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Formula
3 Australian Drivers Championship
IN 2009 the 53 years history
of Australia’s premier racing award –
the Australian Drivers Championship – and
one of the most influential and well-recognised
brands in all of Motorsport; Formula 3; will be
closer than ever before.
Formerly
the Australian Formula 3 Championship, in 2009
Australia’s premier Open wheel series will
be known as the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship.
Now more than ever, the great history and tradition
of two famous racing brands will work, unified,
as one to promote young driving talent from around
the world.
It is Australia’s
only truly international formula. Race a Formula
3 car in Europe and the experience is exactly
the same should you race one here – hence
the series’ position as such a good talent
developer.
But whilst
the name may have changed the concept remains
the same. Australia’s fastest racing cars
– thanks two two-litre, 240bhp four cylinder
engines, slick tyres and wings – going head
to head on the best tracks in the land all the
while giving young driving talent every tool they
need to develop as a driver and forge a career
domestically, or internationally.
The Graduates
of the Australian Drivers Championship and Formula
3 in Australia are as successful as they are now
famous. Scott Dixon – IndyCar champion and
Indy 500 winner, IndyCar star Will Power. Five-time
v8 Supercar champion Scott Dixon. Jason Bright.
Jason Bargwanna and a host of V8 Supercar talent
like Rick Kelly have Gold star success under their
belts. And the young guns of the sport –
Karl Reindler, Michael Caruso and others –
have all succeeded at the highest level of Australian
Formula 3.
Also keep an
eye out for the visiting Internationals; In the
past three years the likes of James Winslow, Charlie
Hollings, Marco Mapelli and Ben Clucas have all
come to Australia to race in our competitive series.
Even Bruno
Senna – nephew of the great Ayrton –
has tasted success in Formula 3 Australia; he
won his first ever car race during an Australian
F3 race at the Grand Prix in Melbourne, in 2006.
In 2009 the
series will be stronger than ever. Constant evolution
and development has seen the 2005 / 6 / 7 generation
cars amongst the fastest Open Wheelers ever to
race for the Gold Star. The competition between
professional teams and well-credentialed privateers
is intense and as a result the series continues
to draw high levels of media exposure thanks to
the many storylines involved.
In 2009 the
series will again have the support of Kumho Tyres
as an official tyre supplier and sponsor, and
will continue to be the headline act at Shannons
Nationals rounds across Australia.
2009 will see
racing take place in four states, starting at
the Clipsal 500 Adelaide and visiting circuits
like Wakefield Park, Winton, Sandown, Eastern
Creek, Oran Park and Phillip Island – where
F3 cars lap even quicker than world championship
motorcycles!
It’s
fast racing, furious racing and the best category
around for giving young drivers the tools they
need to progress into a career in motorsport.
Remember the
name: The Formula 3 Australian Drivers championship,
racing for the CAMS Gold Star.
2008 Champion: James Winslow,
Dallara F307 Mercedes
2009 Calendar
R1. Adelaide (Clipsal 500), 19-22 March
R2. Wakefield Park, 25-26 April
R3. Phillip Island, 16-17 May
R4. Winton Raceway, 27-28 June
R5. Eastern Creek, 18-19 July
R6. Queensland Raceway (V8 Supercars), 21-23 August
R7. Oran Park, 29-30 August
R8. Sandown Raceway, 28-29 November
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