The 1994 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Brabham (formerly known as Formula Holden) regulations.[1] The championship winner was awarded the 1994 CAMS Gold Star as the Australian Champion Driver.[1] It was the 38th running of the Australian Drivers' Championship and the sixth to feature the Formula Holden / Formula Brabham category which had been developed during 1988. The championship began on 17 April 1994 at Eastern Creek Raceway and ended on 28 August at Oran Park Raceway after six rounds.
The championship was won by Birrana Racing's Paul Stokell after a season long duel with Triple Eight Racing driver Greg Murphy. Murphy and his Ralt RT23 was the better combination at the start of the season, winning the first four races. Stokell started the year in a Reynard 90D, moving into the teams newer 91D at the second round. Stokell took his first win at Winton Motor Raceway and won every race bar one for the rest of the season to push past Murphy and win the championship.
Reynard 91D driver Adam Kaplan won the competition for third place in the championship on consistency, only finishing in the top three at the final race of the season with a second place at Oran Park. Tied for fourth place in the championship was Kevin Weeks (Reynard 91D) and Craig Lowndes in his first season in winged open-wheel racing cars. The emerging Formula Ford driver drove the ageing Cheetak Mk.9 owned by Brian Sampson with some impressive drives in the best of the aluminium constructed cars.
Teams and drivers
edit
The following drivers competed in the 1994 Australian Drivers' Championship.
| Driver | No | Car |
|---|---|---|
| Allan Galloway | 3 | Reynard 91D |
| Ron Barnacle | 4 | Reynard 90D |
| Adam Kaplan | 7 | Reynard 91D |
| Paul Stokell | 9 | Reynard 90D Reynard 91D |
| Graham Watson | 11 | SPA 003 |
| Peter Brennan | 17 | Ralt RT21 |
| Rick Fabri | 18 | Ralt RT21 |
| Arthur Abrahams | 19 | Reynard 92D |
| Greg Murphy | 21 | Ralt RT23 |
| Chas Jacobsen | 24 | Reynard 92D |
| Ross Hodgson | 32 | Ralt RT21 |
| Bernie Stack | 38 | Ralt RT21 |
| Craig Lowndes | 49 94 |
Cheetah Mk. 9 |
| Bob Minogue | 64 | Lola T87/50 |
| Kevin Weeks | 70 | Reynard 91D |
| Stan Keen | 73 | Shrike NB89H |
| Chris Hocking | 74 | Reynard 91D |
| Paul Collins | 88 | Liston BF3 |
| Roger Seward | 96 | Ralt RT23 |
| Albert Callagher | 99 | Ralt RT21 |
| Colin Milne | Hocking 911 |
Results and standings
editRace calendar
editThe 1994 Australian Drivers' Championship consisted of six rounds held in four different states. Each round consisted of two heats. The final round at Oran Park in Sydney used the shorter (1.96 km) South Circuit rather than the 2.6 km Grand Prix Circuit. Results sourced from:[2]
| Rd. | Circuit | City / state | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 17 April | Greg Murphy |
| 2 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 22 May | Greg Murphy |
| 3 | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | 19 June | Paul Stokell |
| 4 | Lakeside Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | 17 July | Paul Stokell |
| 5 | Mallala Motor Sport Park | Mallala, South Australia | 7 August | Paul Stokell |
| 6 | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 28 August | Paul Stokell |
Drivers Championship
editPoints were awarded 20–16–14–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 based on the top ten race positions.
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