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64-550: The inaugural race of the series was originally set to be in Sydney Motorsport Park in May 2019, but was delayed to September due to supply issues from Ligier's Charlotte area factory where the chassis are manufactured. The championship ran through to 2023, before being suspended for the 2024 season, though the promoters have hopes of reviving it. Australian circuit racing, since the end of Tasman Series racing in

128-718: A Swift FN09 chassis that raced in Super Formula between 2009 and 2013. A year later in 2017, the Super5000 series was later created by former Supercars CEO James Warburton , as part of his plan to sustain growth of motorsport in Australia. The series would originally be used as a support category for the Supercars series, alongside the Super2 and SuperUtes series. The creation of this series led to controversy, and

192-564: A $ 9 million upgrade, with the New South Wales Government providing $ 7 million and the Australian Racing Drivers Club funding the other $ 2 million. The upgrade reconfigured the circuit into four layouts, with two able to be operated at the same time, with a total length of 4.500 km (2.796 mi). The upgrade also included an additional pit lane facility to cater for the new configuration,

256-626: A deal was made for the Grand Prix to be held at what was then known as Eastern Creek International Raceway from 1991 to 1993. The race remained at the circuit until 1996 before returning to Phillip Island in 1997. The circuit has also hosted rounds of the Australian Superbike Championship . The Australian round of the A1 Grand Prix championship was held at Sydney Motorsport Park from the 2005–06 season to

320-534: A fractured vertebra ... and a very small lung contusion ". In 2022 Aitken moved to the ADAC GT Masters , racing with Albert Costa for Emil Frey Racing . In 2022 , Aitken competed in the LMP2 Pro-Am class for Racing Team Turkey alongside Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluç . Aitken and his team ended up finishing 11th in the standings. For the 2022 season, Aitken also raced exclusively in

384-721: A guest driver in three rounds of the main Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series, recording a best finish of ninth place at the Red Bull Ring . Aitken entered his first full season of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 in 2014 with Fortec. He won one race at the Hungaroring and finished on the podium three further times to end the season seventh in the championship. During the first half of the campaign, he had to finish his A-Level qualifications while attending Westminster School . He also made guest appearances in

448-591: A new race control tower and new amenities buildings. Work on the upgrades began in June 2011, with a new piece of road joining turns four and nine. This link road, finished in October 2011, created the new "Druitt Circuit", also known as the North Circuit. The 830-metre extension on the south-eastern part of the circuit was completed in May 2012 to create the new "Amaroo Circuit" (or South Circuit). On 21 May 2012,

512-578: A pole position in Formula V8 3.5. In February 2017, it was announced that Aitken would remain in the GP3 Series, switching to reigning team champions ART Grand Prix . He took one race win at the Hungaroring and five further podium finishes, finishing second in the championship with 141 points, behind champion and former karting rival George Russell on 220 points. In January 2018, ART Grand Prix announced Aitken would join their Formula 2 team for

576-534: A really good job up until my little incident. I can only apologise to the whole team", but that there were "a lot of positives to take from the weekend". Aitken performed Thursday media duties with Williams ahead of the next race in Abu Dhabi but ultimately did not drive the car, as Russell returned to the team prior to FP1 when Hamilton was passed fit to return to Mercedes. In March 2021, Williams announced that Aitken would continue to be their reserve driver for

640-549: A second, longer summer series to run from late 2021 to early 2022. The first championship event, and first race of the 2021 season , finally got underway in January at Symmons Plains , with Thomas Randle winning the feature race. The championship was suspended at the end of the 2023 season. The promoters of the category pointed to the eligibility rules for licenses to drive in the Supercars Championship as

704-535: A support event for the 2020 Australian Grand Prix held at Albert Park , with the championship to be followed by a non-championship race at Mount Panorama . It was also announced in early 2020 that the championship would see the revival of the Australian Drivers' Championship title, last awarded in 2014 Australian Drivers' Championship for Formula 3 cars. This was accompanied by a plan to award trophies named after prominent Australian racing drivers to

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768-760: Is a British and South Korean racing driver , currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for AXR and in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Emil Frey . Aitken competed in Formula One at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 . Born and raised in London to a Scottish father and South Korean mother, Aitken began competitive kart racing aged seven. He made the transition to cars when he competed in

832-466: Is operated by the Australian Racing Drivers Club. The circuit is one of only two permanent tracks in Australia with an FIA Grade 2 license and is licensed for both cars and motorcycles. The development of circuit was approved in 1989 and construction began soon after. However, construction was delayed by poor weather and debates over land ownership. A test race open to Superbikes was held in July 1990 and

