Australian Motor Racing Series

Last updated

The Australian Motor Racing Series (sometimes known as Australian Motor Racing Championships) is a collection of national motor racing series travelling to a series of circuits across Australia under a single banner. These race meetings represent the banner race meetings for the Australian Auto Sport Alliance who sanction the series.

Contents

There have been two iterations of the series. The first ran from 2005 to 2008 before folding due to lack of numbers. The series was revived in 2019 with a similar concept and the same name, before a name change in 2023 to Hi-Tec Oils Super Series reflecting the title sponsor.

Current Series

Since its revival in 2019, the series has typically consisted of six race meetings held in the eastern states of Australia. The series describes itself as providing "...a televised platform for the aspiring race car driver to transition from State to National Competition" [1] .

For the past few years, the TA2 Racing Muscle Car Series has been the headline category for the series and races at every event. A wide variety of other categories have raced at the meetings.

In 2024, some of the categories which raced as part of the series included:

The series is televised on multiple platforms including SBS and its streaming platform SBS On Demand, the pay TV network Fox Sports (Australia) and its associated streaming platform Kayo, and YouTube [2] .

History

2005-2008

The series began as a second and third tier collection of national motor racing series in 2005 providing a home for series such as Formula Holden, Formula 3, Sports Sedan, Production Cars, Truck Racing, Saloon Cars, Commodore Cup and Australian Touring Car Challenge. A successful 2005 series was offset by trouble brewing as CAMS who sanctioned the series wanted to de-register series with dropping numbers, while other series, led mainly by Formula 3 were looking for increased exposure to their series. What resulted was division amongst the AMRS categories, the majority of whom left to join the Shannons Nationals series of categories sanctioned by CAMS while the AMRS itself made the transition to AASA sanctioning.

Without the CAMS categories that filled half of the 2005 program some new categories had to be created, with the intent of capturing categories that had been disenfranchised by CAMS. The series was centred on existing categories, [3] the popular Touring Car Challenge was a mixed bag category made up of cars left over from several categories, Group A touring cars not quite old enough the race as a historic category, older V8 Supercars no longer allowed to enter the second tier Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, and cars from Super Touring and Future Touring categories whose series had died in the early 2000s. Thundersports was made up of a category called Future Racers, championed by Peter Brock and Ross Palmer of PROCAR fame it had never taken off and CAMS had refused to sanction the category as it was broadly very similar to the Aussie Racing Cars class. Several cars had been built and made a natural core for a sports car class and the regulations were opened for several Sports Prototype classes, with European LMP3 and the motorcycle powered Supersports classes targeted although current outright Le Mans cars were theoretically permitted. Formula 4000 , the new name for Formula Holden also fronted, with the class expanded to include OzBOSS, a local variation of the European Formula BOSS (Big Open Single Seater), designed to encourage a wide variety of open wheel racing cars.

Production Touring Cars was a variation of the cars eligible for Australian Production Car Championship, although there was an emphasis placed on cars with as few modifications as possible from road specification, something which the APCC no longer represented. 3.3 litre Holdens was a Victorian-based variation of the popular entry level HQ Holden category. Unlike HQ Holdens where only the HQ model of Holden Kingswood was permitted, later models HJ, HX and HZ were also permitted. Classic Touring Cars was more or less a direct copy of Group N Historic Touring cars. Super Tin Tops was a touring car type of category intended for slower and less modified cars than those in the Touring Car Challenge, the obvious targets were competitors in Improved Production and Sports Sedans and more limited categories like Saloon Cars and Commodore Cup.

Controversially, Stockcar Thunder Road was included, intending to provide the once popular Australian NASCAR competitors a category to race in, however after much hype and promotion no competitors emerged.

Continued growth

The pre-existing categories grew promisingly with Touring Car Challenge and Thundersports well supported. Production Touring developed its own group of competitors. OzBoss was slow to take off and was quickly merged into Formula 4000 grids. Similarly Super Tin Tops was slow to gather momentum and some Production Sports Car type vehicles were included and Classic Touring Cars were merged as well.

