Wikipedia

2023 Australian Formula Open Series

The 2023 Australian Formula Open - powered by Racefuels was a multi-event open-wheel single seater motor racing championship. This was the inaugural season of the championship, founded by two-time Australian Gold Star winner Tim Macrow as a direct successor to the Australian Formula 3 championship.[1]

Drivers competed to win a S5000 test and free entry to a race in the S5000 Championship in 2024 or later.[2]

Trent Grubel, driving for Tim Macrow Racing, won the overall championship and with it the AFO1 class championship, three points ahead of his teammate Ryan How. Matthew Roesler, driving for his privateer State Fleet Services team, won the AFO2 class championship, while AGI Sport's Kristian Janev was victorious in the AFO4 class.

Teams and drivers edit

The championship was structured in four classes, albeit only three classes received entries through the season. AFO1 encompassed all Formula 3 machinery, with several chassis and engine manufacturers represented. AFO2 catered to Toyota Racing Series, Formula Renault and older F3 cars. AFO3 served all other invitational entries, but did not receive any entries, while AFO4 was reserved for Formula 4 cars.[3][4]

AFO1 entries edit

Team No. Car Driver Rounds
Gilmour Racing 1 Dallara F308/11 Mercedes-Benz   Daniel Price 1
  Jon Collins 2, 4–5
  Kyle Evans 6
17 Dallara F307   Chris Gilmour 4–5
R-Tek Motorsport Services 2 Dallara F307 Opel   Andrew Roberts 1–3, 6
Genesis Offices 4 Dallara F308   Robert Rowe 6
Sydney Photo Booth 5 Dallara F304 Renault   Lawrence Katsidis 6
23 1–2
Tim Macrow Racing 8 Dallara F308/11   Miles Bromley 2–4
9 5–6
22 Dallara F308/11 Mercedes-Benz   Beau Russell 5–6
  Winston Van Laarhoven 1, 3–4
24 2
27 Dallara F308/11 Mercedes-Benz   Ryan How All
74 Dallara F312 Mercedes-Benz   Trent Grubel All
Ruff Racing 9 Mygale M11   Gerrit Ruff 2
11 6
TWS Motorsport 14 Mygale M11   Trent Shirvington 2–3, 5
Formula Race Car Association 17 Dallara F397 Volkswagen   Shayne Morrow 1–2, 6
41 Dallara F307 Opel   Greg Muddle 1–2
48 Dallara F3   Ron Coath 2
55 Dallara F397   Glenn Lynch 1–2
CO Machining 21 Dallara F304 Opel   Graeme Holmes 1–2
Baker Motorsport / Team Penrite 22 Dallara F399   Rodney Baker 2, 6
CPL 37 Dallara F3   Ben Turner 2
Team Rod Anderson 38 Reynard 893 Toyota   Rod Anderson 1–2
Douglas Barry Specials 56 Reynard 92D Holden   Douglas Barry 1–2, 6
99 Motorsport 99 Dallara F308/11 Volkswagen   Ryan Astley All
Sources:[5][6][7][8][9][10]

AFO2 entries edit

Team No. Car Driver Rounds
State Fleet Services 3 Tatuus FT50   Matthew Roesler 2
4 3, 5
AON Investments Pty Ltd 19 Ralt RT4   Arthur Abrahams 6
RMS Racing 25 Cheetah Mk7   Robert Sviderskas 2
TCM Race Services 53 Tatuus FT50   Matthew Woodland 3
Jetforms.com.au 93 Tatuus FT50   Christopher Slusarski 3, 6
DiBiase Carpentry 127 Tatuus FT50   Paul di Biase 2–3, 6
Sources:[5][6][7][9][10]

