Australian Drivers' Championship
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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 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 ...
until 2023. From 2024 the championship is contested by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the
Australian Auto Sport Alliance 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 Austra ...
. Each year, the winner is awarded a Gold Star - from 1957 - 2023 the CAMS Gold StarAustralian Drivers' Championship – CAMS Gold Star, docs.cams.com.au
As archived at www.webcitation.org on 14 April 2014
and from 2024 the AASA Gold Star. The Australian Drivers' Championship is the third oldest continuously awarded title in Australian motorsport, with only the
Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...
(since 1928) and the Australian Hillclimb Championship having a longer uninterrupted history. While originally intended to be the premier prize for domestic motor racing it had faded in importance over time and from the 1980s had been effectively a feeder series for 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 ...
and V8 Supercars Championship, or a launch pad for drivers to start international careers. 2024, under the new stewardship of the AASA, saw a historic change of direction. With the objective of finding the most talented drivers in Australia, the premier open-wheel racing category was re-imagined and now serves as a showcase for drivers whose driving talent is a valued asset. This new focus aims at making the championship more accessible and competitive by substantially reducing costs thereby allowing financially challenged drivers the opportunity to demonstrate their driving skills. The car chosen to enable this change is the Hyper Racer X1, designed and manufactured in Australia.


History

The first title in 1957 was open in regulation, effectively
Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppo ...
. While the age of the 'Australian special', handbuilt racecars developed by local mechanic/engineers away from the European/American manufacturers that had dominated pre-World War II racing, was not yet dead, most notably the series of Maybach specials were still competitive as second-hand
Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
and
Formula 2 Formula Two (F2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 to 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned aga ...
cars from Europe became increasingly popular with competitors, with the
Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. Mechanical details The 250F principally used the SSG, 220 bhp (at 7400r ...
finding a few homes in the top echelon of drivers. The rise of
Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), an alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * "Cooper", a song by Roxette from ...
in Europe, led by
Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...
,
Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing driver, automotive designer, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . McLaren was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
and the rest of the Australian/New Zealand invasion that flooded into Formula 1 in the 1960s, saw a trickle down effect increase as the smaller cheaper rear-engined packages proved quickly popular amongst competitors. The competitive nature of the racing as well as the reputation of antipodean personnel in Europe saw the factory teams look towards racing in Australia/New Zealand during the European winter. This led to the development of the
Tasman Series The Tasman Series (formally the Tasman Championship for Drivers)Tasman Championship for Drivers, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport with National Competition Rules 1974, pages 80 to 83 was a motor racing competition held annually from 1964 to 1975 ove ...
regulations and a flood of
Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), an alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * "Cooper", a song by Roxette from ...
s and
Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
s into Australian racing, as well as encouraging the rise of domestic manufacturers like
Elfin Sports Cars Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd (formerly known as Elfin Sports Cars) is an Australian car manufacturer company that was founded by Garrie Cooper. It has been an Australian manufacturer of sports cars and motor racing cars since 1959. Elfin Sports C ...
. As the Tasman series faded there was a considerable push for a two-litre open formula to replace the Tasman regulations, however with
Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an Open-wheel car, open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel ...
already having a strong foothold with competitors two-litre fell by the wayside. While F5000 was popular by this stage 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 ...
had surpassed it for popularity, a situation that would continue until today where the Australian Drivers' Championship is now seen as a young driver development category. Formula 5000 continued until 1981, with fields shrunk to less than ten cars at some venues, a local variant of
Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...
already in use since the late 70s, was adopted and proved immediately successful with large numbers of
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 ...
RT4s imported. But Pacific, or
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 ...
as it was later re-badged, faded by 1987 and the local
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 ...
category was adopted for a single race in 1987 and for the 1988 season, while a
Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championship ...
based formula, later titled
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 ...
was developed. Formula Holden ran from 1989 to 2003 by which stage this formulae had become unviable, the international death of Formula 3000 causing a supply of chassis to dry up. In 2005 international
Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...
regulations were adopted. Dwindling grid numbers in Australian Formula 3 saw CAMS elect not to award the Gold Star in 2015 for the first time in its history. This decision was made after the season had begun. In 2020 it was decided to revive the Gold Star for the
S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship The VHT S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship (known originally as the Australian S5000 Championship, or simply S5000) was an open-wheel road racing series in Australia. The series was created by a merger between two proposed series, Formula Th ...
series of V8 open wheelers. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented a championship from being contested in 2020 delaying the title being awarded until May 2021. S5000 racing was placed on indefinite hiatus starting in 2024. In 2024, the Australian Drivers' Championship will be sanctioned by the
Australian Auto Sport Alliance 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 Austra ...
, with drivers using the Hyper Racer X1.


Champions


References


External links

* http://www.AustralianDriversChampionship.com * http://www.HyperRacer.com * https://aasa.com.au/ {{Australian Drivers' Championship Recurring events established in 1957 Drivers' 1957 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1957