896-565: The 1990 Australian Manufacturers' Championship . In the early 1990s, the circuit also hosted the Winfield Triple Challenge, an event which featured Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) teams and drivers alongside Superbikes and drag racing . The circuit first hosted a championship round of the ATCC (now known as V8 Supercars ) in 1992 and held a round every year, excluding 1998 and 2006, until 2008. Further to this,

960-589: The 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship , again partnering Russell. He took his first podium finish with second place in the Baku feature race, and later took his first victory in the Barcelona sprint race. He finished 11th in the championship with 63 points, whilst Russell claimed the title with 287 points. For the 2019 season Aitken moved to Campos Racing , initially partnering Dorian Boccolacci and later Arjun Maini and Marino Sato . Aitken took his first win of

1024-625: The 2021 season. He took part in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix , replacing Russell for the session. Aitken retained his reserve driver role with Williams for the 2022 season. He did not partake in any practice sessions that year, and at the start of 2023, he was announced that he would split with Williams, in order to focus on his sportscar career. After leaving Campos in Formula 2, Aitken switched to sports car racing and joined

1088-728: The Australian Auto Sport Alliance is sanctioning the 2024 Australian Drivers' Championship as a one-make series using the Hyper Racer X1. The S5000 car's chassis is based on the Ligier JS F3 , an FIA -compliant Formula 3 bespoke chassis manufactured by French motorsport company Onroak-Ligier . The car uses a 5.2-litre naturally-aspirated quad-cam Ford Coyote V8 that is modified by InnoV8, and has an output of 560 hp (420 kW; 570 PS) and 460 lb⋅ft (620 N⋅m) of torque. All of

1152-755: The Formula Renault 2.0 Alps series, with best finishes of fourth place at the Imola Circuit . For 2015, Aitken moved to Koiranen GP in Formula Renault 2.0, contesting both the Eurocup and Alps series. He won both titles at the final rounds at the Circuito de Jerez , one week apart. He took nine race wins in total, finishing ahead of Louis Delétraz in the Eurocup and Jake Hughes in

1216-594: The GP3 Series with Arden International . In his maiden season, he claimed a victory at Spa-Francorchamps and six additional podiums to finish fifth in the overall standings, one point behind teammate Jake Dennis . In that year, Aitken also made brief appearances in the Euroformula Open and Formula V8 3.5 series, claiming two wins and two pole positions in four races in Euroformula Open and

1280-613: The GT World Challenge Europe . He competes in both the Endurance and Sprint cups, driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo for Emil Frey Racing alongside Konsta Lappalainen . His first race was the 3 Hours of Monza , for which Aitken and his teammates qualified 14th. However, Aitken did not drive in the race as the car was retired following damage from a puncture. In July 2021 during the Spa 24 Hours event, Aitken

1344-463: The Rome ePrix . As Aitken was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) † As Aitken was a guest driver, he

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1408-712: The Soundwave Festival for both years. Daniel Ricciardo drove a Red Bull RB7 Formula One car during the Top Gear Festival at the circuit in March 2014 and set the unofficial lap time record with a time of 1:11.2330. However, as this time was not recorded during a race, it does not count as a lap record. As of October 2024, the fastest official race lap records at Sydney Motorsport Park are listed as: Jack Aitken Jack Anthony Han-Aitken ( Korean : 한세용, Han Se-yong ; born 23 September 1995)

1472-480: The 1970s, been heavily focused on touring car racing at the professional level. Open wheeler formula racing series such as Formula Holden and Formula 3 struggled to gain spectator and sponsor interest, and eventually folded. The idea for a modern interpretation of the historic Formula 5000 class was first raised in 2016, and was initially called the Formula Thunder 5000 . The original car used

1536-474: The 1995 event, the Winfield-backed entry of Mark Skaife had a major accident at Turn 1, hitting concrete drag racing barriers which resulted in injuries that forced him to miss the first round of the 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship . The event concluded with the ban of cigarette advertising in Australia at the end of 1995. An event organised and promoted by Australian Muscle Car magazine,

1600-478: The 2007–08 season. During the 2006–07 event on 4 February 2007, German driver Nico Hülkenberg set the outright lap record for the original circuit layout with a 1:19.142 lap time in the A1 Team Germany prepared Lola - Zytek . The first touring car event at the circuit was the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500 , an endurance race which was the final round of both the 1990 Australian Endurance Championship and

1664-529: The 2010 Super 1 National Kart Championships in the Rotax Mini Max class, finishing third behind champion and future Formula 2 teammate George Russell . Aitken progressed into single-seater car racing in 2012, competing in the four races of the 2012 Formula Renault BARC Winter Series . He won the final race at Rockingham Motor Speedway and finished second in the standings behind Fortec Motorsport teammate Seb Morris . He also competed for Fortec in