Despite this the series 2006 series ended promisingly and most categories continued to grow into the 2007 season. The Inter Marque Championship for production sports cars was a successful addition to the series, bringing large fields. Another addition was the X Challenge series, providing a destination for competitors in the collapsed Lotus Trophy series, a one make series for racers of Lotus Exige and Lotus Elise cars.

2008 season and legacy

The series was retagged as the Australian Motor Racing Championships for the 2008 season. However the new season has seen entries drop across the board, a near nationwide trend but the AMRC has been hit harder than the average. Formula Holden has dwindled to less than a handful of cars and OzBoss, which grew promisingly in 2007 has dwindled also. Thundersports became only contested by the former Future Racers. The faster Sports Prototpyes, typified by the West WR1100 cars have been pushed aside into a new category ProtoSports but because of low numbers has been merged into the OzBoss grids. Inter Marque has left AMRC and the new sports car series, Pirelli Gran Turismo Championship, has been poorly supported. The April round, [4] held at Calder Park Raceway has seen not a single grid, even after merging two or three together, break out of ten cars. The immediate future for the AMRC will be challenging if it can maintain viability. Rounds 5 and 6 did not take place with Round 7 likewise having been cancelled. The series subsequently collapsed. Surviving categories either transferred to CAMS sanctioned motor racing events, like Inter Marque Challenge, and ProtoSports (who eventually became Sports Racer Series) or moved into a new organisation independent of both CAMS and AASA called iRace, most visibly Production Touring Cars, OzBoss and the former Future Racers.

Revival

The concept was revived in 2019 with the original name Australian Motor Racing Series.

Champions

These are the champions from the AMRS series completed. [5] [6]

Touring Car Challenge

V8 Giants

Formula 4000

OzBoss

Production Touring Cars

Thundersports

Inter Marque Challenge

Super Tin Tops

3.3 Litre Holdens

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supercars Championship</span> Touring car racing category in Australasia

The Supercars Championship currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.

AUSCAR was an auto racing sanctioning body owned by Bob Jane, which ran American-style Superspeedway racing in Australia. The initial AUSCAR venue was the 1.801 km, high-banked (24°) Calder Park Thunderdome Superspeedway in Melbourne, but over time the series expanded to include the Jane owned 1/2 mile Speedway Super Bowl at the eastern end of Adelaide International Raceway which first saw AUSCAR racing in 1990, the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, and eventually several Australian road racing circuits including Calder Park's road course and the Oran Park Raceway in Sydney where racing was held under lights on the short version of the circuit. In the early 1990s, Jane and television station Channel 7 announced plans to turn the old Granville Showground trotting track which circled the Parramatta Speedway in Sydney into a paved, banked 1/2 mile track, but this did not happen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst 1000</span> Annual 1,000 km touring car race in Australia

The Bathurst 1000 is a 1,000-kilometre (621.4 mi) touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recent incarnation of the Australian Touring Car Championship. In 1987 it was a round of the World Touring Car Championship. The Bathurst 1000 is colloquially known as The Great Race among motorsport fans and media. The race originated with the 1960 Armstrong 500 with a 500 mile race distance at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit; it was relocated to Bathurst in 1963 also with the 500 mile distance and has continued there every year since, extending to a 1,000 kilometer race in 1973. The race was traditionally run on the New South Wales Labour-Day long weekend in early October. Since 2001, the race has been run on the weekend following the long weekend, generally the second weekend of October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formula Holden</span> Former Single-Seater Racing Championship

Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Bargwanna</span> Australian motor racing driver

Jason Eric Bargwanna is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathurst 1000 in a Garry Rogers Motorsport prepared Holden Commodore. Bargwanna was the Driving Standards Observer for the Supercars Championship from 2014 until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Formula 2</span> Single-Seater Racing Championship

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 of Cheetah Racing Cars and Garrie Cooper of Elfin Sports Cars were largely responsible for the development of the format, which was devised to suit the needs of Australian drivers, most of whom had little or no sponsorship and had to bear the costs of racing out of their own pockets.

