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.

2008 Australian Drivers' Championship

Previous

2007

Next

2009

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

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

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

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

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

Drivers championship

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

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

• Australian Drivers' Championship
• Australian Formula 3

References

1. 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

• Official Australian Formula 3 website
• Results - 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for the CAMS Gold Star at replay.web.archive.org
• 2008 Race result archive at www.natsoft.com.au
• Image of James Winslow (Team BRM Dallara F307) contesting the Symmons Plains round of the championship