AFO4 entries edit

Team No. Car Driver Rounds
AGI Sport 6 Mygale M14-F4   Brodie Norris 2–6
40 Mygale M14-F4 Ford   Tim Boydle 1
60 Tatuus F4   Jayden Ojeda 2
62 Tatuus F4-T014 Fiat   Craig McLatchey 1
66 Mygale M14-F4 Ford   Kristian Janev 2–6
77 1
Mygale M14-F4   Peter Bouzinelos 4–6
7 Mygale M14-F4 Ford   Mark Wilson 6
71 1–2
Tim Macrow Racing 16 Mygale M14-F4 Ford   Hanming Huang 1, 3–6
25 Mygale M14-F4   Thomas Gallagher 4–6
Patrizi Corse 21 Mygale M14-F4   Ryan McMillan 4–6
Formula Race Car Association 51 Tatuus   Nathan Beer 1–2, 6
Sources:[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Race calendar edit

The 2023 calendar was first announced on 20 December 2022. It consisted of six rounds across six circuits all over Australia.[11]

Round Circuit Date Support bill Map of circuit locations
1 R1   Winton Motor Raceway
Winton, Victoria 		4 March NSW Formula Vee Championship
NSW Formula Ford Championship
NSW State Championships
R2 5 March
R3
2 R1   Sydney Motorsport Park
Eastern Creek, New South Wales 		15 April NSW Formula Vee Championship
Australian Formula Ford Championship
NSW Formula Ford Championship
NSW State Championships
R2 16 April
R3
3 R1   The Bend Motorsport Park
Tailem Bend, South Australia 		10 June Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia
Australian Prototype Series
South Australia Tin Tops
BMW Drivers Cup
R2 11 June
R3
4 R1   Queensland Raceway
Willowbank, Queensland 		5 August Motorsport Australia Trophy Series
TGR Australia Scholarship Series
National Sports Sedan Series
Radical Cup Australia
R2 6 August
R3
5 R1   Sandown Raceway
Melbourne, Victoria 		9 September TCR Australia Touring Car Series
V8 Touring Car Series
Trans-Am Series
GT4 Australia Series
R2 10 September
R3
6 R1   Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Ventnor, Victoria 		25 November Island Magic
Historic Touring Car Series
Australian Formula Vee
NSW Formula Car Championship
R2
R3 26 November

Race results edit

Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap AFO1 winner AFO2 winner AFO4 winner
1 R1   Winton Motor Raceway
Winton, Victoria 		  Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel no entries   Kristian Janev
R2   Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel   Kristian Janev
R3   Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel   Kristian Janev
2 R1   Sydney Motorsport Park
Eastern Creek, New South Wales 		  Trent Grubel race declared a non-event after multiple crashes at the start[12]
R2   Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel   Matthew Roesler   Brodie Norris
R3   Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel   Paul di Biase   Kristian Janev
3 R1   The Bend Motorsport Park
Tailem Bend, South Australia 		  Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel   Ryan How   Christopher Slusarski   Brodie Norris
R2   Ryan How   Ryan How   Christopher Slusarski   Brodie Norris
R3   Ryan How   Ryan How   Christopher Slusarski   Brodie Norris
4 R1   Queensland Raceway
Willowbank, Queensland 		  Ryan How   Miles Bromley   Trent Grubel no entries   Brodie Norris
R2   Ryan How   Trent Grubel   Brodie Norris
R3   Trent Grubel   Ryan How   Peter Bouzinelous
5 R1   Sandown Raceway
Melbourne, Victoria 		  Ryan How   Trent Grubel   Ryan How no classified finishers   Brodie Norris
R2   Trent Grubel   Ryan How   Matthew Roesler   Brodie Norris
R3   Ryan How   Trent Grubel   Matthew Roesler   Kristian Janev
6 R1   Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Ventnor, Victoria 		  Trent Grubel   Trent Grubel   Ryan How   Ryan McMillan   Christopher Slusarski
R2   Ryan How   Ryan How   Ryan McMillan   Paul di Biase
R3   Ryan How   Ryan How   Ryan McMillan   Paul di Biase

Season report edit

The inaugural Australian Formula Open series kicked off at Winton Motor Raceway. A conjoined grid with the NSW Formula Car Championship saw 19 entries tackle the weekend, and Tim Macrow Racing's Trent Grubel took pole position for the first race. He converted that to a win ahead of his teammates Winston van Laarhoven and Ryan How. Grubel went on to sweep the weekend, with the podiums of both other races completed by 99 Motorsport's Ryan Astley and How. AGI Sport's Kristian Janev also took a triple win in the AFO4 class to take the class lead ahead of his teammate Mark Wilson.

