2001 Australian Drivers' Championship

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The 2001 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars conforming to Formula Holden regulations, with the winner awarded the 2001 CAMS Gold Star.[1] This, the 45th Australian Drivers' Championship,[2] was promoted as the 2001 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship.[1]

Rick Kelly dominated the series driving a Birrana Racing Reynard 94D Holden.[3] Kelly won twelve of the 16 races and finished 151 points ahead of runner up Christian Murchison (Reynard 97D Holden), the largest winning points margin in ADC history. Third in the point score was Alan Gurr (Reynard 94D Holden). The four races not won by Kelly were won by Birrana Racing teammates, both former champions making guest appearances. Dual champion Simon Wills took three victories with three-time champion Paul Stokell winning the final race of the season at Winton Motor Raceway.

Teams and drivers[edit]

Entrant Chassis No Driver Rounds
Birrana Racing Reynard 94D 1 New Zealand Simon Wills 2–3
Australia Paul Stokell 8
2 Australia Rick Kelly All
Reynard 95D 9 Australia Brenton Ramsay 7–8
Paul Stephenson Racing Reynard 92D 3 Australia Paul Stephenson 1–2
Ralt Australia Reynard 94D 11 Australia Alan Gurr 1, 3–8
Reynard 92D 2
Reynard 97D 12 United States Emerson Newton-John 5
Australia Chris Staff 8
John Herman Racing Reynard 94D 12 Australia Con Toparis 4
Millar Motors Reynard 92D 17 Australia Mark Ellis 2–3, 5, 7
NRC Racing Reynard 95D 19 Australia Stewart McColl 1–3
20 United States Emerson Newton-John 1–3
Cantech Engineering Reynard 91D 24 Australia Ian Peters 2–8
National Neon Signs Ralt RT23 27 Australia Terry Clearihan 2–8
Carrig Motorsport Reynard 89D 49 Australia Rohan Carrig 1–2, 4, 7–8
Greg Murphy Racing Reynard 94D 22 Australia Tim Leahey 8
Reynard 97D 28 Australia Roger Oakeshott 8
Reynard 95D 66 Australia Peter Hill 1–7
Hocking Motorsport Reynard 97D 28 Australia Roger Oakeshott 1–7
74 Australia Chris Staff 1–2
Australia Con Toparis 3
Australia Dale Brede 4
Australia Chris Hocking 5
Japan Akihiro Asai 7–8
75 Singapore Christian Murchison All
Reynard 96D 76 United States Emerson Newton-John 7–8

Calendar[edit]

The championship was contested over an eight-round series with two races per round.

Rnd Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team
1 R1 Victoria (state) Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
(Phillip Island, Victoria)
23–25 March Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
R2 Australia Stewart McColl Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
2 R1 South Australia Adelaide Street Circuit
(Adelaide, South Australia)
6–8 April New Zealand Simon Wills New Zealand Simon Wills Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
R2 New Zealand Simon Wills New Zealand Simon Wills Birrana Racing
3 R1 Northern Territory Hidden Valley Raceway
(Darwin, Northern Territory)
11–13 May New Zealand Simon Wills New Zealand Simon Wills New Zealand Simon Wills Birrana Racing
R2 New Zealand Simon Wills New Zealand Simon Wills Birrana Racing
4 R1 Australian Capital Territory Canberra Street Circuit
(Canberra, Australian Capital Territory)
8–10 June Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
R2 Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
5 R1 Victoria (state) Calder Park Raceway
(Melbourne, Victoria)
13–15 July Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
R2 Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
6 R1 New South Wales Oran Park Raceway
(Sydney, New South Wales)
27–29 July Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
R2 Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
7 R1 South Australia Mallala Motor Sport Park
(Mallala, South Australia)
10–12 August Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
R2 Australia Rick Kelly Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
8 R1 Victoria (state) Winton Motor Raceway
(Benalla, Victoria)
7–9 September Australia Rick Kelly Australia Paul Stokell Australia Rick Kelly Birrana Racing
R2 Australia Rick Kelly Australia Paul Stokell Birrana Racing

Points system[edit]

Championship points were awarded on a 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first ten places in each race.[1]

Championship results[edit]

Pos Driver PHI ADE DAR CAN CAL ORA MAL WIN Points
1 Australia Rick Kelly 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 293
2 Singapore Christian Murchison 3 3 Ret 9 5 5 2 2 2 2 DNS 2 2 Ret 4 Ret 142
3 Australia Alan Gurr Ret DNS 3 3 Ret 4 3 Ret 10 6 2 3 3 2 5 2 130
4 Australia Peter Hill 6 4 5 4 DNS 11 5 4 8 4 3 4 9 4 6 6 111
5 United States Emerson Newton-John 2 Ret DNS Ret 4 Ret 3 3 4 Ret 7 3 75
6 Australia Stewart McColl 4 2 2 4 3 3 74
7 Australia Terry Clearihan Ret 4 7 7 4 5 5 Ret 4 5 Ret 7 8 DNS 69
8 Australia Ian Peters 9 7 6 7 9 10 6 7 6 8 5 6 5 9 10 9 65
9 New Zealand Simon Wills Ret 1 1 1 60
10 Australia Roger Oakeshott 8 5 4 DNS Ret 8 Ret 8 Ret 10 6 7 Ret Ret Ret 8 38
11 Australia Paul Stokell 2 1 35
12 Australia Chris Hocking 4 5 6 5 32
13 Australia Brenton Ramsay Ret 3 3 7 28
14 Australia Con Toparis 6 6 7 6 22
15 Australia Rohan Carrig 10 Ret 7 8 8 9 9 10 8 8 Ret DNS 22
16 Australia Mark Ellis DNS DNS DNS DNS 8 9 7 9 7 6 21
17 Australia Dale Brede Ret 3 12
18 Australia Paul Stephenson 7 6 DNS DNS 10
19 Australia Tim Leahey 11 4 10
20 Australia Chris Staff 5 Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret 8
21 Japan Akihiro Asai - - 9 DNS 2
Pos Driver PHI ADE DAR CAN CAL ORA MAL WIN Points

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c 2001 Sporting Regulations Retrieved from www.formulaholden.com via replay.waybackmachine.org on 25 March 2011
  2. ^ Records, Titles & Awards, 2002 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
  3. ^ "Gold Star Winners - 1957 - 2009". formula3.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2010.

External links[edit]