1728-417: The 2012 Dunlop InterSteps Championship, taking two wins to finish third in the championship behind future GP3 Series competitor Matt Parry . In 2013 Aitken competed in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup , in a field which included future Formula One drivers Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon . He finished second in the championship, again losing out to Fortec teammate Parry. Aitken also appeared as

1792-481: The 2019 young drivers' test at Barcelona. In February 2020, Aitken left Renault. For the 2020 season Aitken joined the Williams Driver Academy alongside Formula 2 rivals Dan Ticktum and Roy Nissany , and W Series and Extreme E driver Jamie Chadwick . Aitken was also appointed Williams ' reserve driver. He drove in the first practice session (FP1) of the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix for

1856-893: The Alps series. Aitken made his first appearance in American open-wheel racing in 2014, competing in one round of the Pro Mazda Championship (now the Indy Pro 2000 Championship ) at the Sonoma Raceway with a best finish of fourth place. In 2015 he took part in the Pro Mazda Winterfest for Team Pelfrey . He won three of the five races to win the championship ahead of future IndyCar driver Dalton Kellett and future Williams Formula One teammate Nicholas Latifi . In January 2016, Aitken stepped up to

1920-730: The Intersteps Championship with Fortec Motorsport, with whom he then went on to race with in the Formula Renault BARC Winter Series, Formula Renault NEC and Formula Renault Eurocup. After winning the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2015, Aitken was signed up for the Renault young driver academy , with which he remained until 2019. After competing in the GP3 Series in 2016 and 2017 he progressed to Formula 2 for 2018 . He

1984-669: The LMP2 class and 5th in the Pro-Am sub class. For the 2023 season, Aitken would perform double-duties in America and Europe, racing the new Cadillac V-LMDh in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Whelen Engineering Racing whilst also contesting the DTM with Emil Frey Racing . He won the 12 Hours of Sebring March 18 after the GTP cars in front of him crashed into each other with only minutes left in

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2048-595: The Muscle Car Masters is held on Father's Day every year. The event includes races and demonstration laps featuring Australian muscle cars and ex-race cars from the 1950s to the 1990s. Regular racing classes include Group N , Group C , Group A and Touring Car Masters while different car clubs have their cars on display each year and take part in demonstration laps. Historically significant cars in Australian motorsport are also present and complete laps of

2112-462: The assembler of the cars,. The S5000 car has been certified by the FIA under the 2018 safety certification. The class introduced Push to Pass for the 2023 season, starting at Phillip Island in May. The S5000 car made its first public appearance taking part in demonstration runs at the 2018 Newcastle 500 Supercars event with drivers such as Greg Murphy , John Bowe , and Garth Tander going behind

2176-543: The barriers caused the race to be red-flagged and not restarted. Aitken missed the final round at the Bahrain to race in Formula One, and was replaced by Ralph Boschung . Aitken finished 14th in the standings, scoring all of Campos' 48 points. Aitken left Campos and the Formula 2 series after 2020, however he returned during the 2021 season with HWA Racelab as a replacement for Matteo Nannini , who withdrew from

2240-476: The calendar in 2013, the circuit has returned to the calendar from 2014 onwards. The official pre-season V8 Supercar test day was held at the circuit in 2011 and 2013 to 2015. The 2013 test day was the first time that the four Car of the Future manufacturers appeared together at a public event. The 2015 test day clashed with the 2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour , preventing V8 Supercars drivers from competing in

2304-574: The category from the Mount Panorama Circuit , and to run international FIA Formula 2 Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship as support races at the Australian Grand Prix rather than the local category, and the promoter's decision to switch from "free-to-air" broadcasting to pay TV for coverage of the events. The trademark to the name "Australian Drivers' Championship" name was registered by another party, and

2368-544: The championship after the first round. He was initially signed for the second and third rounds in Monaco and Baku respectively and was later retained for the fourth round at Silverstone . He recorded a best finish of ninth place in the second Monaco sprint race, but failed to score points over the three rounds. In February 2016, Aitken was one of four drivers confirmed to join the young driver program of Renault F1 . In September 2017, Aitken sampled Formula One machinery for

2432-615: The circuit hosted the season-ending Grand Finale in 2003 and 2004, with Marcos Ambrose winning the round and the championship title on both occasions. In 2009 the circuit was dropped in favour of the Sydney 500 on the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit . The circuit returned to the V8 Supercars calendar in 2012 after V8 Supercars failed to secure a second international event. After another year off

