2014 Aussie Racing Car Series - Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

The Aussie Racing Car Series debuted in 2001 and continues to be a well-subscribed division with competitive events.

The class was created by former touring car driver Phil Ward. The cars resemble the American Legends vehicles, first appearing in 1992 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The cars in the United States are 5/8 scale replicas of cars produced from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s and powered by a Yamaha motorcycle engine.

In Australia, the cars are constructed with a tube-frame chassis design and an integral roll cage, which is FIA-certified. The bodies are made of a lightweight composite. They are designed to look like models such as the Holden Cruze, Ford Mustang, Ford Falcon, Toyota Aurion, Holden Commodore, and Nissan Altima.

The suspension utilizes coil-over shock absorbers on the front and rear. The front of the Aussie Racing Cars is designed with fully adjustable top and bottom wishbones. The rear has a live axle, parallel trailing arms, and a Panhard bar.

A four-cylinder, 1.3-liter double-overhead camshaft Yamaha FJR engine powers the vehicle, which revs to 11,500 rpm and produces 125 horsepower.

Stopping the cars are four RDA brake rotors and four-pot alloy calipers. To increase safety, the vehicles use braided brake hoses.

The 510-kg package can exceed a speed of 230 kph and generate a lateral force of 2Gs.

Seven rounds were contested during the 2014 season, beginning in February and ending in November. Each race weekend hosted four contests except Mount Panorama, which held only three races.

February 27 - March 2 - Adelaide Parklands Circuit
March 28-30 - Symmons Plains Raceway
May 16-18 - Carco.com.au Raceway
August 1-3 - Queensland Raceway
October 9-12 - Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit
October 24-26 - Surfers Paradise Street Circuit
November 14-16 - Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

The final round of the 2014 Aussie Racing Car Series was held on the weekend of November 14-16 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as a support event for the V8 Supercars. Drivers would compete in four races around the twelve-turn 2.762-mile road course.

The biggest surprise of the series' final weekend was the victory of James Duckworth in race one. Duckworth skipped the two events in Queensland, and to date, his best result was a seventh at Perth. He put the No. 10 RDA Brakes Euro GT on the pole. Duckworth led the first five laps before surrendering the position to Trent Young. However, he moved back out front on the final lap and grabbed the checker.

The driver of the meet was Trent Young. Young drove the No. 42 Young Race Toyota Aurion. He had a season of mixed results. Young finished on the podium nineteen times in twenty-eight races, of which ten were victories, including Perth, where he swept the weekend. However, he failed to collect points in three contests. At Phillip Island, Young led race one, finished second, and grabbed victories in the final three contests.

The year's Aussie Racing Car champion is Darren Chamberlain. The driver of the No. 36 Perenso Racing Toyota Aurion was never dominant during the season; however, he could attribute his success to consistency – Chamberlain never received the checkered flag outside of the top ten. Heading into the final round, he had a comfortable points lead, and it's just as well, as he only collected fifth, sixth, seventh, and tenth-place results.

Since the inception of the Aussie Racing Car Series in 2001, the vehicles have been powered by a Yamaha FJR 1300. The beauty of the Yamaha is that it includes the motorcycle transmission. The engine works well with the 510-kg racer. The FJR is a four-cylinder, 1.3-liter double-overhead camshaft with four valves per cylinder (two intake and two exhaust). The motor, which revs to 11,500 rpm, will produce 125 horsepower.

The series defending title-holder was Maurice Masini. Masini piloted the No. 1 VIP Petfoods-sponsored Euro GT. Unfortunately, he wasn't delivering the same performance in 2014 that won him last year's championship. Masini went winless this season; before, Phillip Island only had one podium finish. He earned second, third, fourth, and seventh-place finishes the previous weekend. Masini was fourth in the final standings.

Peter Carr drove the No. 61 Toyota Aurion with backing from Mako Sunglasses. Carr was one of many competitors in the 2014 season that demonstrated 'flashes of brilliance' but wasn't consistent enough to earn the title. He won seven contests during the year but failed to finish three events. Carr finished eighth, ninth, and eleventh during the finale, but to complete race two. Despite these results, he was third in the championship.

