2014 - Sydney Motorsport Park - Shannon Nationals

Shannons is Australia’s leading insurance provider for motoring enthusiasts. In 2007, the company became the title sponsor for the CAMS National Racing Championship and, as a result, was renamed the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships.

The 2014 Shannons Nationals’ season began a Sandown Raceway in late March and finished in early November at Sydney Motor Sport Park. There were nine race weekends that determined the series champions.

Six categories were competing in the final round at Sydney Motor Sport Park.

Australian Drivers Championship – drivers competing in this championship, raced cars constructed to FIA Formula 3 regulations.
Australian Formula Ford Series – the Australian series uses class rules similar to those found in most counties. The Formula Ford competitors in Australia are required to use AVON tires.
Kerrick Sports Sedan Series – vehicles racing in this category are production-based vehicles. But the rules allow a great deal of freedom in the areas of bodywork, chassis and engines.
Kumho V8 Touring Car Series – this series was established in 2008. It provides a training ground for Australia’s V8 Supercars as drivers compete in older series cars.
PRB Motorsport Series – this is a category unique to Australia. Drivers race the Australian built PRB, which is similar to a Lotus 7.
Radical Australia Cup - the internationally popular Radial sports car are in now their fifth season.

This weekend would determine the champions in the Australian Drivers Championship, Kerrick Sports Sedan Series, Kumho V8 Touring Car Series and Radical Australia Cup.

Eastern Creek International Raceway was renamed Sydney Motor Sport Park in 2012. The circuit was approved for construction in 1989 and hosted its first event in November of 1990. The track is owned by the New South Wales Government and managed by the Australian Racing Drivers Club. In 2011, the facility received $9 million, which was used to improve the infrastructure and create four new layouts.

The 2014 Kumho V8 Touring Car Series champion was Justin Ruggier. He drove a Holden Commodore VZ prepared by Eggleston Motorsport. Ruggier wasn’t much of a threat for the title until the penultimate round at Wakefield Park, where he scored the most points. In the finale, Ruggier won two of the three contests. After twenty-one races, he captured the championship by a fifty-four point margin over Ryan Simpson.

Winning two of the three contests held in November at Sydney Motor Sport Park was Tony Ricciardello. Ricciardello raced this Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV in the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series. The Alfa bodied car used a tube-frame chassis and was powered by a Chevrolet V8. To date, he has won eight Sports Sedan titles and finished in the runner-up position seven times. Ricciardello has also competed in the V8 Supercup Series.

In 2014, the Australian Drivers Championship was determined using cars constructed to FIA Formula 3 regulations. The inaugural season was 1957 and since then, several different open-wheel classes from Formula Libre to Formula Holden have been used to determine the champion. The winner of this title is awarded the prestigious CAMS Gold Star. Pictured is Ben Gersekowski driving a Dallara F311 prepared by Gilmour Racing.

A healthy field of Formula Fords was entered at Sydney Motor Sport Park. Unfortunately, the class is no different than other Formula Ford series around the world – long caution periods behind the Pace Car punctuated by a handful of green flag racing laps. Pictured is the Shannons Nationals’ Safety Car leading the field through corner six under yellow conditions. In first place is the 2014 champion, Thomas Randle.

The 2014 Australian Drivers Champion and winner of the CAMS Gold Star was Simon Hodge. Hodge drove the No. 4 Team BRM prepared Mygale M11. Hodge’s Mygale was powered by the HWA-Mercedes-Benz engine. HWA Racelab is a successful German company that specializes in Mercedes racing motors. On his journey to the championship, Hodges won four of the seven events contested during the season.

Unique to Australia is the PRB Motorsport Series for PRB race cars. PRB Australia was founded by Peter R Bladwell and electrician, who built a Lotus S7 replica in the late ‘70s. The car proved very popular and since the early 1980s over 300 have been constructed. The PRB uses a Toyota 4A-GE engine. For racing, there are optional 200 and 250-horsepower motors available. The cars are also equipped with a five-speed transmission.

Sydney Motor Sport Park was the penultimate round for the Australian Formula Ford Series, with the finale taking place at Phillip Island. Dominating the weekend at Sydney was Victoria driver, Thomas Randle. Randle won both races on Sunday, driving a Mygale SJ13A prepared by DREAMM Motorsport. His results at this event left him just twenty-one points behind the championship leader, James Golding.

The British manufacturer, Radical Sportscars, is well represented in Australia. The company was founded by Mick Hyde and Phil Abbott in 1997. The early cars were road legal but were more popular as race cars. The Radical Australia Cup uses the SR3 and SR8 models. The SR3 is powered by a Suzuki Generation 3 4-cylinder, 1.5-liter DOHC motorcycle engine, whereas the SR8 uses a 2.7-liter RPX V8 motor.

Finishing third in the 2014 Kerrick Sports Sedan Series championship was Darren Hossak. At the 2014 finale, Hossak drove the No. 4 Auto Union Audi A4 powered by a Chevrolet V8 engine. At Sydney Motor Sport Park, he prevented this season’s champion, Tony Ricciardello, from sweeping the weekend with a victory in race two. Before Hossak joined the series, he won a state Formula Ford championship and three Superkart titles.

Former Formula 3 driver, Tim Berryman joined the Radical Australia Cup last year. Berryman campaigns an SR8 prepared by RAW Racing. This model uses a 2.7-liter RPX V8. The V8 is constructed by combining two Suzuki four-cylinder engines and produces 430-horsepower. He won the 2014 title with victories at both Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and Sydney Motor Sport Park race weekends.

The runner-up in the Australian V8 Touring Car Series was Ryan Simpson. Simpson was the winner of the first three rounds (Mallala, Winton and Queensland Raceway). Unfortunately, his season turned sour at Phillip Island as well as the penultimate weekend at Wakefield. He entered the final event thirty-four-points behind Justin Ruggier and despite a victory in race two, Simpson finished second in the standings.