2496-473: The circuit was officially opened by then-New South Wales Minister for Sport Bob Rowland-Smith on 10 November 1990 with the running of the Nissan Sydney 500 endurance race for Group A touring cars . In 1991, the consortium formed to fund the circuit suffered financial problems and the complex was purchased by the New South Wales Government. The pit facilities provide fifty garages with direct access to

2560-415: The circuit was renamed from Eastern Creek International Raceway to Sydney Motorsport Park. Construction of the new pit lane between turns four and five also began at this time. Following the circuits' reconfiguration, a number of corners were named. At the circuits' re-opening, turn five was renamed "Brock's 05" in reference to Peter Brock and the number with which he was associated, whilst in October 2017

2624-543: The circuit. While the main focus is on the history of Australian touring car racing , other classes, such as Formula 5000 , have also appeared. In the 1990s, the venue held a number of rock concerts and music festivals including Guns N' Roses , Bon Jovi , Pearl Jam , the Alternative Nation festival and the Colossus 2 dance festival. Music festivals returned to the circuit in 2009 and 2010 when it hosted

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2688-537: The endurance rounds of the championship, pairing up with Mirko Bortolotti and Albert Costa in the same Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini. He finished 13th and 6th in the first two races, held in Imola and Paul Ricard respectively. In the 24 Hours of Spa, after a crash for Costa, Aitken failed to finish the race. Aitken made his 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 2022 edition, competing for Algarve Pro Racing alongside Sophia Flörsch and John Falb. The trio finished 25th overall, 20th in

2752-437: The entire Grand Prix meeting was called off as a result of the escalating COVID-19 pandemic , so no race was held. Due to ongoing difficulties surrounding the pandemic, modified calendars were announced a few times over the year, with plans made for a championship running over late 2020 into early 2021. In the end, however, no races were held in 2020 and instead a short four race calendar was announced to be run in early 2021, with

2816-512: The first time, testing the Lotus E20 at Jerez . In February 2018, Aitken was appointed as third and reserve driver for Renault . That year, he tested the Renault R.S.18 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the young drivers' test. Another test came at Suzuka where once again he drove the R.S.18. Aitken continued as test driver for Renault in 2019, and once again took part in

2880-501: The first two corners were renamed " Moffat Corner" and " Bond Bend" respectively. After the first Australian motorcycle Grand Prix held at Phillip Island in 1989, there was a conflict over advertising between the Victorian Government and the tobacco industry , who were major sponsors of the Grand Prix teams. The New South Wales Government saw this as an opportunity to bring the race to Sydney and in October 1990,

2944-607: The founder of Formula Thunder 5000, Chris Lambden, disapproved of the idea, claiming it would threaten his own plans. Later that same year, both series announced a merger in a bid to further ensure the return of a formula racing series in Australia. The formation of the S5000 series came as a result, and would incorporate technical elements from both the Formula Thunder 5000 and the Super5000 series. A preliminary schedule

3008-424: The free-to-air network SBS . Sydney Motorsport Park Sydney Motorsport Park (known until May 2012 as Eastern Creek International Raceway ) is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek (40-kilometres west of the Sydney CBD), New South Wales , Australia , adjacent to the Western Sydney International Dragway . It was built and is owned by the New South Wales Government and

3072-402: The paddock area and a covered 4,000-seat grandstand overlooks the finish line, providing a view of the majority of the circuit. Events are held at the circuit on most weekends during the year. On 11 August 2006, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Ron Dickson, the A1 Grand Prix circuit designer who also designed the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit , suggested that Sydney Motorsport Park

3136-421: The power is driven through a 6-speed gearbox by Holinger. Holinger also supplies the transaxle. The suspension set and the wing package are supplied by Borland Racing Developments , and are then fabricated by Garry Rogers Motorsport , who also perform the assembly of the S5000 car. The tyres are supplied by Hoosier . The complete car was officially designated the Rogers AF01/V8 in 2021. The "Rogers" name refers to

3200-406: The primary reason for its cessation. Drivers aspiring to drive in the full-professional Supercars championship were required to complete a minimum number of races in its direct feeder categories, Super2 and Super3, making S5000 a less attractive proposition for most young drivers, leading to unsustainably small entry fields. Other factors cited by the former category manager include the decision to ban

3264-416: The race in 18th place, within a tenth of a second of teammate and regular driver Nicholas Latifi. On lap 61 of 87, 15th-placed Aitken spun at the final corner, colliding with a barrier and breaking off his front wing. He returned to the pits for a replacement and was able to continue the race, eventually finishing 16th. He later remarked that he had mixed feelings about the race, stating "I think we were doing

