VK | A | 43 laps | accident damage | 1m03.55s | 1m02.94s | 16 | |
| DNF | 12 | Peter McLeod | Peter McLeod | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | 17 laps | differential | 1m02.56s | 1m01.95s | 13 | |
| DNF | 23 | Russell Lanyon | Peter Fitzgerald | Holden Commodore VK | A | 14 laps | throttle linkage | 1m02.51s | 1m01.13s | 10 | |
| DNF | 11 | Holden Special Vehicles | Larry Perkins | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | 0 laps | differential | NTR | 0m58.60s | 5 | |