Brendon Pingel placed second in the 2014 Aussie Racing Car Series. Pingel fell eight points short of beating this year's champion, Darren Chamberlain. Although he had three victories during the season, his run at the title was made more difficult by not participating in the penultimate weekend at Surfers Paradise. Pingel outperformed Chamberlain at the final event, but it wasn't enough for the No. 29 Holden Cruz driver to secure the title.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	James Duckworth	Euro GT	8	-
2	2	Trent Young	Toyota Aurion	8	-
3	3	Maurice Masini	Euro GT	8	-
4	4	Adrian Flack	Euro GT	8	-
5	6	Brendon Pingel	Holden Cruze	8	-
6	9	Damien Flack	Euro GT	8	-
7	10	Darren Chamberlain	Toyota Aurion	8	-
8	7	James Abela	Toyota Aurion	8	-
9	11	Rhett Noonan	Holden Cruze	8	-
10	14	Craig Woods	Holden Commodore	8	-
11	12	Peter Carr	Toyota Aurion	8	-
12	8	Sam Milton	Toyota Aurion	8	-
13	16	Mark Griffith	Euro GT	8	-
14	17	David Burch	Euro GT	8	-
15	15	Michael McLean	Toyota Aurion	8	-
16	19	Kent Quinn	Holden Cruze	8	-
17	22	Lachlan McDonald	Holden Commodore	8	-
18	18	Brian Ford	Ford Falcon	8	-
19	20	Brendon Tucker	Ford Falcon	8	-
20	24	Scott Taylor	Ford Mustang	8	-
21	25	Sean Rose	Euro GT	8	-
22	28	Craig Thompson	Nissan Altima	8	-
23	31	Jeff Watters	Holden Commodore	8	-
24	26	Shayne Smith	Ford Falcon	8	-
25	29	Shane Burns	Holden Commodore	8	-
26	23	John Reynolds	Ford Falcon	8	-
27	30	Matthew Lynch	Holden Commodore	8	-
28	32	Rodney Eyres	Ford Falcon	8	-
29	33	Grant Thompson	Ford Falcon	7	-
30	27	Tim Boyle	Ford Falcon	6	Did Not Finish
31	21	Chris Stevenson	Holden Commodore	4	Did Not Finish
32	5	Tyler Greenbury	Ford Falcon	2	Did Not Finish
33	13	Adam Uebergang	Euro GT	1	Did Not Finish

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Trent Young	Toyota Aurion	8	-
2	3	Maurice Masini	Euro GT	8	-
3	4	Brendon Pingel	Holden Cruze	8	-
4	6	Rhett Noonan	Holden Cruze	8	-
5	5	Darren Chamberlain	Toyota Aurion	8	-
6	7	Adrian Flack	Euro GT	8	-
7	10	Craig Woods	Holden Commodore	8	-
8	18	Tyler Greenbury	Ford Falcon	8	-
9	8	David Burch	Euro GT	8	-
10	19	Adam Uebergang	Euro GT	8	-
11	12	Mark Griffith	Euro GT	8	-
12	13	Michael McLean	Toyota Aurion	8	-
13	14	Lachlan McDonald	Holden Commodore	8	-
14	15	Brian Ford	Ford Falcon	8	-
15	16	Brendon Tucker	Ford Falcon	8	-
16	21	Craig Thompson	Nissan Altima	8	-
17	20	John Reynolds	Ford Falcon	8	-
18	17	Shayne Smith	Ford Falcon	8	-
19	25	Tim Boyle	Ford Falcon	8	-
20	22	Scott Taylor	Ford Mustang	8	-
21	23	Jeff Watters	Holden Commodore	8	-
22	11	Sam Milton	Toyota Aurion	8	-
23	28	Matthew Lynch	Holden Commodore	8	-
24	27	Shane Burns	Holden Commodore	8	-
25	26	Rodney Eyres	Ford Falcon	8	-
26	30	Kent Quinn	Holden Cruze	8	-
27	31	Damien Flack	Euro GT	7	-
28	29	Grant Thompson	Ford Falcon	7	-
29	2	James Duckworth	Euro GT	7	Did Not Finish
30	8	Peter Carr	Toyota Aurion	7	Did Not Finish
31	24	Chris Stevenson	Holden Commodore	2	Did Not Finish
-	7	James Abela	Toyota Aurion	-	Excluded

