Wikipedia

2008 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 2008 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title which was contested concurrently with the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship. The championship winner was awarded the 2008 CAMS Gold Star. The 2008 championship was the 52nd Australian Drivers' Championship and the fourth to be contested with open wheel racing cars constructed in accordance with FIA Formula 3 regulations. The season began on 3 February 2008 at Eastern Creek Raceway and finished on 21 September at Symmons Plains Raceway after eight rounds across four different states with two races per round.

The series was won by a British driver for the second time in three years, with James Winslow victorious after a season long battle with Leanne Tander, who was runner up by only a few points for the second year in a row. Chris Gilmour won the National Class from Irish driver Lee Farrell, while Andrew Mill clinched the Trophy Class with a round in hand.

Class structure edit

Drivers competed in three classes:

  • Championship Class – restricted to cars constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2007
  • National Class – restricted to cars constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2004
  • Trophy Class – restricted to cars constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 2001[1]

Points system edit

Championship points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top ten classified finishers in the Championship Class in each race. An additional point was awarded to the driver gaining the Championship Class pole position for each race and a further additional point was awarded to the driver setting the fastest lap in the Championship class in each race. To secure the "fastest lap" point the driver must have been declared finisher for that race.[1]

The same point-score system was also used for both the National Class and the Trophy Class.[1]

Teams and drivers edit

The following teams and drivers competed during the 2008 Australian Formula 3 season. The listing relates to both the 2008 Australian Drivers' Championship and to the non-championship Indy F3 Challenge races.

Team Class Chassis Engine No Driver
Scud Racing National Dallara F301 Spiess-Opel 1   Tim Macrow
Trophy 25   Justin Tate
  Roman Krumins
Championship Dallara F307 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 35   Stuart Kostera
National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 89   Mathew Radisich
Team BRM Championship Dallara F307 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 1   James Winslow
3   James Winslow
  John Magro
  Chris Alajajian
  Zahir Ali *
4   Earl Bamber
  Nick Percat
  James Winslow
5   Nathan Caratti
National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 6   Lee Farrell
Championship Dallara F307 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 9   Ben Clucas
Transwest Racing Championship Dallara F307 Mugen-Honda 2   Mat Sofi
National Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda 20   James Crozier
R-Tek Motorsport Services National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 7   Chris Reindler
  Karl Reindler
  Carlos Huertas *
Trophy Dallara F301 Spiess-Opel 59   Jesse Wakeman
Astuti Motorsport Championship Dallara F307 Sodemo-Renault[2] 11   James Winslow
  Maher Algadrie
  Chris Alajajian
Dallara F304 Sodemo-Renault 23   Ray Chamberlain
National 24   Daniel Schulz
  Ash Samadi
  Andrew Mill
JB Motorsport Trophy Dallara F301 Novamotor-Fiat 12   John Boothman
  Brian Sampson
Property Solutions Group Trophy Dallara F301 Spiess-Opel 16   Andrew Mill
  Kevin Miller
Sodemo-Renault 86   Kevin Miller
Gilmour Racing National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 17   Chris Gilmour
Morcraft Homes Championship Dallara F307 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 18   Steve Morcombe
David Choon Trophy Dallara F396 Mugen Honda 19   David Choon
GKH Powdercoating National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 21   Graeme Holmes
Chris Alajajian Championship Dallara F304 Sodemo-Renault 22   Chris Alajajian
Piccola Scuderia Corse National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 26   Daniel Cotton
  Troy Woodger
  John Whelan
  Justin Tate
Championship Dallara F307 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 27   Neil McFadyen
  Justin Tate
  John Martin *
National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 28   Ash Bettridge
Tandersport National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 32   Matthew Radisich
Championship Dallara F307 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 42   Leanne Tander
National Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 52   Chris Reindler
  Samantha Reid
  Ben Crighton
National Surgical Trophy Dallara F301 32   Jon Mills
Hack, Anderson & Thomas Trophy Dallara F396 Toyota 37   Rod Anderson
Ausdeck Patios & Roofing Trophy Dallara F301 96   Jonathan Grant *

'* - John Martin, Zahir Ali, Carlos Huertas & Jonathan Grant contested the non-championship Indy F3 Challenge races but did not contest rounds of the 2008 Australian Drivers' Championship.

