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Schedule confirmed for 2008 Gold Star Battle |
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Monday, 21 January 2008 |
The 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian
Formula 3 Championship schedule has today been officially confirmed by Formula 3
Australia.
The eight round, sixteen race schedule features racing in
five states on some of the best circuits in the country, as well as the addition
of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and the return of Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway to
the calendar.
The championship will once again hold a majority of its rounds as one of the key
headlining acts of the expanding Shannons National Motor Racing Championships
(Shannons Nationals) after the season kicks off at A1GP and the Clipsal 500 in
February.
The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport event at Eastern Creek – a
favourite of Formula 3 drivers and teams thanks to its excellent facilities and
high speed nature – marks the third time that the Australian Formula 3
Championship has been the main support act to the World Cup of Motorsport.
The bond will be strengthened further this season thanks to the
participation of several F3 Alumni in the A1GP ranks – namely Chris Alajajian
(A1 Team Lebanon) and James Winslow (A1 Team GBR).
The A1GP World Cup of
Motorsport meeting will be held at Eastern Creek between February 1 – 3.
Wings and Slicks open wheelers will return to the world renowned
Adelaide street circuit in February when the series returns to the Clipsal 500
Adelaide (Feb 21 – 24) after a four year absence.
At the series last
visit – in 2004 – the series produced classic street circuit racing and smashed
the outright track record to a super fast 1m19.4959s. Newer cars and a much more
competitive field should see this time lowered dramatically given good
conditions.
The teams will have March off to recover from the hectic
start to the season before racing resumes with the Shannons Nationals at Oran
Park Raceway on the ANZAC Day long weekend – April 25 – 27.
After
featuring twice on the schedule in 2007, Oran Park gets just the one appearance
in ’08 and teams will be looking to make the most of the challenging, undulating
nature of this true drivers track.
The series will return to Adelaide
between May 16 – 18 and the staple wintery round at Mallala Raceway.
The
tight circuit – essentially three long straights connected with tight hairpins –
produced one of the most spectacular races in Formula 3 history in 2007 when a
gaggle of seven cars diced for the race lead in treacherous wet / dry
conditions. South Australian fans will be looking for more of the same in a year
when they get a double dose of F3 action.
The fastest track of all is
saved for the fifth round – Phillip Island – on June 14 / 15.
A circuit
where F3 cars lap seven seconds quicker than a V8 Supercar and four seconds
quicker than Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP Lap record, Phillip Island regularly
produces stunning races featuring packs of cars dicing for the race lead. The
circuit is memorable for Leanne Tanders’ first ever F3 race win as well as the
closest finish in F3 history – 0.0032s – set back in 2006.
The series
returns to Eastern Creek three weeks later for the now traditional July meeting
– this year on the 11th and 12th of the month.
Even though it’s the
middle of Winter, Eastern Creek has turned on perfect racing weather in the past
three seasons and teams will be hoping for more of the same this year at the
only circuit on the schedule visited twice.
A trip across Bass straight
between September 20 – 21 will see the return of the Australian Formula 3
SuperPrix.
The series trip in 2007 was the inaugural running of this
unique event which will once again feature a longer second race and significant
prizes to raise the stakes even further this year.
The Tasmanian fans
and media embraced the event last year and – along with the John Bowe Trophy –
will hopefully return in even bigger numbers this year.
The final
showdown will be saved for November 29 – 30 when the championship returns to
another track it hasn’t visited in four years – Sandown Motor Raceway in
suburban Melbourne.
The high speed track is a drafting paradise and,
like Phillip Island, should be an awesome place to watch the fastest cars in the
country do battle to decide the winner of the 52nd Australian Drivers
Champion.
The schedule is subject to change pending the outcome of
negotiations with several other major events, currently underway.
As in
the past each round of the championship will feature two races on Sunday,
preceded by two qualifying sessions on Saturday to set the grid for each race.
The points structure – paying 20 points for a win down to just one for
10th place, plus a one-point bonus for pole position and fastest lap per race –
remains the same.
The major change for the new season is the
introduction of the massive new prizes from series sponsor Opes Prime – outlined
in detail on www.formula3.com.au
Teams and
drivers are currently testing at Eastern Creek in Sydney in preparation for next
weeks season opener.
Be sure to check out the all new www.formula3.com.au for more
information.
Schedule – 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian
Formula 3 Championship / Australian Drivers Championship for the CAMS Gold
Star.
Round 1 – A1GP World Cup of Motorsport – Eastern Creek,
NSW February 1 – 3
Round 2 – Clipsal 500 Adelaide – Adelaide Street Circuit,
SA February 21 – 24
Round 3 – Shannons Nationals – Oran Park Raceway, NSW
April 26 – 27
Round 4 – Shannons Nationals – Mallala Raceway, SA May 17 –
18
Round 5 – Shannons Nationals – Phillip Island, VIC June 14 – 15
Round 6
– Shannons Nationals – Eastern Creek, NSW July 11 – 12
Round 7 – Formula 3
SuperPrix – Symmons Plains, TAS September 20 – 21
Round 8 – Shannons
Nationals – Sandown Raceway, VIC November 29 - 30
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