Round two was held at Sydney Motorsports Park, again in conjunction with the NSW FCC. Grubel was once again on pole position for the first encounter, but multiple crashes at the race start led to the race being abandoned and later declared a non-event. Grubel was undeterred by that and went on to win the other two races, remaining as the only AFO1 winner of the season. How took both second places, with Gilmour Racing's debutant Jon Collings taking two third places. Janev and his debuting teammate Brodie Norris shared wins in AFO4, while the AFO2 class also took off, with privateer entries Matthew Roesler and Paul di Biase taking the honors.

The first half of the season closed at The Bend Motorsport Park. Grubel continued his pole position streak, but the formbook for the races was rewritten: How became the second race winner in the series as he was the fastest driver throughout all three races to sweep the weekend. Grubel held on to second ahead of Astley in races one and three, but only managed to finish fourth in the second race, with his teammate Miles Bromley third behind Astley. Brodie Norris continued his run of form to sweep the weekend in AFO4 and shorten his gap to Janev. Debutant Christopher Slusarski won all thee races in AFO2, while class leader Di Biase did not finish any of the races.

Queensland Raceway was up next, and How ended Grubel's pole position streak. He dropped to third in the first race though, allowing Grubel to take the win and Chris Gilmour, debuting for the eponymous team, into second. The second race proved even worse for How, as a bad start saw him drop off the podium and allowed Bromley onto it. How was back on top for the feature race though, but Grubel still extended his points lead. AFO2 saw no entries for the round, while AFO4 class leader Janev had an atrocious weekend with a retirement in the first race not allowing him to take part in the rest of the weekend. The chasing Norris took two wins and his teammate Peter Bouzinelous claimed one.[13]

How took a second pole position at the penultimate round at Sandown Raceway. Him and Grubel finished 1-2 in the first two races, with Grubel taking both fastest laps to minimize the damage to his points lead. Their positions were flipped for the final race, but How still reduced Grubel's advantage to 20 points. Bromley took two more podiums to get closer to third place, with TWS Motorsport's Trent Shirvington also appearing on the rostrum. Roesler was the only entrant in the AFO2 class, so he took two more wins to extend his lead, while Norris and Janev continued their tussle in the AFO4 class, with Norris taking two wins to reduce Janev's lead to only three points.[14]

How needed a perfect final weekend at Phillip Island to deny Grubel the title, and did everything he could by winning all three races and taking two bonus points for fastest laps. Grubel could only manage second, third and fourth in the races. Crucially though, he was able to take pole position and claim the fastest lap for the first race. That saw him take the overall and the AFO1 title by three points. Bromley took three podiums to narrowly secure third ahead of Astley. Both AFO2 and AFO4 were decided in absence of the champions, with Roesler taking the AFO2 crown and both Janev and Norris absent from AFO4 competition, allowing Janev to claim the title.[15]

Opening up competition to more classes of formula cars proved to be a huge success, as the series' meetings regularly attracted deep grids. While competition in AFO1 and AFO4 initially seemed to be rather lacklustre, How and Norris were able to close up to the respective leaders Grubel and Janev to provide two close championship battles. With the series planned to be expanding in both round numbers and national and international coverage in 2024, the only question left open is if the championship will really be able to serve as a feeder series to higher-level competition.

