The Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA) is an organisation that promotes and administers motorsport in Australia founded in 2003. The AASA formed due to dissatisfaction with the governing body of Australian motorsport, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS, now

Motorsport Australia Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport in Australia. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'Au ...

), and organises race meetings independent of Motorsport Australia. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Benalla Auto Club, who also own

Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia. History The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 i ...

and Wakefield Park, the association sanctions motor sport in various categories.

History

The AASA was founded in 2003. In 2016, the AASA sanctioned a round of the Australian Formula Ford Series at Winton, the first time they had sanctioned an established national championship event. This caused controversy however, as CAMS (now

) official Paul Zsidy competed at this event, in breach of the CAMS constitution. CAMS issued a fine to Zsidy, while AASA chairman Bruce Robertson called for CAMS to reverse this decision. CAMS declined, however, reiterating that members in a governance role are not permitted to compete in events not recognised by CAMS or the FIA. Further controversy between the AASA and CAMS occurred in 2017 when

Grant Denyer Grant Craig Denyer (born 12 September 1977) is an Australian television and radio presenter and motor racing driver, who has worked for several television networks, including Seven Network and Network 10, mostly serving as a presenter. In 201 ...

and co-driver Dale Moscatt were airlifted to hospital after Denyer crashed during the Lake Mountain Sprint, a round of the AASA sanctioned Australian Tarmac Rally Championship. CAMS expressed concerns about the safety of the event, encouraging a police investigation into the accident, to which AASA chairman Robertson responded that they had sufficient safety and risk management protocols. In 2018, the AASA sanctioned Australian Motor Racing Series (AMRS) was launched as a competitor to the CAMS sanctioned

Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships The Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships is a series of motor racing events held across five states of Australia. It was first held as the CAMS National Racing Championships in 2006 and adopted its present name the following year when it g ...

Classes

The AASA includes all categories of race cars from sedans, to open wheelers. The Benalla Auto Club promotes the AMRS and uses AASA sanctioning for the series.

Motorcycles

In 2007 the AASA started to promote

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

road racing as well as car racing in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. On 28–29 April a meeting took place at

Queensland Raceway Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit did host Supercars Championship until 2019, drifting as well as club level racing and ride days. Qu ...

for cars and motorcycles. In 2016 the AASA exited motorcycle licensing and sanctioning—forming an alliance with

Motorcycling Australia Motorcycling Australia is the governing body for motorcycle racing in Australia, covering road racing, motocross, trials, supercross, dirt track, supermoto and speedway. Motorcycling Australia is affiliated with the international governing ...

, who took over sanctioning of motorcycle racing events at Winton and Wakefield Park. These changes allowed AASA to concentrate on four-wheeled motoring activities.

References

External links

AASA

AMRS
Motorsport governing bodies in Australia 2003 establishments in Australia {{Auto-org-stub