Since 1957 Motorsport Australia (formerly Confederation of Australian Motorsport or CAMS) have presided over one of Australia's longest running motorsport championships, the Australian Drivers' Championship. This championship is attained by the driver who wins the series of the top complying open wheel category as determined by Motorsport Australia. They are awarded the prestigious Gold Star. In the past the Gold Star has been contested in categories such as  Formula Libre, Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2, Formula Holden and Formula Brabham. Not only international drivers but the best home grown talent have vied  for Gold Star honours. Many have gone on to forge remarkable international careers. Past winners include such illustrious names like Lex Davison, Stan Jones, 4 time winners Bib Stillwell and Alfredo Costanzo, John Bowe, Mark Skaife, Paul Stokell, David Brabham, Will Power and Scott Dixon. From 2005 to 2014 Formula 3 has been the disputed category with drivers like Tim Macrow, Ben Barker and most recently Simon Hodge enjoying the winning spoils.
    Unfortunately dwindling entries in Formula 3 were the catalyst for shelving the Gold Star at the end of 2014. However in 2021, Motorsport Australia have resurrected the Australian Drivers' Championship and deemed the new S5000 series worthy of the Gold Star. S5000 is a modern take of F5000 which ran in the 1970's, attracting the then current F1 drivers "Down Under" in the F1 off season to battle for the coveted Tasman Cup. Big banger 5 litre V8 open wheelers producing around 560bhp with big rubber focussing on mechanical grip with minimal aerodynamics. They look the part. They sound the part and they've got the speed to match. The recent Sydney Motorsport Park round crowned Joey Mawson of Team BRM the latest recipient of the Gold Star. 
​    So where does this leave Formula 3? Coinciding with the cessation of the Gold Star, in 2015, Motorsport Australia commenced with great fanfare the start of the FIA sanctioned Formula 4 championship. A worthy stepping stone for young drivers wishing to progress their burgeoning careers from karting to open wheelers. A fantastic introduction to wings and slicks racing. Despite our best efforts to promote Formula 3, petitioning for a support bill at the Australian F1 Grand Prix or a return to Mt Panorama, we questioned whether both categories could co-exist. Formula 4's entry numbers never quite fulfilled Motorsport Australia's ambitions. Fast forward 5 years and Formula 4 is now defunct in Australia, yet still prominent in Europe, UK, Asia, USA and South America. The knock on effect to Formula 3 in Australia is that numbers dwindled further and the category receives virtually no multimedia exposure.  
    Now with S5000 being the complying category for the Gold Star, will it be endorsed in a fashion that guarantees its longevity? Are we to see these thunderous machines for years to come? Well, they've made an excellent start with a support
card for the Australian F1 GP, supporting some Supercar events and featuring as part of the Motorsport Australia Championships which are streamed live and on free-to-air TV. Now for the 2021-2022 forthcoming season we have a series within a series, the International Triple Header. Desiring to attract some international drivers we have 3 events in 3 weeks, the Australian F1 GP, the inaugural Bathurst International at Mt Panorama and the Gold Coast 500 as part of the Supercars finale. As exciting as this is, has anyone remembered that Formula 3 are still contesting their championship during the Gold Coast weekend at The Bend in South Australia? You see our point?
    We've asked the question before, but we'll ask it again. Are there simply too many different motorsport categories in Australia? With S5000 moving from strength to strength, will the repercussion be that Formula 3 in Australia be no longer seen as a viable stepping stone and be shown the blue flag and lapped into oblivion?
​    Yours with maximum downforce and low drag. Chao....            

