1989 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 1989 Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Holden regulations. The championship winner was awarded the 1989 CAMS Gold Star as the Australian Drivers' Champion. It was the 33rd running of the Australian Drivers' Championship and the first to feature the Formula Holden class which had been developed during 1988, originally named Formula Australia.

1989 Australian Drivers' Championship
Previous: 1988 Next: 1990

The championship began on 7 May 1989 at Mallala Motor Sport Park and ended on 10 September at Sandown Raceway after ten rounds. Defending champion Rohan Onslow of Sydney won his second straight CAMS Gold Star driving a Ralt RT20. Mark McLaughlin finished second in his Elfin FA891 with Channel 7 television commentator Neil Crompton finishing a fine third in his debut year in open wheel racing driving a Ralt RT20.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1989 Australian Drivers' Championship.

Team Manufacturer Chassis No Driver
R.J.Macarthur Onslow Ralt RT20 1 Rohan Onslow
Tony Blanche Ralt RT21 3 Tony Blanche
Competitive Edge Ralt RT20 4 Roger Martin
Clive Kane Photography Ralt RT21 5 Simon Kane
Elfin Sports Cars Elfin FA891 6 Mark McLaughlin
Boylan Racing Ralt RT20 7 Neil Crompton
Bap Romano Spa FB001 8 Bap Romano
Cascone Corporation Spa FB001 8
12		 Sam Astuti
John Briggs Ralt RT21 9 John Briggs
Ray Cutchie Ralt RT4 11 Ray Cutchie
Brian Shead Cheetah Mk.9 13 Peter Glover
TAFE Team Motorsport Shrike NB89H 18 Arthur Abrahams
Ian Richards
20 Peter Doulman
Mark Poole
David Mawer Ralt RT21 27 Elwyn Bickley
John Smith
Brett Fisher Liston BF3 50 Brett Fisher
Chris Hocking March 87B 74 Chris Hocking
Rohan Onslow
John Hermann Ralt RT4 88 John Herrman

Note: All cars were required by the Formula Holden regulations to be fitted with 3.8 litre Holden V6 engines.[1]

Race calendar

The 1989 Australian Drivers' Championship was contested over ten rounds at five race meetings.

Rd. Circuit City / State Date Winner Team
1 Mallala Motor Sport Park Mallala, South Australia 7 May Mark McLaughlin Elfin Sports Cars
2 Rohan Onslow R.J.Macarthur Onslow
3 Winton Motor Raceway Benalla, Victoria 4 June Rohan Onslow R.J.Macarthur Onslow
4 John Briggs John Briggs
5 Oran Park Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 4 August Rohan Onslow R.J.Macarthur Onslow
6 Rohan Onslow R.J.Macarthur Onslow
7 Amaroo Park Sydney, New South Wales 20 August Neil Crompton Boylan Racing
8 Simon Kane Clive Kane Photography
9 Sandown International Raceway Melbourne, Victoria 9 October Sam Astuti Cascone Corporation
10 Neil Crompton Boylan Racing

Points system

Championship points were awarded 9–6–4–3–2–1 based on the top six race positions at each round.[2]

Results
Pos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Pts
1 Rohan Onslow 5th 1st 1st Ret 1st 1st Ret 6th 2nd 3rd 49
2 Mark McLaughlin 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd DNS 3rd 2nd 3rd Ret Ret 41
3 Neil Crompton 3rd 5th Ret 3rd 2nd 6th 1st DNS 3rd 1st 39
4 Sam Astuti Ret DNS 4th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 31
5 Simon Kane DNS DNS 4th 4th 7th 2nd 5th 1st Ret DNS 23
John Briggs 4th 6th 3rd 1st Ret 8th 4th 4th 23
7 Peter Glover 2nd 3rd 6th DNS 11
8 Chris Hocking 5th 5th 6th 5th 7th DNS 5th DNS 9
9 Peter Doulman 9th Ret 6th 4th 6th 5th 7
10 Mark Poole 3rd Ret 4
11 Bap Romano Ret 4th 3
John Smith 4th DNS 3
Tony Blanche Ret DNS Ret Ret 8th 7th 8th 5th DNS 6th 3
14 Ian Richards 5th Ret 8th Ret 2
15 Ray Cutchie 7th 8th 7th 6th 7th Ret 1
Brett Fisher 6th 9th Ret Ret 1
Pos Driver Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Pts
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

References
  1. Formula Holden, Official program, Foster's Australian Grand Prix, Adelaide, 2–3–4–5 November 1989, pages 133–134
  2. Conditions For Australian Titles, 1989 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 75

Further reading
  • Clarke, Andrew; Barry Catford (1990). Australian Motor Racing Year 1989/90 19. Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 162–183. ISSN 0158-4138.
  • "Racing Car News". Chevron Publishing Group. June–November 1989. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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