2026 Australian Formula Open
The 2026 Australian Formula Open: Driven by FRCA is a multi-event open-wheel single seater motor racing championship. This is the fourth season of the Australian Formula Open series, which was originally founded by two-time Australian Gold Star winner Tim Macrow in 2023 as a direct successor to the Australian Formula 3 championship. The AFO moniker was then taken over by the organizers of the NSW Formula Car Championship, an open formula championship run since 2011 as one of Motorsport Australia's State Championships, in 2025.[1][2]
The championship is scheduled to be run over five weekends from March to October.[3]
Teams and drivers
[edit]All teams and drivers are Australian-registered.
| Entrant | No. | Driver | Vehicle | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts Racing | 2 | Andrew Roberts | Dallara F307 | 1 |
| GKR F3 | George Kantzios | Dallara F304 | 2 | |
| RMS Racing | 3 | Robert Sviderskas | Mantis M2001 | 1 |
| CO Machining | 21 | Graeme Holmes | Dallara F3 | 1–3 |
| Baker Motorsport | 22 | Rodney Baker | Dallara F304 | 1–3 |
| AGI Sport | 23 | Lawrence Katsidis | Mygale M14-F4 | 1–3 |
| 47 | Xavier Babbage-Hockey | Tatuus F4-T421 | 1 | |
| 66 | Lewis Gotch | Tatuus F4-T421 | 1 | |
| Apollo Patios | 24 | Nathan Beer | Dallara F3 | 2–3 |
| CPL | 37 | Ben Turner | Dallara F3 | 1 |
| Formula Race Car Association | 41 | Greg Muddle | Dallara F305 | 1–2 |
| Performer Australia | 42 | Michael Doherty | Performer 1000 | 1–2 |
| 72 | Shane Varley | Performer 1000 | 1–2 | |
| Douglas Barry Specials | 44 | Douglas Barry | Reynard 92D | 2 |
| ARB Bundaberg | 51 | Ron Bennet | Dallara F399/01 | 1–3 |
| Privateer | 73 | Simon Bedford | Dallara F3 | 1–3 |
| SMJ Plastering | 95 | Shayne Morrow | Dallara F3 | 1–3 |
| Macdonald Air & Electrical | 96 | Alex Macdonald | Dallara F304 | 1–3 |
| Tim Macrow Racing | 125 | Anton Du | Mygale M14-F4 | 1 |
| McClintock Motorsport | 195 | Aaron McClintock | Richards 201B | 3 |
| Raven Gruppe | 666 | Adam Savic | Stohr F1000 | 1–3 |
| Freakadelli Racing | 969 | Mike Fischer | Performer 1000 | 2 |
| Sources: [4][5][6] | ||||
Race calendar
[edit]The 2026 calendar was revealed in November of 2025.[3] The series will not return to Winton Motor Raceway, instead holding an event at Queensland Raceway.
| Round | Circuit | Date | Support bill | Map of circuit locations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | 14 March | NSW Production Touring Cars NSW Sports Sedan State Championship New South Wales Supersports Championship New South Wales Formula Ford Championship |
||
| R2 | 15 March | ||||
| R3 | |||||
| 2 | R1 | 30 May | Australian Production Car Endurance Series AU4 Championship RX8 Cup Australia | ||
| R2 | 31 May | ||||
| R3 | |||||
| 3 | R1 | 25 July | NSW Production Touring Cars New South Wales Formula Ford Championship | ||
| R2 | 26 July | ||||
| R3 | |||||
| 4 | R1 | 19–20 September | Australian Production Car Endurance Series Queensland Production Sports Car Championship SuperMini Challenge Queensland | ||
| R2 | |||||
| R3 | |||||
| 5 | R1 | 24–25 October | NSW Production Touring Cars RX8 Cup Australia | ||
| R2 | |||||
| R3 | |||||
Race results
[edit]| Round | Circuit | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Winning team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | Alex Macdonald | Alex Macdonald | Alex Macdonald | Macdonald Air & Electrical | |
| R2 | Alex Macdonald | Andrew Roberts | Roberts Racing | |||
| R3 | Ben Turner | Ben Turner | CPL | |||
| 2 | R1 | Graeme Holmes | George Kantzios | Michael Doherty | Performer Australia | |
| R2 | race abandonded after multiple stalled cars at starts | |||||
| R3 | George Kantzios | George Kantzios | GKR F3 | |||
| 3 | R1 | Alex Macdonald | Rodney Baker | Alex Macdonald | Macdonald Air & Electrical | |
| R2 | Alex Macdonald | Alex Macdonald | Macdonald Air & Electrical | |||
| R3 | Rodney Baker | Alex Macdonald | Macdonald Air & Electrical | |||
| 4 | R1 | |||||
| R2 | ||||||
| R3 | ||||||
| 5 | R1 | |||||
| R2 | ||||||
| R3 | ||||||
Championship standings
[edit]Points are awarded as follows:
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
|
Italics – Fastest Lap † — Did not finish, but classified | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ↑ "Australian Formula Open Calendar confirmed – The Race Torque". Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ↑ "AUSTRALIAN FORMULA OPEN - Australia's home of wings and slicks - DRIVEN BY FRCA". Australian Formula Open. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- 1 2 "2026 Calendar". Formula Race Cars Association. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
- ↑ "2026 NSW Motor Race Championship - Round 1 - Sydney Motorsport Park Gardner - 2026 MSA NSW Formula Open Championship - Qualifying". Natsoft Race Results. 2026-03-14. Retrieved 2026-03-14.
- ↑ "Final Entry List ARDC APCES R1 2026" (PDF). Australian Racing Drivers' Club. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
- ↑ "Motorsport Australia 2026 NSW Motor Race Championship R4 / One Raceway - Shelley Circuit / 2026 NSW MSA Formula Open Championship - Race 1". Natsoft Race Results. 2026-07-25. Retrieved 2026-07-25.