Race calendar edit

Round Race Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team
1 1   Eastern Creek Raceway[3] 3 February   Leanne Tander   Neil McFadyen   Nathan Caratti   Team BRM
2   Nathan Caratti race cancelled by heavy rain
2 1   Adelaide Street Circuit[4] 24 February   Neil McFadyen   Earl Bamber   Neil McFadyen   Piccola Scuderia Corse
2   Neil McFadyen   Ben Clucas   Ben Clucas   Team BRM
3 1   Oran Park Raceway[5] 27 April   Neil McFadyen   Leanne Tander   Leanne Tander   Tandersport
2   Neil McFadyen   Nathan Caratti   James Winslow   Astuti Motorsport
4 1   Mallala Motor Sport Park[6] 18 May   Leanne Tander   Nathan Caratti   Leanne Tander   Tandersport
2   Neil McFadyen   Leanne Tander   Nathan Caratti   Team BRM
5 1   Phillip Island[7] 15 June   Leanne Tander   Mat Sofi   Nathan Caratti   Team BRM
2   James Winslow   Leanne Tander   James Winslow   Team BRM
6 1   Eastern Creek Raceway[8] 13 July   Nathan Caratti   James Winslow   Leanne Tander   Tandersport
2   Nathan Caratti   Nathan Caratti   James Winslow   Team BRM
7 1   Phillip Island[9] 10 August   Leanne Tander   James Winslow   James Winslow   Team BRM
2   James Winslow   James Winslow   Leanne Tander   Tandersport
8 1   Symmons Plains Raceway[10] 21 September   Mathew Radisich   James Winslow   James Winslow   Team BRM
2   Tasmanian Super Prix   James Winslow   Nathan Caratti   Leanne Tander   Tandersport
NC 1   Indy F3 Challenge[11] 23 October   John Martin   John Martin   John Martin   Piccola Scuderia Corse
2 24 October progressive grid   John Martin   John Martin   Piccola Scuderia Corse
3 25 October   John Martin   James Winslow   Team BRM

Results and standings edit

Drivers championship edit

Pos Driver EAS 1 EAS 2 ADE 1 ADE 2 ORA 1 ORA 2 MAL 1 MAL 2 PHI 1 PHI 2 EAS 3 EAS 4 PHI 3 PHI 4 SYM 1 SYM 2 Pts
CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS
1   James Winslow 2 4 3 2 1 10 5 15 1 6 1 1 2 1 Ret 198
2   Leanne Tander 3 6 Ret 1 5 1 2 2 5 1 2 8 1 Ret 1 194
3   Nathan Caratti 1 5 Ret 3 2 2 1 1 2 4 12 Ret 15 10 2 170
4   Mat Sofi 6 7 5 4 6 5 10 4 3 3 7 3 3 4 4 136
5   Neil McFadyen 5 1 2 5 3 6 3 DSQ 4 99
6   Stuart Kostera 7 8 4 Ret 11 Ret 7 3 10 9 5 Ret 4 2 5 92
7   Ray Chamberlain 19 17 12 12 13 14 16 11 13 16 16 10 10 7 11 64
8   Nick Percat 6 4 4 4 38
9   Justin Tate 5 6 2 6 37
10   Ben Clucas 2 1 36
10   John Magro 11 9 14 8 4 5 36
12   Chris Alajajian 2 3 27
13   Earl Bamber 4 3 Ret 23
14   Steve Morcombe 10 13 12 11 13
15   Maher Algadrie 13 12 5
NATIONAL CLASS
1   Chris Gilmour 9 11 6 7 7 7 12 7 5 14 8 6 8 9 8 228
2   Lee Farrell 8 9 17 Ret Ret 9 8 6 7 11 11 5 7 Ret 6 189
3   Tim Macrow Ret Ret 7 4 3 3 89
4   Ben Crighton 9 9 Ret Ret 8 14 7 Ret 8 7 86
5   Mathew Radisich 11 12 8 DNS DNS 8 9 17 9 Ret Ret Ret 10 85
6   Ash Bettridge 10 12 13 15 Ret 12 48
7   Karl Reindler 3 6 43
8   Daniel Schulz 12 10 7 39
9   Justin Tate 8 11 Ret DNS 24
10   Ash Samadhi Ret 8 Ret 13 Ret DNS 23
11   Chris Reindler 10 21 Ret 17
12   Samantha Reid 20 10 16
13   James Crozier 13 23 14 16
14   Andrew Mill 6 Ret 15
15   John Whelan 10 Ret 12
16   Graeme Holmes 15 15 Ret DNS DNS 12
17   Daniel Cotton 17 3
18   Troy Woodger 22 Ret 3
TROPHY CLASS
1   Andrew Mill 14 13 11 8 10 12 15 Ret 14 12 10 9 9 247
2   Jesse Wakeman 16 16 16 DNS DNS 13 14 9 11 9 11 157
3   Rod Anderson 20 18 13 11 12 15 DNS 13 16 15 17 11 12 156
4   Justin Tate 21 14 9 Ret DNS 46
5   John Boothman 18 19 15 30
5   Roman Krumins 11 13 30
7   Brian Sampson 12 15 28
8   David Choon 13 Ret 12
NC   Kevin Miller DNS 0
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Note: Race 2 of Round 1 was abandoned due to torrential rain and no points were awarded.[12]

