# 2011 Australian Drivers' Championship

The 2011 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title with the championship winner receiving the 2011 CAMS Gold Star award. It was the 55th Australian Drivers' Championship and the seventh to be contested with open wheel racing cars constructed in accordance with FIA Formula 3 regulations. It was also recognised as the 11th Australian Formula 3 Championship. The championship was contested over a series which was officially known as the "2011 Australian Formula 3 Drivers Championship for the CAMS Gold Star". The series began on 21 March 2011 at Winton Motor Raceway and finished on 13 November at Symmons Plains Raceway after seven rounds across five different states and territories, with three races at each round.
The championship was won by Queensland driver Chris Gilmour. Gilmour moved into the series lead when British racer and 2008 champion James Winslow missed the Morgan Park round. Winslow returned to the series at the next event. He won a total of eight races to Gilmour's six, but had given away a points lead to Gilmour he would never regain, ultimately falling eight points short of the winners total. Gilmour is the first Australian driver to win the championship since 2007 after three consecutive years of British drivers claiming the title. John Magro, also from Queensland, was the only driver of the 2007 generation cars apart from Gilmour to contest the full series and was rewarded with third place in the championship, but was 32 points behind Gilmour and achieved only one race win. Occasional racer Mat Sofi dominated the Eastern Creek round with three race wins while 2007 champion Tim Macrow won the final race of the season in his older, 2004 specification Dallara.
Four other drivers contested the full series in the older National Class cars in which they also competed for their own class award. As in the outright championship, the National Class winner was not decided until the final race of the season. However the spoiling presence of Macrow limited the number of points Ben Gersekowski could retrieve in his fight with Steel Guiliana, and the latter ultimately claimed the National Class award by seven points. Tasmanian driver Josh Burdon was over sixty points behind Guiliana with Roman Krumins a further twelve points in arrears.

## Class structure

Cars competed in two classes:
* Australian Formula 3 Championship – for automobiles constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied in the year of manufacture between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2007
* National Class – for automobiles constructed in accordance with the FIA Formula 3 regulations that applied in the year of manufacture between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2004
An additional Invitation Class, for automobiles constructed in accordance with the appropriate regulations that applied in the year of manufacture, was provided for in the regulations, however no eligible cars competed during the course of the season.

## Points System

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Pole Position | Fastest Lap |
| Races 1 & 2 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 (R1 only) | 1 |
| Race 3 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Drivers of cars from all three classes were eligible to score points towards the Australian Drivers' Championship. National Class and Invitation Class drivers were also eligible to score points towards their respective class awards using the same points system as applied for the outright championship, but based on their relative finishing position within their class in each race.

## Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers contested the 2011 Australian Drivers' Championship. Entries sourced in part from:
| Team | Class | Chassis | Engine | No | Driver |
| Transwest | Gold Star | Dallara F307 | Mugen-Honda | 2 | Mat Sofi |
| Team BRM | Gold Star | Dallara F307 | HWA-Mercedes-Benz | 3 | John Magro |
| Team BRM | Gold Star | Dallara F307 | HWA-Mercedes-Benz | 4 | Kristian Lindbom |
| R-Tek Motorsport | Gold Star | Dallara F307 | HWA-Mercedes-Benz | 6 | Bryce Moore |
| R-Tek Motorsport | National | Dallara F304 | Spiess-Opel | 7 | Steel Giuliania |
| R-Tek Motorsport | National | Dallara F304 | Spiess-Opel | 8 | Josh Burdon |
| R-Tek Motorsport | Gold Star | Dallara F307 | HWA-Mercedes-Benz | 9 | James Winslow |
| Astuti Motorsport | Gold Star | Dallara F307 | Renault | 11 | Mat Sofi |
| BF Racing | National | Dallara F304 | Spiess-Opel | 14 | Roman Krumins |
| BF Racing | National | Dallara F304 | Spiess-Opel | 42 | Ben Gersekowski |
| Gilmour Racing | Gold Star | Dallara F307 | HWA-Mercedes-Benz | 17 | Chris Gilmour |
| Fusion Formula | National | Dallara F304 | Renault-Sodemo | 25 | Tim Macrow |

