1988 Shell Ultra Australian Touring Car Championship
Round 5 - Adelaide International Raceway, SA (1/5/1988)
Circuit Length: 2.41 km
Race Distance: 60 laps
Weather: Sunny
Controversy in the paddock as Francevic's Sierra - still largely as-purchased from Walter Wolf - is ruled illegal on several counts by scrutineers, while Bond protests the 'double-actuator' throttle setup of the Shell cars. The Shell cars are eventually cleared of the charge, but change the setup to the more conventional single-actuator later in the year. Meanwhile, the factory Nissan team turn up with one new car for Fury, while Seton has a run in a Nissan-powered Ralt in the F2 support race. Meanwhile, the new Commodore's homologation is delayed yet again, but the factory Mitsubishi team makes its first start of the year.
With it's long front straight, the powerful Shell Sierras dominate qualifying. Fury qualifies the new Skyline fourth, heading Longhurst, Bond, and Richards in the first M3.
Bowe makes a good start to lead Johnson, the two cars swapping places under brakes for turn 1 on lap 2. From there, the Shell cars aren't headed, lapping up to Brock in 6th place. The Skyline retires early, as does Longhurst. Miedecke held down third until late in the race when he made a quick stop for fuel.
| 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 | 0h59m49.31s | | 0m57.87s | 0m55.48s | 1 | |
| 2 | 18 | Shell Ultra Hi Racing | John Bowe | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 0h59m49.57s | | 0m57.99s | 0m55.98s | 2 | |
| 3 | 4 | Caltex CXT Racing Team | Colin Bond | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 1h00m24.64s | | 0m58.74s | 0m57.45s | 6 | |
| 4 | 6 | Andrew Miedecke | Andrew Miedecke | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 1h00m40.01s | | 0m58.19s | 0m56.53s | 3 | |
| 5 | 1 | BMW Australia | Jim Richards | BMW M3 | B | 1h00m42.01s | | 0m59.11s | 0m57.70s | 7 | |
| 6 | 05 | BMW Australia | Peter Brock | BMW M3 | B | 59 laps | | 0m59.27s | 0m57.75s | 8 | |
| 7 | 9 | Allan Moffat Racing | Allan Moffat | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 59 laps | | 0m59.65s | 0m59.42s | 11 | |
| 8 | 11 | Holden Special Vehicles / Perkins Engineering | Larry Perkins | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | 59 laps | | 1m00.09s | 0m58.13s | 9 | |
| 9 | 14 | Netcomm Australia | Murray Carter | Nissan Skyline DR-30 | A | 58 laps | | 1m02.13s | 1m01.99s | 18 | |
| 10 | 22 | Lusty Engineering Pty Ltd | Graham Lusty | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | 57 laps | | 1m01.30s | 1m01.72s | 17 | |
| 11 | 27 | Ray Gulson | Graham Gulson | BMW 635CSi | A | 57 laps | | 1m02.24s | 1m01.68s | 16 | |
| 12 | 44 | Tony Mulvihill | Tony Mulvihill | Holden Commodore VK | A | 57 laps | | 1m02.43s | 1m02.15s | 20 | |
| 13 | 26 | Kalari Transport Services | Tony Noske | Holden Commodore VK | A | 56 laps | | 1m01.68s | 1m00.42s | 15 | |
| 14 | 87 | Joe Sommariva | Joe Sommariva | BMW 635CSi | A | 55 laps | | 1m04.13s | 1m04.66s | 25 | |
| 15 | 12 | Peter McLeod | Peter McLeod | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | 55 laps | | 1m01.88s | 1m00.39s | 14 | |
| 16 | 28 | Capri Components | Lawrie Nelson | Ford Mustang | A | 54 laps | | 1m02.99s | 1m02.47s | 21 | |
| 17 | 29 | Toyota Team Australia | John Faulkner | Toyota Corolla AE86 Coupe | C | 54 laps | | 1m03.02s | 1m03.27s | 22 | |
| 18 | 32 | Toyota Team Australia | Drew Price | Toyota Corolla AE82 Hatch | C | 54 laps | | 1m04.10s | 1m04.31s | 24 | |
| 19 | 33 | Colin Fulton | Colin Fulton | Nissan Gazelle | C | 54 laps | | 1m05.67s | 1m05.43s | 26 | |
| 20 | 86 | Gemspares | Daryl Hendrick | Isuzu Gemini ZZ | C | 52 laps | | 1m07.58s | 1m07.41s | 28 | |
| 21 | 13 | Bob Holden Motors | Ray Lintott | Toyota Corolla AE86 Liftback | C | 50 laps | | 1m10.13s | 1m06.48s | 27 | |
| 22 | 31 | Toyota Team Australia | John Smith | Toyota Corolla AE82 Hatch | C | 26 laps | | 1m05.42s | 1m04.29s | 23 | |
| DNF | 16 | Ralliart Australia | Gary Scott | Mitsubishi Starion | A | 49 laps | fuel pick-up | 1m00.06s | 0m58.41s | 10 | |
| DNF | 39 | Lansvale Smash Repairs | Steve Reed | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | 38 laps | accident | 1m00.77s | 1m00.24s | 13 | |
| DNF | 24 | Jagparts Racing | Gerald Kay | Holden Commodore VK | A | 37 laps | engine | 1m02.03s | 1m02.04s | 19 | |
| DNF | 8 | Andrew Bagnall | Andrew Bagnall | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 34 laps | hub failure | 0m59.60s | 0m59.89s | 12 | |
| DNF | 3 | Freeport Motorsport | Tony Longhurst | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | 6 laps | engine | 0m58.36s | 0m57.16s | 5 | |
| DNF | 30 | Peter Jackson Nissan Racing | George Fury | Nissan Skyline GTS-R HR-31 | A | 4 laps | turbo | 0m59.25s | 0m57.14s | 4 | |
| DNS | 40 | Leeson Civil Engineering | John Leeson | Holden Commodore VL (HDT) | A | | | | NTR | 29 | |
| DNP | 25 | Robbie Francevic | Robbie Francevic | Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 | A | | car declared illegal | | | | |