The 1988 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing titleRecords Titles & Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 14-4 to 14-6 which was awarded to the winner of the 1988

Australian Formula 2 Championship Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

. The winning driver received the 1988 CAMS Gold Star and is recognised by CAMS as the winner of both the 43rd

Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category. This category was determined by the Confederation of Australia ...

and the 21st

. 1988 was the second and last year in which the Australian Drivers' Championship was contested by

Australian Formula 2 Australian Formula 2, sometimes abbreviated to AF2 or ANF2, is a "wings and slicks" formula racing category in Australia. The category is one of Australia's oldest, dating back to 1964. The current format of AF2 was introduced in 1978. Brian Shead ...

cars, this being an interim arrangement between the demise of

Formula Mondial Formula Mondial was an international motor racing category which was introduced to replace both Formula Atlantic and the similar Formula Pacific''The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring'', 1986, page 171 in 1983.''Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 198 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at the end of 19861988 Australian Formula 2 Championship, Program, Mallala Motor Sport Park, Sunday 5 June 1988, page 5 and the introduction of

Formula Holden Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989. History Known during its development as Formula Australia, it was initially for chassis constructed from aluminium only, running a 3.8-litre Buick V6 engine as ...

in 1989.Barry Catford, The Australian Formula 2 Gold Star Championship, Australian Motor Racing Year 1988/89, pages 181 to 197

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

driver Rohan Onslow won the first of his two Australian Drivers' Championships and his only Australian Formula 2 Championship driving a

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

Mk.8

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

and a

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under ...

RT30 Volkswagen. Queensland driver Derek Pingel (

RT30

) finished second with Barry Ward (

RT30

) placed third. Onslow and Neil Israel (Magnum 863

) each attained two round wins with single victories scored by Pingel, Ward and factory

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

Touring Car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

driver

Glenn Seton Glenn Michael Seton (born 5 May 1965) is an Australian racing driver. He won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship, 1993 and 1997 Australian Touring Car Championship, 1997 while driving for his own ...

, who drove a

Nissan Pulsar The is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Sylphy#N16, Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market. Between 2000 and 2005, the name "Pulsar" has been used in ...

powered

RT4 in two rounds of the championship. Seton's win at

Adelaide International Raceway The Adelaide International Raceway (also known as Adelaide International or AIR) is a permanent circuit owned by Australian Motorsport Club Limited under the auspices of the Bob Jane Corporation. The circuit is located north of Adelaide in So ...

would be the only win for a car powered by an engine other than a

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplate ...

unit during the two years in which Australian Formula 2 cars contested the Australian Drivers' Championship.

Race calendar

The championship was contested over a seven-round series with one race per round.1988 Championship Results, Australian Formula 2 Championship/CAMS Gold Star, Australian Motor Racing Year 1988/89, page 317

Points system

Championship points were awarded on a 30-27-24-21-19-17-15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2 basis for the first twenty places at each round.Conditions for Australian Titles, 1988 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 74 & 75 Only the best six results from the seven rounds could be retained by each driver.

Championship results

Championship name

Whilst the 1988 Australian Formula 2 Championship winner was awarded the CAMS Gold Star, it was not certain at the time that the winner would be officially recognised as the 1988 Australian Champion Driver.Barry Catford, Australian Formula 2 Championship, Australian Motor Racing Year 1988/89, page 181 Subsequently, however, the

Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and relate ...

listed Onslow as the winner of both the 1988 Australian Formula 2 Championship and the 1988 Australian Drivers' Championship.

References

{{Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship Drivers' Championship Australian Formula 2