Indy F3 Challenge edit

The Indy F3 Challenge was a three race support event for Australian Formula 3 cars at the 2008 Nikon Indy 300 meeting at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit. It was not a round of the 2008 Australian Drivers' Championship.

Pos. Driver Qualifying Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Points
1   John Martin 1 1 1 2 59
2   James Winslow 2 2 2 1 50
3   Leanne Tander 5 4 3 Ret 22
4   Chris Alajajian 3 3 4 Ret 22
5   Mat Sofi 6 Ret 7 3 16
6   Chris Gilmour 8 8 8 4 16
7   Nathan Caratti 4 5 5 Ret 16
8   Jesse Wakeman 11 10 10 5 10
9   Zahir Ali 9 7 6 Ret 10
10   Steve Morcombe 13 11 11 6 6
11   Carlos Huertas 7 6 Ret Ret 6
12   Jonathan Grant 12 Ret 12 7 4
13   Ben Crighton 10 9 9 Ret 4
14   Jon Mills 15 Ret Ret 8 3
15   Kevin Miller 14 Ret 13 Ret 0

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c 2008 Australian Formula 3 Championship Sporting Regs Retrieved from webarchive.org on 9 May 2011
  2. ^ Results, Round 3 2008, Oran Park Retrieved on 9 May 2011
  3. ^ "Eastern Creek International Raceway 03/02/2008 2008 A1 GP". National Software. 3 February 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  4. ^ "Adelaide Parklands Circuit 24/02/2008 2008 Clipsal 500 Adelaide". National Software. 24 February 2008. Archived from the original on 22 March 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
  5. ^ "Oran Park Raceway - South and Grand Prix 27/04/2008 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championship Round 2". National Software. 27 April 2008. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Mallala Motorsport Park 18/05/2008 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships - Round 3". National Software. 18 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  7. ^ "Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 15/06/2008 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships 2008 - Round 4". National Software. 15 June 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Eastern Creek International Raceway 13/07/2008 Shannons National Motor Racing Championship - Rnd 5". National Software. 13 July 2008. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  9. ^ "Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 10/08/2008 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships 2008 - Round 6". National Software. 10 August 2008. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  10. ^ "Symmons Plains International Raceway 19/09/2008 Shannons Nationals Round 8 Symmons Plains Tasmania". National Software. 22 September 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
  11. ^ "Surfers Paradise Street Circuit 26/10/2008 Nikon Indy 300 - 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series -Rd 11". National Software. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  12. ^ Opes Prime Team BRM Dominates F3 season opener Retrieved on 9 May 2011

External links edit

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