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3328-414: The race. In August 2023, it was announced that Aitken would be a full-time IMSA driver in 2024 for Action Express Racing alongside Pipo Derani . He also returned to DTM for 2024 with Emil Frey Racing . Aitken joined Envision Racing in Formula E to partake in the rookie test at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit during late April 2023. He partook in his first free practice session at

3392-501: The race. Between 1992 and 1995, the circuit hosted a non-championship Triple Challenge event in late January consisting of touring cars, Superbikes and drag racing. The event was backed by the Winfield cigarette brand, to promote their sponsorship of all three categories of racing. Glenn Seton Racing , sponsored by rival cigarette brand Peter Jackson , won the touring car element of the event in all four years, with eponymous team owner/driver Glenn Seton winning three. In practice for

3456-422: The season, and Campos Racing's first win in Formula 2, at the Baku feature race. He also won his home sprint race at Silverstone , after overtaking Louis Delétraz on lap 17. Aitken also won the Monza sprint race after defending from the MP Motorsport car of Jordan King . King criticised Aitken's defensive driving as he claimed after the race that Aitken was weaving down the straight. Aitken finished fifth in

3520-457: The standings, scoring 159 of Campos' 189 points and helping them to finish fifth in the teams' championship. Aitken remained at Campos for 2020 , partnering Guilherme Samaia . Aitken took a double-podium finish at the second Silverstone round, finishing third in both the feature race and sprint race. He was involved in a high-speed collision with Luca Ghiotto on lap seven of the sprint race at Sochi . Both drivers were uninjured, but damage to

3584-456: The team. Aitken made his Formula One debut as a race driver with Williams at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix as a replacement for George Russell , who was promoted to Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton 's positive coronavirus test. Aitken stated before the event he had been "ready since Melbourne [March]" for such an opportunity. He chose to race with the car number 89, in reference to a number he previously used in karting. He qualified for

3648-495: The wheel. The race car received a positive reaction from the audience. For a race at the Mount Panorama Circuit in 2021, they were restricted to approximately 475 hp because they exceeded the maximum power-to-weight ratio permitted for racing at that circuit. The races were aired on a variety of networks and streaming services, including via streaming service Stan Sport , and live-streamed by website Motorsport.com through their Motorsport.TV platform. Some races also appeared on

3712-583: The winners of each feature race, with the winner of the feature race at Albert Park to be awarded the Alan Jones Cup. The opening round attracted a larger entry, including inaugural feature race winner Golding, two-time Australian Drivers' Champion Tim Macrow , and international entrants including the return of Barrichello and fellow Formula One veteran Giancarlo Fisichella , Formula 2 driver Jack Aitken and 2019 Bathurst 1000 winner Alexandre Prémat . After practice and qualifying sessions on Thursday 12 March, Golding had pole position. However, on Friday morning

3776-529: Was Williams F1 's reserve driver from 2020 until announcing his exit from the team in January 2023, and raced for the team at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix , replacing George Russell , who, in turn, replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the event. Jack Anthony Han-Aitken was born on 23 September 1995 in London to a Scottish father and South Korean mother. Aitken holds dual British and South Korean citizenship. Aitken started his karting career at Buckmore Park Kart Circuit in Kent aged seven. He competed in

3840-425: Was ineligible for points ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of

3904-463: Was involved in a massive crash along with 3 other drivers. He crashed into the barrier after Raidillon , bounced back onto the track and came to a stop before being hit from behind by another driver which caused two further cars to become entangled in the accident. Aitken was taken to hospital where he stayed overnight. His injuries were described as non life-threatening though serious and it was later revealed that he had sustained "a broken collarbone ,

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3968-424: Was marred, however, by an accident involving Alex Davison which caused damage to safety barriers and forced organisers to red-flag the race after just 10 of the scheduled 25 laps. The race was won by James Golding , with Barrichello second and John Martin in third. A second event was held at The Bend , with the feature race being won by John Martin. For 2020, a six round championship was planned, set to start as

4032-400: Was not up to modern standards and needed to be upgraded. On 28 April 2008, it was announced that Apex Circuit Design Ltd. had been commissioned to perform a $ 350,000 feasibility study on upgrading the track to suit more purposes and hold larger events such as the Australian Formula One Grand Prix , however nothing came of this proposed upgrade. In early 2011, the circuit received funding for

4096-546: Was originally announced in 2018, with Sydney Motorsport Park as the season opener. However, in April 2019, the organisers announced that the series would be delayed four months and that the inaugural season would instead kick off in September 2019 at Sandown Raceway , due to supply issues from Ligier's Charlotte area factory . The organisers also wanted to ensure that the S5000 car would be properly tested. The first event attracted an entry of 13 drivers, including former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello . The feature race

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