    Those of you that frequent this site will undoubtedly know how much we love wings and slicks racing. At the recent Shannons Nationals finale at Sydney Motorsport Park, Formula 3 exhibited some truly mesmerising open wheel racing. A small field of 8 cars certainly didn't detract from some top shelf motorsport action. 
    Series leader Simon Hodge clean swept all three races, but it was by no means easy. The Sunday morning 9 lap race was some of the best F3 racing we've ever witnessed. The Team BRM driver made a sluggish start and after several overtaking attempts, was able to pass McDonalds Gilmour Racing's Ben Gersekowski around the outside of the T8 hairpin on lap 7. Opportunistic yes, but also a marvellous display of controlled aggression and supreme car control. Championship rival Gersekowski pushed Hodge all the way through the year, and Sydney Motorsport Park was no exception. Hodge later passed early leader Garnet Patterson down the main straight with some classic slipstreaming. Congratulations to Simon Hodge and Team BRM for winning the championship and claiming Australia's longest running perpetual motorsport award, the CAMS Gold Star. F3 will be showcased next year as part of the Shannons Nationals, and we urge you to check out Australia's fastest racing cars.
    Next year sees the introduction of the FIA sanctioned Formula 4 series. CAMS are purchasing 20 chassis with the aim of leasing them to participating teams. The formula is designed for up and coming drivers to be an intermediate category between Formula Ford and Formula 3. It's already running in Great Britain and next year sees the Australian version supporting V8 Supercars at seven events, guaranteeing multimedia exposure. 
    So where does this leave Formula 3? The discerning motorsport fan will know the difference, but to the average punter, it may seem like just another bunch of open wheelers trundling around the circuit. Can F4 and F3 co-exist? Australia's land mass is vast, but population wise, we are relatively small. Are there too many motorsport categories? We've mentioned it in previous posts, but to reiterate, F3 needs to intensely lobby the Australian GP Corporation to gain access to the Australian F1 Grand Prix support bill, thus maximising local and international brand exposure. How cool would it be to see Oz's premier tin-tops, V8 Supercars, coupled with worldwide categories Porsche Carrera Cup, F4 and F3 supporting F1 at Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix? In the meantime, check out SBS's excellent Speedweek programme this weekend to see what we're talking about.
    Here's wishing and hoping. Ciao....
    
    

    As we travel west from Sydney over the Great Divide, the rolling hills of the western slopes offer spectacular vistas whilst tackling a challenging, undulating drive. We sweep past the idyllic Lake Lyell, the quaint town of Tarana, admire the farmlands whilst plowing over blind crests and corners, all the time dodging the road side feeding galahs. A beautiful part of Oz and great fun. We slow for the one-lane bridges after a tiny town called The Lagoon, and then we see it. A radio mast standing defiantly above the green on top of The Mountain. We turn right out of Lagoon Rd and start to fidget with anticipation in the driver's seat. We glance to the left and spot proudly emblazoned on the side of the mountain, "Mt Panorama". We're here! Even if you're not privileged enough to be racing, The Mountain has an effect.
    We're here for the Bathurst Motor Festival and thoughts immediately turn to Formula 3. Media speculation was rife leading into the event. Will F3 reclaim the Mt Panorama lap record? 
    Last year Chris Gilmour hailed F3 as Australia's fastest racing cars by claiming the Mt Panorama lap record. However, at this year's Bathurst 12 Hour GT race, Shane Van Gisbergen claimed the spoils in the impressive McLaren MP4-12C. 
    A small F3 field still provided great racing. Cooma local Chris Anthony claimed the spoils in both races for Team BRM, winning a thrilling Sunday race by 0.1sec to Ben Gersekowski with Simon Hodge in third. The result spices up the championship with Gersekowski taking a one point lead over Hodge with Anthony lurking. Anthony is competing on a round to round basis and has been undertaking various fund raising exercises to continue in F3. Let's hope he completes the season and beyond.
    After Chris Anthony shaved a couple of hundredths off Van Gisbergen's time in the Saturday race to reclaim the lap record for F3, it was Simon Hodge in the Sunday race that utterly blew the record away. On his last tour of the 12 lap race, he smashed the lap record by 1.2 sec. to record a 2.02.67. Completely flat from The Cutting all the way to The Esses, grabbing sixth gear before McPhillamy Park. Wow! 
    As we blast back along Mutton Falls Rd sending the easily startled sheep scurrying for cover, a sense of satisfaction arises. Big fields in Group N, Production Sports, NSW Production Touring accompanying Formula 3 around an iconic circuit, supporting a fantastic charity like Legacy, all translates to great motorsport entertainment and an awesome Bathurst Motor Festival. 
                                                             See you there next year.... 
    

