Australian Prototype Series Explained

Pixels:220px
Category:Sports Car Racing
Inaugural2:2010
Tyres:Hankook Tire
Country/Region:Australia
Champion Driver:David Barram
Current Season:2022 Australian Prototype Series
Website:prototypeseries.com.au

The Australian Prototype Series is an Australian motor racing series for competitors smaller-engined (under 3.0 litres of engine capacity) prototype sports cars. Originally known as Sports Racer Series, eligibility is something of a polyglot collection of existing racing cars and racing categories, featuring Group 2C Supersport racing cars, which in itself is an amalgamation of the former Clubman Sports 1300 regulations with some newer motorcycle engined cars built specifically for Supersports, and a group of Category 6 sports cars produced by West, Minetti, Radical, Lincspeed and ADR,[1] many of which formerly raced as Prototype Sports Cars, or Protosports.[2] Drawing from so many different sources, entry was diverse. The first race meeting for the new category was held at the 2010 Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race meeting. By 2011 the majority of the grid were American style SCCA DSR class Wests.

After two events, the third round of the series was cancelled and no further events appear likely to take place. The series stumbled heavily in its first season. Radical drivers left the series and established their own championship, Radical Australia Cup in 2011. A more modest series was held in 2011. Wests made up the bulk of the field.

Later, Formula 1000 open wheel cars were added to eligibility. International Group CN sports cars followed in 2017 when the series was re-branded and LMP3 was announced for 2019 but this was later delayed until 2020 and since delayed indefinitely as the COVID-19 pandemic affected pro-am motorsport in Australia.

Classes

The field will be split into two classes based on vehicle configuration and engine specification.[1]

Class One

Class Two

Performance parity will be adjusted for each individual vehicle throughout the series. Weights, and maximum engine revolutions will be adjusted if deemed necessary throughout the series. Additional weight will be added to the car in the form of success ballast, increasing the weights of cars finishing in the top three positions in each race over the course of an event. Additionally, a seeded drivers list will be drawn up by CAMS based on past racing history and drivers on that list will have added additional weight.[1]

Champions

YearOverall Champion
2013Adam ProctorStohr WF-1 Suzuki
2014Adam ProctorStohr WF-1 Suzuki
2015Mark LauckeWest WR1000 Kawasaki
2016Roger I'AnsonWest WR1000 Kawasaki
2017Mark LauckeWest WX10 Kawasaki
2018Jason MakrisWolf GB08 Honda
2019David BarramChiron LMP3 Honda
YearClass OneClass Two
DriverCarDriverCar
2010Mark LauckeWest WR1000 KawasakiNeil McFadyenSpeads RS08 Suzuki
2011Adam ProctorStohr WF-1 SuzukiAaron SteerWest WX10 Suzuki
2012Adam ProctorStohr WF-1 SuzukiAaron SteerWest WX10 Suzuki
2013Adam ProctorStohr WF-1 Suzukialign=center colspan=2 not contested
2014Adam ProctorStohr WF-1 Suzukialign=center colspan=2 not contested
2015Mark LauckeWest WR1000 KawasakiAdam CranstonRFR F1000 Kawasaki

Notes and References

  1. http://www.sportsracer.com.au/attachments/003_2010%20Sports%20Racer%20Series%20-%20Sporting%20Regulations%20-%20Final.pdf
  2. Web site: Australian Motor Racing Series Thunder Sports Latest News . 2010-03-08 . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100106221340/http://www.amrs.net.au/tsnews.htm . 2010-01-06 .