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 Australian Motor Sport, and organises race meetings independent of Motorsport Australia. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Benalla Auto Club, who also own Winton Motor Raceway, the association sanctions motor sport in various categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorsport in Australia</span> Overview of motorsport in Australia

Motorsport is a popular spectator sport in Australia, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. The oldest motorsport competition in Australia is the Alpine Rally which was first staged in 1921 followed by the Australian Grand Prix, first staged in 1928. The most widely watched motorsport category is Supercars, especially at the Bathurst 1000. Other classes in Australia include Australian GT, Formula 3 and Formula Ford, Superbikes, as well as various forms of speedway racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group C (Australia)</span> To either of two sets of regulations for use in Australian touring car racing from 1965 to 1984

In relation to Australian motorsport, Group C refers to either of two sets of regulations devised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) for use in Australian Touring Car Racing from 1965 to 1984. These are not to be confused with the FIA's Group C sports car regulations, used from 1982 to 1992 for the World Endurance Championship / World Sports-Prototype Championship / World Sportscar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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 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. Each year, the winner is awarded a Gold Star - from 1957 - 2023 the CAMS Gold Star and from 2024 the AASA Gold Star.

The Australian Formula Ford Championship is an Australian motor racing competition for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars, held annually since 1970. From 1970 until 1992 it was a national series and from 1993 until 2013 the series was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the Australian Formula Ford Championship. From 2014 to 2018 it reverted to national series status. The Australian Formula Ford Championship name was then applied to the series by the Formula Ford Association from 2019.

The Australian Super Touring Championship was a CAMS-sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Formula 3</span> Australian racing event

Australian Formula 3 has been the name applied to two distinctly different motor racing categories, separated by over twenty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GT World Challenge Australia</span> National championship for grand tourer sports cars in Australia

The GT World Challenge Australia, formerly known as the Australian GT Championship, is a Motorsport Australia-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race and those after that year over a series of races. The categories which have contested the championship have not always been well defined and often have become a home for cars orphaned by category collapse or a sudden change in regulation.

The 1972 Australian Touring Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title open to Group C Improved Production Touring Cars and Group E Series Production Touring Cars. The championship, which was the 13th running of the Australian Touring Car Championship, began at Symmons Plains and ended at Oran Park after eight rounds.

The 1994 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Brabham regulations. The championship winner was awarded the 1994 CAMS Gold Star as the Australian Champion Driver. It was the 38th running of the Australian Drivers' Championship and the sixth to feature the Formula Holden / Formula Brabham category which had been developed during 1988. The championship began on 17 April 1994 at Eastern Creek Raceway and ended on 28 August at Oran Park Raceway after six rounds.

The 2003 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars conforming to Formula 4000 regulations. The title was contested over a six-round, twelve race series which was promoted as the 2003 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship for the CAMS Gold Star. It was the 47th Australian Drivers' Championship.

The 2000 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars conforming to Formula Holden regulations. The title was contested over an 8-round, 16 race series with the winner awarded the 2000 CAMS Gold Star. The championship, which was promoted as the 2000 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship, was the 44th Australian Drivers' Championship and the 12th to be contested with Formula Holden or Formula Brabham cars.

The 1998 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title for drivers of cars conforming to Formula Holden regulations. The title was contested over a six-round, twelve race series with the winner awarded the CAMS Gold Star. Officially the "Holden Australian Drivers' Championship for the CAMS Gold Star", it was the 42nd Australian Drivers' Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birrana</span>

Birrana was the name of two motor racing organisations, both associated with South Australian racing driver and engineer Malcolm Ramsay. From 1971 to 1978 Birrana constructed a series of successful open-wheel racing cars under the Birrana name. It also constructed a Holden Kingswood HQ for Ramsay to compete in Group C Improved Production Touring Cars racing.

References

  1. ↑ "About". Hi-Tec Oils Super Series. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "Watch". Hi-Tec Oils Super Series. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
  3. ↑ Australian Motor Racing Series Official Event Programme June 3–4, 2006 Round 4 Queensland Raceway. Chevron Publishing Group. 2006.
  4. ↑ "Calder Park Raceway 27 April 2008 2008 Australian Motor Racing Championship - Round 2" . Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  5. ↑ Rowley, Grant (2006). The Annual 2006 Australian Motorsport. Grant Mark Media. pp. 158–160.
  6. ↑ Rowley, Grant (2007). The Annual 2007 Australian Motorsport. Grant Mark Media. pp. 116–121.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.