Standings edit

Scoring system edit

Cars classified as finished in race 1 and 2 were awarded points by the following structure:[16]

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   FL   R1 PP 
Points 12 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 1

The third race of the weekend, the longer Feature Race, awarded more points:[16]

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   FL 
Points 20 15 12 10 8 6 4 3 2 1 1

Overall standings edit

Pos Driver WIN
  		SYD
  		BEN
  		QLD
  		SAN
  		PHI
  		Pts
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
1   Trent Grubel 1 1 1 C 1 1 2 4 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 3 4 225
2   Ryan How 3 3 3 C 2 2 1 1 1 3 4 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 222
3   Miles Bromley C 7 5 4 3 10 4 2 3 5 3 3 3 2 2 117
4   Ryan Astley 4 2 2 C 4 6 3 2 3 5 Ret Ret 4 4 Ret 6 5 5 112
5   Winston Van Laarhoven 2 4 4 C 5 4 5 9 5 7 6 4 77
6   Beau Russell 6 DNS 4 4 4 3 41
7   Brodie Norris C 8 Ret 8 6 6 8 7 8 7 5 7 DNS DNS DNS 41
8   Jon Collins C 3 3 6 5 5 DNS DNS DNS 39
9   Trent Shirvington C 13 Ret 6 5 4 3 9 5 39
10   Andrew Roberts 5 5 5 C 6 7 Ret DNS DNS 9 9 7 37
11   Kristian Janev 6 6 7 C 11 10 11 8 8 Ret DNS DNS 10 6 6 DNS DNS DNS 33
12   Chris Gilmour 2 3 6 DNS DNS DNS 23
13   Kyle Evans 5 6 6 17
14   Ryan McMillan 9 9 9 DNS DNS DNS 7 7 8 17
15   Thomas Gallagher 12 Ret 10 8 7 8 13 10 9 14
16   Lawrence Katsidis 8 8 6 C DNS DNS 16 Ret 13 12
17   Christopher Slusarski 7 7 7 11 13 Ret 12
18   Douglas Barry 14 15 13 C 9 8 8 8 12 11
19   Hanming Huang 11 10 8 10 11 12 11 10 11 9 10 9 15 14 14 11
20   Matthew Roesler C 16 Ret 9 10 9 Ret 8 10 9
21   Graeme Holmes 7 7 DNS C DNS DNS 8
22   Peter Bouzinelous 10 8 7 Ret 11 Ret DNS DNS DNS 8
23   Rodney Baker C 10 9 10 11 10 5
24   Mark Wilson 10 9 10 C 19 14 14 15 Ret 4
25   Craig McLatchey 9 11 DNS 2
26   Rod Anderson 12 13 9 C 18 15 2
27   Matthew Woodland 12 12 11 0
28   Tim Boydle 15 12 11 0
29   Greg Muddle Ret DNS Ret C Ret 11 0
30   Ben Turner C 12 12 0
31   Nathan Beer 16 16 12 C 20 17 17 16 15 0
32   Paul di Biase C 17 16 Ret Ret Ret 12 12 11 0
33   Shayne Morrow 13 14 Ret C 15 Ret Ret DNS DNS 0
34   Glenn Lynch DNS DNS DNS C 14 13 0
—   Gerrit Ruff C DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS —
—   Daniel Price DNS DNS DNS —
—   Robert Rowe DNS DNS DNS —
—   Arthur Abrahams DNS DNS DNS —
—   Ron Coath C DNS DNS —
—   Robert Sviderskas C DNS DNS —
—
Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 Pts
WIN
  		SYD
  		BEN
  		QLD
  		SAN
  		PHI
 