## Race calendar

The championship was contested over a seven-round series.
A long-time bastion of the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships the 2011 season saw the Gold Star shift several events onto the International V8 Supercars Championship calendar, after occasional appearances at the Clipsal 500 and other major events. The series appeared on the program of V8 Supercar rounds at Winton, Symmons Plains, and, in a first for the category, Hidden Valley Raceway in the Northern Territory.
| Round | Race | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Winning team |
| 1 | 1 | Winton Motor Raceway | 20–22 May | John Magro | James Winslow | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 1 | 2 | Winton Motor Raceway | 20–22 May | John Magro | Bryce Moore | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 1 | 3 | Winton Motor Raceway | 20–22 May | John Magro | race cancelled due to rain | race cancelled due to rain | race cancelled due to rain |
| 2 | 4 | Hidden Valley Raceway | 17–19 June | James Winslow | Bryce Moore | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 2 | 5 | Hidden Valley Raceway | 17–19 June | James Winslow | Bryce Moore | John Magro | Team BRM |
| 2 | 6 | Hidden Valley Raceway | 17–19 June | James Winslow | John Magro | Kristian Lindbom | Team BRM |
| 3 | 7 | Eastern Creek Raceway | 14–17 July | Mat Sofi | James Winslow | Mat Sofi | Transwest |
| 3 | 8 | Eastern Creek Raceway | 14–17 July | Mat Sofi | James Winslow | Mat Sofi | Transwest |
| 3 | 9 | Eastern Creek Raceway | 14–17 July | Mat Sofi | Mat Sofi | Mat Sofi | Transwest |
| 4 | 10 | Morgan Park Raceway | 12–14 August | John Magro | John Magro | Chris Gilmour | Gilmour Racing |
| 4 | 11 | Morgan Park Raceway | 12–14 August | John Magro | John Magro | Chris Gilmour | Gilmour Racing |
| 4 | 12 | Morgan Park Raceway | 12–14 August | John Magro | Chris Gilmour | Chris Gilmour | Gilmour Racing |
| 5 | 13 | Sandown Raceway | 9–11 September | John Magro | James Winslow | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 5 | 14 | Sandown Raceway | 9–11 September | John Magro | James Winslow | Chris Gilmour | Gilmour Racing |
| 5 | 15 | Sandown Raceway | 9–11 September | John Magro | James Winslow | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 6 | 16 | Phillip Island | 4–6 November | James Winslow | John Magro | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 6 | 17 | Phillip Island | 4–6 November | James Winslow | James Winslow | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 6 | 18 | Phillip Island | 4–6 November | James Winslow | Chris Gilmour | Chris Gilmour | Gilmour Racing |
| 7 | 19 | Symmons Plains Raceway | 11–13 November | James Winslow | John Magro | Chris Gilmour | Gilmour Racing |
| 7 | 20 | Symmons Plains Raceway | 11–13 November | James Winslow | James Winslow | James Winslow | R-Tek Motorsport |
| 7 | 21 | Symmons Plains Raceway | 11–13 November | James Winslow | James Winslow | Tim Macrow | Fusion Formula |

## Results
### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | WIN 1 | WIN 2 | WIN 3 | HID 1 | HID 2 | HID 3 | EAS 1 | EAS 2 | EAS 3 | MOR 1 | MOR 2 | MOR 3 | SAN 1 | SAN 2 | SAN 3 | PHI 1 | PHI 2 | PHI 3 | SYM 1 | SYM 2 | SYM 3 | Pts |
| GOLD STAR ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Chris Gilmour | 4 | 2 | - | 4 | Ret | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 210 |
| 2 | James Winslow | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | Ret | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | | | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 202 |
| 3 | John Magro | 2 | Ret | - | 6 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 178 |
| 4 | Steel Giuliania | 5 | 6 | - | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 111 |
| 5 | Ben Gersekowski | 8 | 4 | - | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 102 |
| 6 | Mat Sofi | | | | | | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 93 |
| 7 | Bryce Moore | 3 | 3 | - | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 2 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | 77 |
| 8 | Josh Burdon | 6 | 5 | - | 10 | 7 | 9 | Ret | 7 | 8 | Ret | DNS | DNS | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 73 |
| 9 | Roman Krumins | 7 | 7 | - | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 66 |
| 10 | Tim Macrow | | | | 5 | 4 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 2 | 1 | 62 |
| 11 | Kristian Lindbom | | | | 2 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 37 |
| NATIONAL ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Steel Guiliania | 5 | 6 | - | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 228 |
| 2 | Ben Gersekowski | 8 | 4 | - | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 221 |
| 3 | Josh Burdon | 6 | 5 | - | 10 | 7 | 9 | Ret | 7 | 8 | Ret | DNS | DNS | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 162 |
| 4 | Roman Krumins | 7 | 7 | - | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 150 |
| 5 | Tim Macrow | | | | 5 | 4 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 2 | 1 | 97 |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |
Note: Race 3 at the opening round at Winton was cancelled due to heavy rain.
Note: There were no competitors in the Invitation Class at any of the seven rounds.