2015 Australian Formula 3 Championship Explained

The 2015 Australian Formula 3 Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for cars constructed in accordance with FIA Formula 3 regulations.^[1] It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) as a national championship, with Formula 3 Management Pty Ltd appointed as the Category Manager.^[1] The Championship began on 27 March at Sandown Raceway and ended on 18 October at Wakefield Park after seven rounds across three states.^[2] The title, which was the 15th Australian Formula 3 Championship, was won by Gilmour Racing's Jon Collins by 1 point over Ricky Capo after both were excluded from the final race of the year.

CAMS removed the Gold Star award from the Australian Formula 3 Championship for 2015.^[3] The move ended a 58-year tradition, the award being the third oldest continually awarded CAMS title after the Australian Grand Prix and Australian Hillclimb Championship.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers contested the 2015 Australian Formula 3 Championship. All teams and drivers were Australian-registered.

Team Chassis Engine Driver Class Rounds Bob Johns Racing/Gilmour Racing Dallara F311 Volkswagen 3 Chris Gilmour 5 R-Tek Motorsport Dallara F311 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 8 Roland Legge align=center rowspan=2 4-7 Dallara F307 6 1 Dennie Rumble 2,4 Roman Krumins 5 Spiess-Opel 7 Nathan Kumar All Dallara F304 9 Andrew Roberts K 1 Keegan Brain K 5 Wiltec Industries Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel 13 Shane Wilson K 4-5,7 Trent Shirvington Mygale M11 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 14 Trent Shirvington All Gilmour Racing Dallara F311 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 17 Jon Collins All Dallara F307 23 Luke Spalding 1-5 Harvest Motorsport Mygale M11 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 46 Shane Ryding 1-3,5,7 Ross McAlpine Dallara F304 Renault-Sodemo 81 Ross McAlpine K 4,7 Ellery Motorsport Enterprises Dallara F311 HWA-Mercedes-Benz 83 Luke Ellery 4 Alpine Motorsport Dallara F307 88 Tim Macrow 6 Dennie Rumble 7 Paul Scott Dallara F304 Renault-Sodemo 89 Paul Scott K 5 6 Wlodek Racing Dallara F307 Mugen-Honda 91 Andrew Wlodek 4,7 Ricky Capo Racing Dallara F311 Mugen-Honda 92 Ricky Capo All

Icon Class C Championship National Class K Kumho Class

Classes

Competing cars were nominated into one of four classes:^[1]

• Australian Formula 3 Championship – for automobiles constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied in the year of manufacture between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2011.^[1]
• National Class – for automobiles constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied in the year of manufacture between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2007.^[1]
• Kumho Cup Class – for automobiles constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied in the year of manufacture between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2004.^[1]
• Invitational Class.^[1]

Points system

Championship points were awarded in each class as follows:^[1]

• One point to the driver placed in the highest grid position in each class for the first race at each round.^[1]
• 12–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 for the first ten finishing positions in each class in each of the first two races at each round.^[1]
• 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first ten finishing positions in each class in the third race at each round and in the fourth race at the Wakfield Park round.^[1]
• One point to the driver that achieved the fastest lap time in each class in each race of the championship.^[1]

Race calendar

The Championship was contested over a seven-round series.^[2] All races were held in Australia.

Round	Circuit	Date	Format	Championship Class winner	National Class winner	Kumho Cup winner
1	Sandown Raceway	27–29 March	Three races	Ricky Capo	Luke Spalding	Andrew Roberts
2	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	22–24 May	Three races	Jon Collins	Luke Spalding	not present
3	Winton Motor Raceway	12–14 June	Three races	Jon Collins	Luke Spalding	not present
4	Sydney Motorsport Park	3–5 July	Three races	Jon Collins	Luke Spalding	Shane Wilson
5	Queensland Raceway	7–9 August	Three races	Jon Collins	Luke Spalding	Paul Scott
6	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	18–20 September	Three races	Tim Macrow	Paul Scott	not present
7	Wakefield Park	16–18 October	Four races	Trent Shirvington	Andrew Wlodek	Ross McAlpine