Standings by class edit

Pos Driver WIN
  		SYD
  		BEN
  		QLD
  		SAN
  		PHI
  		Pts
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
AFO1 standings
1   Trent Grubel 1 1 1 C 1 1 2 4 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 3 4 225
2   Ryan How 3 3 3 C 2 2 1 1 1 3 4 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 222
3   Miles Bromley C 7 5 4 3 6 4 2 3 5 3 3 3 2 2 120
4   Ryan Astley 4 2 2 C 4 6 3 2 3 5 Ret Ret 4 4 Ret 6 5 5 107
5   Winston Van Laarhoven 2 4 4 C 5 4 5 6 5 7 6 4 80
6   Trent Shirvington C 11 Ret 6 5 4 3 5 5 43
7   Beau Russell 6 DNS 4 4 4 3 41
8   Andrew Roberts 5 5 5 C 6 7 Ret DNS DNS 7 8 7 40
9   Jon Collins C 3 3 6 5 5 DNS DNS DNS 39
10   Chris Gilmour 2 3 6 DNS DNS DNS 23
11   Douglas Barry 10 10 8 C 8 8 6 7 9 23
12   Kyle Evans 5 6 6 17
13   Lawrence Katsidis 7 7 6 C DNS DNS 9 Ret 10 17
14   Rodney Baker C 9 9 8 9 8 12
15   Graeme Holmes 6 6 DNS C DNS DNS 10
16   Rod Anderson 8 8 7 C 14 13 10
17   Shayne Morrow 9 9 Ret C 13 Ret Ret DNS DNS 4
18   Ben Turner C 10 11 1
19   Greg Muddle Ret DNS Ret C Ret 10 1
20   Glenn Lynch DNS DNS DNS C 12 12 0
—   Gerrit Ruff C DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS —
—   Daniel Price DNS DNS DNS —
—   Robert Rowe DNS DNS DNS —
—   Ron Coath C DNS DNS —
AFO2 standings
1   Matthew Roesler C 1 Ret 2 2 2 Ret 1 1 83
2   Christopher Slusarski 1 1 1 1 2 Ret 72
3   Paul di Biase C 2 1 Ret Ret Ret 2 1 1 72
4   Matthew Woodland 3 3 3 28
–   Robert Sviderskas C DNS DNS —
—   Arthur Abrahams DNS DNS DNS —
AFO4 standings
1   Kristian Janev 1 1 1 C 2 1 3 2 2 Ret DNS DNS 4 2 1 DNS DNS DNS 139
2   Brodie Norris C 1 Ret 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 DNS DNS DNS 136
3   Hanming Huang 4 3 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 3 4 4 4 3 3 133
4   Thomas Gallagher 5 Ret 4 2 3 3 2 2 2 80
5   Ryan McMillan 2 3 3 DNS DNS DNS 1 1 1 77
6   Mark Wilson 3 2 3 C 3 2 3 4 Ret 67
7   Nathan Beer 6 6 5 C 4 3 5 5 4 59
8   Peter Bouzinelos 3 2 1 Ret 5 Ret DNS DNS DNS 44
9   Tim Boydle 5 5 4 22
10   Craig McLatchey 2 4 DNS 16
—   Jayden Ojeda C DNS DNS —
Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 Pts
WIN
  		SYD
  		BEN
  		QLD
  		SAN
  		PHI
 

References edit

  1. ^ "Australian Formula Open Calendar confirmed – The Race Torque". Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  2. ^ richardrt (18 January 2023). "S5000, Australian Formula Open announce prize package". S5000. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  3. ^ Herrero, Daniel (23 November 2022). "New 'Formula Open' wings and slicks category to debut". Speedcafe. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Australian Formula Open season launches at Winton – The Race Torque". Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "NSW Motorsport Australia State Championship". Winton Motor Raceway. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "NSW Motor Race Championship 15 April 2023 - 16 April 2023: Acceptance List" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b c "SAMS featuring Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia - THE BEND MOTORSPORT PARK - 2023 Australian Formula Open Series - Practice 2". Natsoft Race Results.
  8. ^ a b "Australian Formula Open on facebook: "Times for Practice 2:"".
  9. ^ a b c "2023 Shannons Speed Series - Round 6 SANDOWN INTERNATIONAL MOTOR RACEWAY - Formula Open - Qualifying".
  10. ^ a b c "Island Magic 2023". piarc.com.au. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  11. ^ "New Formula Open category published 2023 calendar - UK Sports News". 20 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Race 1 has been declared a non-event due to several accidents on the startline and no laps turned under green conditions. Drivers have been assisted and are okay". Australian Formula Open on facebook. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  13. ^ O'Brien, Garry (6 August 2023). "Formula Open round to Grubel, wins shared in Excels". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  14. ^ "How closes gap ahead of AFO season finale". Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Grubel holds on for AFO title". Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  16. ^ a b Wood, Ida (11 March 2023). "The story behind Australian racing's slicks-and-wings survival route". Formula Scout. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
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