The 1987 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title contested over a single race for Australian Formula 2 racing cars.[1] The race, billed as the "Australia Cup for the 1987 CAMS Gold Star", was staged at the Adelaide Street Circuit in South Australia on Friday, 13 November 1987.[2] This was the first year that the championship had been restricted to Australian Formula 2 cars[3] and is the only year to date in which the title has been awarded on the results of a single race rather than a series of races.[4]
David Brabham won the race after a remarkable drive from grid position 38 after poor qualifying caused by missing almost all of practice with carburettor and electrical problems.
While Brabham picked his way through the field the battle for the race saw Rohan Onslow and Mark McLaughlin take the lead after polesitter Arthur Abrahams was left on the grid with a failed ignition ballast restrictor. McLaughlin led for much of the race but his Elfin slowed near the end of the race and was swamped by Onslow then Brabham. With two laps remaining Brabham caught and passed Onlow and pulled away for a 1.7-second victory.
Ian Richards and John Wise fought over fourth for much of the event but Wise slowed near the end of the race with Shane Flynn taking fifth ahead of Chris Hocking.
Results as follows.[5]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | David Brabham | Australian Motor Racing | Ralt RT30 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 2 | 71 | Rohan Onslow | Michael Borland | Cheetah Mk. 8 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 3 | 9 | Mark McLaughlin | Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd | Elfin 852 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 4 | 22 | Ian Richards | Ian Richards | Richards 201C Volkswagen | 15 |
| 5 | 70 | Shane Flynn | Avanti Spares | Kaditcha Volkswagen | 15 |
| 6 | 74 | Chris Hocking | Chris Hocking | Cheetah Mk. 6 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 7 | 12 | Sam Astuti | Salvatore Astuti | Cheetah Mk. 6 Ford | 15 |
| 8 | 44 | Neil Israel | Magnum Racing Australia | Magnum 863 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 9 | 29 | Wayne Walker | Wayne Walker | Chevron B42 Ford | 15 |
| 10 | 27 | Graeme Smith | Graeme Smith | Cheetah Mk. 8 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 11 | 7 | Vince McLaughlan | Kevin McLaughlan | Cheetah Mk. 8 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 12 | 34 | Carl Gibson | Carl Gibson | Elfin 792 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 13 | 37 | Richard Davison | Richard Davison | Cheetah Mk. 8 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 14 | 78 | Tony Rees | AG Rees | Ralt RT3 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 15 | 32 | John Wise | John Wise | Cheetah Mk. 7 Volkswagen | 15 |
| 16 | 18 | Rodney Moody | Rodney Moody | Cheetah Mk. 6 Toyota | 15 |
| 17 | 28 | David Goode | David Goode | Elfin 630 Ford | 15 |
| 18 | 2 | Grahame Blee | Bill Slattery's Bus & Truck Sales | Cheetah Mk. 6GE Volkswagen | 15 |
| 19 | 73 | Adrian Martin | Adrian Martin | Ralt RT1 Ford | 15 |
| 20 | 31 | Wayne Ford | Wayne Ford | Ralt RT3 Ford | 15 |
| 26 | Ron Barnacle | Ron Barnacle | Wren | ||
| 25 | Rob Newman | Rob Newman | Cheetah Mk. 7 Toyota | ||
| Ret | 45 | Mike Drewer | Mike Drewer | Cheetah Mk. 7 Toyota | 6 |
| Ret | 33 | Mike Holmes | Mike Holmes | ME1 Volkswagen | 3 |
| Ret | 46 | Stephen Noble | John Silman | Richards 201 Volkswagen | 3 |
| Ret | 14 | Peter Beehag | Peter Beehag | PBS 852 Nissan | 2 |
| Ret | 24 | Tom Coull | Tom Coull | Elfin 620 Ford | 1 |
| Ret | 1 | Arthur Abrahams | Arthur Abrahams | Ransberg-Cheetah Volkswagen | 0 |
| DNS | Derek Pingel | Cheetah Mk.8 Volkswagen | |||
| DNS | Michael Lock | Richards 201 Volkswagen | |||