Note:

• Mount Panorama was removed from the calendar after being included for the last three years.
• Hidden Valley was removed from the calendar after being included for the last four years
• The results for each round of the Championship were determined by the results of the final race of the round.^[1]
• The Kumho Cup was contested only at Rounds 1,4,5 and 7.^[1]

Championship Standings

	Championship Class
Position	Driver^[4]	Car.^[5]	Competitor / Team	Points
1	Jon Collins	Dallara F311 Mercedes-Benz	Gilmour Racing	257
2	Ricky Capo^[6]	Dallara F311 Mugen-Honda	Modena Engineering	256
3	Trent Shirvington	Mygale M11 Mercedes-Benz	Trent Shirvington	163
4	Roland Legge	Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz Dallara F311 Mercedes-Benz	R-Tek Motorsport	135
5	Shane Ryding	Mygale M11 Mercedes-Benz	Harvest Motorsport	97
6	Tim Macrow	Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz	Alpine Motorsport	48
7	Chris Gilmour	Dallara F311 Volkswagen	Bobby Johns Racing/Gilmour Racing	24
8	Luke Ellery	Dallara F311 Mercedes-Benz	Ellery Motorsport Enterprises	18
	National Class
Position	Driver	Car	Competitor / Team	Points
1	Luke Spalding	Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz	Gilmour Racing	231
2	Nathan Kumar	Dallara F307 Spiess-Opel	R-Tek Motorsport	115
3	Dennie Rumble	Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz	R-Tek Motorsport	100
4	Andrew Wlodek	Dallara F307 Mugen-Honda	Wlodek Racing	62
5	Paul Scott	Dallara F304 Renault-Sodemo	Paul Scott	38
6	Roman Krumins	Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz	R-Tek Motorsport	36
	Kumho Cup
Position	Driver^[7]	Car	Competitor / Team	Points
1	Shane Wilson	Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel	Wiltec Industries	127
2	Ross McAlpine	Dallara F304 Renault-Sodemo	Ross McAlpine	89
3	Andrew Roberts	Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel	R-Tek Motorsport	48
Paul Scott	Dallara F304 Renault-Sodemo	Paul Scott	48
5	Keegan Brain	Dallara F304 Spiess-Opel	R-Tek Motorsport	20

See also

• Australian Drivers' Championship
• Australian Formula 3

External links

• • Online race results at www.natsoft.com.au
• Shannons Nationals
• 2015 Results, www.formula3.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org on 29 December 2015

Notes and References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20151229221859/http://docs.cams.com.au/Manual/SportingRegulations/2015/2015%20CAMS%20Australian%20Formula%203%20Championship%20Sporting%20and%20Technical%20Regulations%20-%20Version%202.pdf 2015 CAMS Australian Formula 3 Championship Sporting and Technical Regulations, docs.cams.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20150701223449/http://www.formula3.com.au/series.asp 2015 Championship Schedule, www.formula3.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
3. https://web.archive.org/web/20151011182616/http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/05/13/cams-parks-gold-star-as-f3-fields-dwindle/ CAMS parks Gold Star as F3 fields dwindle, www.speedcafe.com, as archived at web.archive.org
4. http://www.formula3.com.au/results.asp Latest Results, 2015 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, www.formula3.com.au
5. http://racing.natsoft.com.au/results/ Natsoft Race Results, racing.natsoft.com.au
6. http://www.speedcafe.com/2016/11/11/appeal-dismissal-hands-collins-2015-aus-f3-title/ Tom Howard, Friday 11 November 2016, Appeal dismissal hands Collins 2015 Aus F3 title, www.speedcafe.com
7. Kumho Cup standings were not included in the championship results as published at Web site: The official website of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship Series :: Welcome . 2013-12-05 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070110110414/http://www.formula3.com.au/results.asp . 2007-01-10 .