2000 Australian Drivers' Championship

2000 Australian Drivers' Championship

Company type	Motor racing competition
Industry	Motorsport
Founded	2000
Area served	Australia
Key people	Simon Wills (Champion)
Products	Formula Holden racing series

The 2000 Australian Drivers' Championship represented a national motor racing competition authorized by the CAMS for competitors driving vehicles built to Formula Holden specifications. This championship unfolded over a series of eight rounds, each featuring two races, totaling sixteen contests. The champion earned the prestigious 2000 CAMS Gold Star. Marketed as the 2000 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship, this marked the 44th iteration of the event and the 12th season involving Formula Holden or Formula Brabham machinery.

Schedule

The championship calendar consisted of eight events, with two races conducted per round.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	R1	Template:Country data VictoriaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit (Phillip Island, Victoria)	13 February	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Birrana Racing
	R2				Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Birrana Racing
2	R1	Template:Country data New South WalesTemplate:Namespace detect showall Eastern Creek International Raceway (Eastern Creek, New South Wales)	26 March	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Tim Leahey	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Tim Leahey	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Birrana Racing
	R2				Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Tim Leahey	Template:Country data SINTemplate:Namespace detect showall Christian Murchison	NRC Racing
3	R1	Template:Country data South AustraliaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Adelaide Street Circuit (Adelaide, South Australia)	8–9 April	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data SINTemplate:Namespace detect showall Christian Murchison	NRC Racing
	R2				Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Matt Halliday	Ralt Australia
4	R1	Template:Country data Australian Capital TerritoryTemplate:Namespace detect showall Canberra Street Circuit (Canberra, ACT)	10–11 June	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Tim Leahey	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Birrana Racing
	R2				Template:Country data NZLTemplate:Namespace detect showall Simon Wills	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Chris Staff	Ralt Australia

Template:Flagicon NZL Simon Wills

Template:Flagicon NZL Simon Wills

Birrana Racing |- ! rowspan=2 |8 ! R1 |

Template:Flagicon SA Mallala Motor Sport Park (Mallala, South Australia)

27 August

Template:Flagicon NZL Simon Wills

Template:Flagicon NZL Simon Wills

Template:Flagicon SIN Christian Murchison

- !R2 |

Template:Flagicon SIN Christian Murchison

Template:Flagicon NZL Simon Wills

Birrana Racing |-

Points System

Points in the championship were distributed to the top ten finishers in each race according to the following scale: 20–15–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1.

Review

The Australian Drivers' Championship was claimed for the second time by New Zealand driver Simon Wills, who competed in a Birrana Racing Reynard 94D Holden. Wills achieved victory in eight out of sixteen races and finished the series with a 33-point lead over Christian Murchison, a Singapore-born competitor from Western Australia driving Reynard 95D and 97D models. Another New Zealand competitor, Matt Halliday, piloting a Reynard 94D Holden, completed the championship in third place, trailing Wills by 58 points. This outcome represented Birrana Racing's sixth title in seven years within the Australian Drivers' Championship.

In addition to Wills’ eight race wins, Christian Murchison secured four victories, Tim Leahey (in a Reynard 92D Holden) won twice, while Matt Halliday and Chris Staff (also driving Reynard 92D Holden) each took one win.

Championship results

style="font-weight:bold" 163 12 - 12 15 15 - - - 20 20 15 - - - 109

					Phillip Island		Eastern Creek		Adelaide		Canberra		Qld. Raceway		Winton		Oran Park		Mallala
Position	Driver	No.	Car	Entrant	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Total
1	Simon Wills	1	Reynard 94D Holden	Birrana Racing	20 | 20 | - | 3 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 20 | 244
2	Christian Murchison	25	Reynard 95D Holden	NRC Racing	10 |15 |20 |20 |10 |12 |15 |15 |20 |-  6  |-  12  |-  15  |-  20  |-  6  | 208
3	Matt Halliday	12	Reynard 94D Holden	Ralt Australia	15	15	12	12	15
4	Tim Leahey	22	Reynard 92D Holden	'Greg Murphy Racing'
Additional participants included LeRoy Stevenson (Birrana Racing), Paul Dumbrell (K Mart Racing), Dale Brede (NRC Racing), Chris Staff (Ralt Australia), Andy Booth and Steve Owen (Hocking Motorsport), among others, with points accumulated ranging from mid-single digits up to near the top ten rankings.

Additional resources

• Connor McNally, "Simply Simon", Motor Racing Australia, Issue 55, December 2000 / January 2001, page 44

External resources

• Results of the 2000 Australian Drivers' Championship at www.teamdan.com