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	3	Trent Young	Toyota Aurion	8	-
2	8	Rhett Noonan	Holden Cruze	8	-
3	7	Brendon Pingel	Holden Cruze	8	-
4	10	Tyler Greenbury	Ford Falcon	8	-
5	16	James Abela	Toyota Aurion	8	-
6	5	David Burch	Euro GT	8	-
7	13	Maurice Masini	Euro GT	8	-
8	21	Damien Flack	Euro GT	8	-
9	18	Peter Carr	Toyota Aurion	8	-
10	6	Darren Chamberlain	Toyota Aurion	8	-
11	9	Michael McLean	Toyota Aurion	8	-
12	2	Craig Woods	Holden Commodore	8	-
13	14	Sam Milton	Toyota Aurion	8	-
14	19	Kent Quinn	Holden Cruze	8	-
15	17	Mark Griffith	Euro GT	8	-
16	12	Lachlan McDonald	Holden Commodore	8	-
17	1	Adam Uebergang	Euro GT	8	-
18	4	Adrian Flack	Euro GT	8	-
19	20	Brendon Tucker	Ford Falcon	8	-
20	19	Brian Ford	Ford Falcon	8	-
21	23	James Duckworth	Euro GT	8	-
22	15	Craig Thompson	Nissan Altima	8	-
23	28	Shane Burns	Holden Commodore	8	-
24	22	Shayne Smith	Ford Falcon	8	-
25	26	John Reynolds	Ford Falcon	8	-
26	30	Tim Boyle	Ford Falcon	8	-
27	24	Scott Taylor	Ford Mustang	8	-
28	25	Chris Stevenson	Holden Commodore	8	-
29	29	Rodney Eyres	Ford Falcon	8	-
30	31	Matthew Lynch	Holden Commodore	8	-
31	32	Grant Thompson	Ford Falcon	6	-
32	27	Jeff Watters	Holden Commodore	1	Did Not Finish

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	1	Trent Young	Toyota Aurion	8	-
2	11	James Abela	Toyota Aurion	8	-
3	3	Rhett Noonan	Holden Cruze	8	-
4	5	Maurice Masini	Euro GT	8	-
5	2	Brendon Pingel	Holden Cruze	8	-
6	4	Darren Chamberlain	Toyota Aurion	8	-
7	7	Adrian Flack	Euro GT	8	-
8	12	Peter Carr	Toyota Aurion	8	-
9	6	Craig Woods	Holden Commodore	8	-
10	9	Damien Flack	Euro GT	8	-
11	15	Mark Griffith	Euro GT	8	-
12	8	David Burch	Euro GT	8	-
13	10	Michael McLean	Toyota Aurion	8	-
14	13	Sam Milton	Toyota Aurion	8	-
15	14	Kent Quinn	Holden Cruze	8	-
16	20	Tim Boyle	Ford Falcon	8	-
17	19	Scott Taylor	Ford Mustang	8	-
18	21	Craig Thompson	Nissan Altima	8	-
19	16	Brendon Tucker	Ford Falcon	8	-
20	24	Shane Burns	Holden Commodore	8	-
21	23	James Duckworth	Euro GT	8	-
22	17	Brian Ford	Ford Falcon	8	-
23	26	Chris Stevenson	Holden Commodore	8	-
24	27	Jeff Watters	Holden Commodore	1	-
25	28	Rodney Eyres	Ford Falcon	8	-
26	25	Matthew Lynch	Holden Commodore	8	-
27	29	Grant Thompson	Ford Falcon	7	-
28	22	John Reynolds	Ford Falcon	7	-
29	18	Shayne Smith	Ford Falcon	4	Did Not Finish
30	30	Tyler Greenbury	Ford Falcon	2	Did Not Finish

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