Australian Endurance Championship

The Australian Endurance Championship is an Australian motor racing title which has been awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in numerous years and for numerous categories since 1981.

Australian Endurance Championship

Category	Touring car racing Production car racing GT racing
Country	Australia
Inaugural season	1981
Drivers' champion	Geoff Emery Garth Tander
Official website	Australian Endurance Championship

History

Touring cars

The title was first contested as a championship for car manufacturers. Replacing the Australian Championship of Makes, which had been held from 1976 to 1980, it was decided over a series of endurance races for cars complying with CAMS Group C Touring Car regulations. In the years from 1982 to 1984, the winner of the Australian Endurance Championship was the most successful driver rather than the manufacturer. The Australian Endurance Championship of Makes, run concurrently with the drivers’ title, was the new name for the manufacturers’ award.

For 1985 the manufacturers’ title was again renamed, now becoming the Australian Manufacturers' Championship. The dual Australian Endurance Championship / Australian Manufacturers' Championship titles were contested in both 1985 and 1986 over a series of endurance races for cars complying with Australian Touring Car regulations, which were based on International Group A. No Australian Endurance Championship was awarded in the years from 1987 to 1989, however the Australian Manufacturers' Championship continued, now contested over the same series of sprint races as the Australian Touring Car Championship.

In 1990 CAMS re-instated the Australian Endurance Championship, once again as a drivers’ championship, run over a series of endurance races for Group 3A Touring Cars. The Australian Manufacturers' Championship title was moved back to this series in the same year, however this format was only utilised for two years and the titles were not contested in 1992. From 2013 onwards, an Enduro Cup was awarded to the drivers scoring the most championship points over the three two-driver endurance events in the Supercars Championship.

Production cars

The CAMS Australian Endurance Championship title was revived in 2011 and contested within the Australian Manufacturers' Championship from that year through to 2015.^[1][2]

GT cars

From 2016, the CAMS Australian Endurance Championship was contested by Australian GT cars.^[3] The inaugural season included four 101 lap races, at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Sydney Motorsport Park, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park and the Highlands 101 at Highlands Motorsport Park. In 2018, the Australian Endurance Championship was conducted over the three Endurance rounds of the Australian GT Championship,^[4] rather than being contested as a separate series.

Champions

The following table lists the winners of the Australian Endurance Championship as awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.

Season[5]	Champion	Vehicle
1981	Toyota (Australia)	Toyota Celica
1982	Allan Moffat	Mazda RX-7
1983	Peter McLeod	Mazda RX-7
1984	Allan Moffat	Mazda RX-7
1985	Jim Richards	BMW 635 CSi
1986	Jim Richards	BMW 635 CSi
1987 – 1989	Not contested
1990	Glenn Seton	Ford Sierra RS500
1991	Mark Gibbs Rohan Onslow	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
1992 – 2010	Not contested
2011	Stuart Kostera Ian Tulloch	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
2012	Stuart Kostera Ian Tulloch	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
2013	Not contested
2014	Grant Sherrin[6]	BMW 135i
2015	Grant Sherrin	BMW 135i
2016	Grant Denyer Nathan Morcom	McLaren 650S GT3
2017	Peter Hackett Dominic Storey	Mercedes-AMG GT3
2018	Max Twigg Tony D'Alberto	Mercedes-AMG GT3
2019	Geoff Emery Garth Tander	Audi R8 LMS Evo

Multiple winners

By driver

Wins	Driver	Years
2	Allan Moffat	1982, 1984
	Jim Richards	1985, 1986
	Stuart Kostera	2011, 2012
	Ian Tulloch	2011, 2012
	Grant Sherrin	2014, 2015

By manufacturer

Wins	Manufacturer	Years
4	BMW	1985, 1986, 2014, 2015
3	Mazda	1982, 1983, 1984
2	Mitsubishi	2011, 2012
	Mercedes-Benz	2017, 2018

Australian Production Car Endurance Championship

CAMS also awarded an Australian Production Car Endurance Championship in 2011 and 2012.^[5] It was contested with the Australian Manufacturers' Championship in both years.^[1][7]

Champions

The following table lists the winners of the Australian Production Car Endurance Championship as awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.

Year[5]	Champion	Car
2011	Stuart Kostera Ian Tulloch	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
2012	Stuart Kostera Ian Tulloch	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

AASA claim

The Australian Autosport Alliance (AASA) has previously run a competition it dubbed the Australian Endurance Championship.

An alternate sanctioning body to CAMS, which ran the Australian Endurance Championship from 1981 to present, the AASA competition is not considered official or legitimate, and is not a recognised competition by the Australian Office of Sport.

The AASA competition centered on placing a title across the otherwise disconnected events, which in 2013 saw its title \awarded to highest point-scorer in the Wakefield 300 and Winton 300 endurance events.^{[citation needed]}

In 2014, it also included the Willowbank 300 at Queensland Raceway. This 3 event series was won by Justin Ruggier and Mark Mackay.

See also

• Australian Manufacturers' Championship
• Enduro Cup