Australian Formula 2 Championship

Australian Formula 2 Championship

Australian Formula 2, sometimes abbreviated to AF2 or ANF2, is a wings and slicks formula racing category in Australia. The category is one of Australia's oldest, dating back to 1964. The current format of AF2 was introduced in 1978. Brian Shead of Cheetah Racing Cars and Garrie Cooper of Elfin Racing Cars were largely responsible for the development of the format, which was devised to suit the needs of Australian drivers, most of whom had little or no sponsorship and had to bear the costs of racing out of their own pockets.

The class was an amalgamation of the previous Australian Formula 2 and Australian Formula 3 categories, using the same or newly developed cars, but powered by production-based single-cam, 2 valve per cylinder engines, with an engine capacity between 1100 cc and 1600 cc. Popular engines initially included the Toyota 2T, Ford Kent and Holden Gemini. Later on the Volkswagen Golf became the engine of choice due to its lighter weight and greater power levels. Initially the new format proved to be very successful, attracting the largest grids seen in Australian formula racing for years. The manufacture of cars in Australia for the formula flourished. It wasn't uncommon to see cars designed and built by the same person that drove them.

For a brief period when Formula 5000 was in its final death throes, AF2 was arguably (but not officially) Australia's top class of racing car. It had a national championship as well as various state series. AF2 was bumped down from being the number one Australian racing formula with the introduction of the slightly faster but far more expensive Formula Pacific category. Throughout the 1980s AF2 remained an extremely popular and competitive category and the Australian Drivers' Championship was contested with Formula 2 cars in both 1987 and 1988.

In 1999 CAMS introduced 2 litre international Formula Three engines into AF2. The 1600cc class was meant to become the second tier of the formula and then to be discontinued. Despite this 1600cc AF2 remained a popular Formula, perhaps because it was a far cheaper formula than Formula Three and Formula Brabham/Holden/4000.

Since then, the popularity of AF2 has slowly diminished and the series has contracted from being a national series, to one that is contested in New South Wales, although there are plans afoot to also incorporate Victoria.