    Regular friends and visitors that frequent this site will no doubt know that we quite often harp on about the importance of brand exposure and TV coverage to promote various forms of motorsport. You would also be aware as to how much we love our open wheelers, especially Formula 3. This year F3 has the potential to reach a greater number of punters.
    In 2014, not only will Formula 3 be supporting V8 Supercars at their massive season opener at Adelaide's Clipsal 500 and the Sky City Triple Crown at Darwin's Hidden Valley, but they've managed to join the support bill at Sydney Olympic Park for the season finale Sydney 500. Will V8 Supercar fans be impressed with Australia's premier wings and slicks race cars? We think so. Will Channel 7 include F3 as part of its V8 coverage? Or at the very least offer it on 7Mate? We hope so. TV coverage is still the most effective means of enticing more fans through the gates than any other multimedia medium. 2013 series champion Tim Macrow's impressive showing on the recent series of Channel 7's V8 Supercar Showdown certainly raised traditional tin-top fans' awareness of F3. 
    Formula 3 will also be headlining the increasingly popular Bathurst Motor Festival held at Mt Panorama over the Easter long weekend. All other rounds form part of the Shannons Nationals, run at circuits great for wings and slicks racing like Sandown, QLD Raceway, Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park. The Shannons Nationals rounds are guaranteed TV coverage through SBS's excellent weekly Speedweek programme.
    Whilst F3 will undoubtedly reach greater numbers through the V8 Supercar events, we still can't help but wonder why it's been so many years since F3 has supported Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix? Don't forget F3 is a world wide category. Australia's fastest open wheelers supporting the pinnacle of motorsport. 120,000 trackside on raceday, world wide TV coverage coupled with extensive online coverage. What better brand exposure can you get? Still trying to figure out though why we see amateurs in a so-called Celebrity Challenge on the support programme when paying good dollars to attend the F1 GP should guarantee punters enjoy professional drivers racing in that country's premier categories on the support bill? Anyway....


    Having just attended the Bathurst 12 Hour for the first time, we strongly suggest you pencil it in for next year. Congratulations to the Maranello Motorsport Team for winning a thrilling race. A fantastic event at an iconic circuit. 
    
    Attended the Official V8 Supercar Test Day at Sydney Motorsport Park yesterday. The GRM Volvo S60 looks like a tidy piece of kit and what a sound. Can you imagine the season opening Clipsal 500 in Adelaide is just two weeks away? 
    
    Cheers....    
    
    

    

    Is Sebastian Vettel already in an unassailable position for this year's Formula One championship? Can anyone stop Jamie Whincup's relentless march to yet another V8 Supercar crown? Both no doubt answered as their respective seasons come to fruition. 
    Well if you're a fan of Australian open wheel racing, you may be asking if Tim Macrow can extend his lead over John Magro and Nick Foster in the 2013 Formula 3 Australian Driver's Championship as Round 4 forms part of a huge Shannons Nationals programme on 13th-14th July at Sydney Motorsport Park? Australia's fastest racing cars contest two races on Saturday and a feature race on Sunday. Complementing F3 will be mini enduros from the Radical Australia Cup, Australian Swift Racing Series and Australian GT Championship featuring exotic marques like Ferrari, Mercedes and Lamborghini, a 3 hour enduro for the Australian Manufacturers Championship, and Porsche GT-3 Cup. Massive!
    Formula 3 has done an excellent job in promoting its brand. They recently supported V8 Supercars at Symmons Plains, Tasmania for Rd 2, and this weekend at Hidden Valley for Rd 3 racing for the City Of Darwin Cup. Tim Macrow led home Nick Foster in an incident filled Race 1, with positions reversed for Race 2. The F3ADC is certainly hotting up and by supporting V8 Supercars have increased exposure to a potential new fanbase. Multimedia has also been ramped up. For online savvy punters, the remaining rounds will all be streamed live via itvlive.com.au. Free to air punters can enjoy increased TV coverage on SBS Speedweek, whilst pay TV folk can enjoy F3 via Fox's Speed TV which is worldwide. 
    At formulafrontrow.com we love all forms of motorsport, but we especially love open wheelers. Can't help but wonder how cool it would be to have our premier open wheel category, F3, back on the support bill for the pinnacle of motorsport, F1, at the Australian GP. After attending Rd 1 as part of the Bathurst Motor Festival at Mt Panorama, we wait with great anticipation to see F3 again around the sweeping, long radius corners of Sydney Motorsport Park. Bring the kids, a picnic lunch, drive straight in to the circuit precinct, and don't forget your cameras. Cheers....