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2026 Australian Formula Open

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The 2026 Australian Formula Open: Driven by FRCA was a multi-event open-wheel single seater motor racing championship. This was 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 was run over five weekends from March to October.[3] Alex Macdonald, driving for his own Macdonald Air & Electrical team, won the championship title with three races to spare.

Teams and drivers

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All teams and drivers are Australian-registered.

Entrant No. Driver Vehicle Engine Rounds
Roberts Racing 2 Andrew Roberts Dallara F307 1
GKR F3 George Kantzios Dallara F304 Spiess Opel 2.0 L I4 2, 4–5
RMS Racing 3 Robert Sviderskas Mantis M2001 1
Privateer 7 Troy Beros Reynard 95D Holden 3.8L V6 4
Waltech Motorsport 9 Jamie Su Tatuus F4-T421 5
Gilmour Racing 17 Chris Gilmour Dallara F307 HWA Mercedes-Benz 2.0 L I4 4
34 Kyle Evans Dallara F308/11 HWA Mercedes-Benz 2.0 L I4 4
CO Machining 21 Graeme Holmes Dallara F3 1–3, 5
Baker Motorsport 22 Rodney Baker Dallara F304 Spiess Opel 2.0 L I4 1–3, 5
AGI Sport 23 Lawrence Katsidis Mygale M14-F4 Ford 1.6 L I4 turbo All
47 Xavier Babbage-Hockey Tatuus F4-T421 Fiat 1.4 L I4 turbo 1
66 Lewis Gotch Tatuus F4-T421 Fiat 1.4 L I4 turbo 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, 4
Performer Australia 42 Michael Doherty Performer 1000 Suzuki 1.0L I4 1–2
72 Shane Varley 1–2
Douglas Barry Specials 44 Douglas Barry Reynard 92D Holden 3.8L V6 2, 4–5
ARB Bundaberg 51 Ron Bennet Dallara F399/01 Spiess Opel 2.0 L I4 All
Eagle Transportation 55 Glenn Lynch Dallara F3 5
Greg Fahey Motorsport 71 Phillip Kay Dallara F306 Spiess Opel 2.0 L I4 4
Privateer 73 Simon Bedford Dallara F3 Spiess Opel 2.0 L I4 All
SMJ Plastering 95 Shayne Morrow Dallara F3 Spiess Opel 2.0 L I4 All
Macdonald Air & Electrical 96 Alex Macdonald Dallara F304 Spiess Opel 2.0 L I4 1–4
Tim Macrow Racing 125 Anton Du Mygale M14-F4 Ford 1.6 L I4 turbo 1
McClintock Motorsport 195 Aaron McClintock Richards 201B Volkswagen 1.6 L I4 3
Raven Gruppe 666 Adam Savic Stohr F1000 All
Freakadelli Racing 969 Mike Fischer Performer 1000 Suzuki 1.0L I4 2
Sources: [4][5][6][7][8]

Race calendar

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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 New South Wales Sydney Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek 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 New South Wales One Raceway, Goulburn 25 July NSW Production Touring Cars
New South Wales Formula Ford Championship
R2 26 July
R3
4 R1 Queensland Queensland Raceway, Willowbank 19 September Australian Production Car Endurance Series
Queensland Production Sports Car Championship
SuperMini Challenge Queensland
R2 20 September
R3
5 R1 New South Wales One Raceway, Goulburn 24 October NSW Production Touring Cars
RX8 Cup Australia
R2 25 October
R3

Race results

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Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team
1 R1 New South Wales Sydney Motorsport Park 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 New South Wales One Raceway 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 Queensland Queensland Raceway Kyle Evans Kyle Evans Kyle Evans Gilmour Racing
R2 Chris Gilmour Chris Gilmour Gilmour Racing
R3 Chris Gilmour Chris Gilmour Gilmour Racing
5 R1 New South Wales One Raceway George Kantzios George Kantzios George Kantzios GKR F3
R2 Jamie Su Rodney Baker Baker Motorsport
R3 Jamie Su Rodney Baker Baker Motorsport

Championship standings

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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
Pos Driver SYD1
New South Wales		 SYD2
New South Wales		 ONE1
New South Wales		 QLD
Queensland		 ONE2
New South Wales		 Pts
R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3
1 Alex Macdonald 1 3 DNS 2 C 2 1 1 1 3 4 3 193
2 Ron Bennet 6 7 4 4 C Ret 3 2 2 5 6 5 5 3 4 154
3 Rodney Baker 3 DNS 3 3 C Ret 2 3 Ret 2 1 1 146
4 Douglas Barry 5 C DNS 4 5 4 3 2 3 92
5 Shayne Morrow Ret 12 7 11 C 6 6 5 3 7 9 Ret 7 7 6 75
6 Simon Bedford 12 10 10 9 C 5 9 6 5 6 Ret 7 6 5 7 71
7 Chris Gilmour 2 1 1 68
8 George Kantzios 10 C 1 9 3 Ret 1 DNS DNS 68
9 Michael Doherty 4 5 Ret 1 C 3 62
10 Ben Turner 2 2 1 61
11 Kyle Evans 1 2 2 61
12 Adam Savic 11 8 DNS 8 C Ret 7 4 4 Ret 8 6 10 6 9 61
13 Lawrence Katsidis 13 9 Ret 6 C 7 5 Ret DNS WD WD WD 4 4 Ret 50
14 Andrew Roberts 8 1 2 47
15 Graeme Holmes 5 Ret 5 Ret C DNS 8 DNS DNS Ret Ret 5 34
16 Nathan Beer 7 C DNS 10 7 6 21
17 Jamie Su 9 Ret 2 18
18 Shane Varley 7 NC DNS Ret C 4 18
19 Lewis Gotch 10 6 8 13
20 Greg Muddle DNS 4 Ret WD WD WD WD WD WD 12
21 Aaron McClintock 4 Ret DNS 12
22 Xavier Babbage-Hockey 9 13 6 11
23 Phillip Kay 8 7 Ret 10
24 Glenn Lynch 8 Ret 8 8
25 Anton Du Ret 11 9 2
— Mike Fischer Ret C DNS 0
— Robert Sviderskas DNS DNS DNS 0
— Troy Beros DNS DNS DNS 0
Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 Pts
SYD1
New South Wales		 SYD2
New South Wales		 ONE1
New South Wales		 QLD
Queensland		 ONE2
New South Wales
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenPoints classification
BlueNon-points classification
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired, not classified (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)
Bold – Pole

Italics – Fastest Lap

† — Did not finish, but classified

References

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  1. ↑ "Australian Formula Open Calendar confirmed – The Race Torque". Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  2. ↑ "AUSTRALIAN FORMULA OPEN - Australia's home of wings and slicks - DRIVEN BY FRCA". Australian Formula Open. Retrieved 2 June 2025. [dead link]
  3. 1 2 "2026 Calendar". Formula Race Cars Association. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  4. ↑ "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.
  5. ↑ "Final Entry List ARDC APCES R1 2026" (PDF). Australian Racing Drivers' Club. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "MA State Championship Round 5 - Formula Open - Practice 1". speedhive.mylaps.com. 2026-09-19. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  8. ↑ "NSW Motor Race Championship - Round 5 / One Raceway - Wakefield Circuit / 2026 NSW Formula Open Championship - Race 1". racing.natsoft.com.au. 2026-10-24. Retrieved 2026-10-24.
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