Formula Holden - History

History

Known during its development as Formula Australia, it was initially for chassis constructed from aluminium only, running a 3.8 litre Buick V6 engine as it was then utilised in the new versions of the Holden Commodore. Second-hand Formula 3000 chassis were targeted immediately as a cheap source of cars in addition to local constructors. For the 1992 season cars constructed from carbon fibre were allowed. In 2006 an engine upgrade was made available to the 3.6 litre Alloytec V6 engine, although take-up of the alloytec was far from universal. The engines were usually mounted in ex-Formula 3000 chassis, a large number of which were sourced from Japan but also included cars from other sources and a few specifically designed for the class, like the Cheetah, Elfin, Spa (designed by F1 designer Gary Anderson) and the TAFE Shrike designs.

From its inception in 1989 until 2004 the formula was used to determine the winner of the Australian Drivers' Championship for the CAMS Gold Star. From 2005 this title was moved to the Australian Formula 3 Championship.

From 1991 to 1995 the category was officially known as Formula Brabham in honour of Jack Brabham who acted as the category patron for five seasons. In 1996 the name reverted to Formula Holden and from the 2003 season the category was officially called "Formula 4000 powered by Holden".

The formula was also used for a 1993 Pan-Pacific series, several New Zealand Grands Prix, and Tasman Cup (Australia versus New Zealand) summer series. It has also been proposed to be used for an Asian series based in China. With numbers dropping and the increasing prominence of Formula 3, the class was dropped by the CAMS sanctioning body after the 2005 season. In 2006, the category was run as part of the Australian Motor Racing Series under the sanctioning of the Australian Auto Sport Alliance (AASA) and at times the regular Formula 4000 field was complemented by vehicles competing in the new Oz BOSS category for open wheel racing cars. In 2007 numbers had dropped to the point they could no longer form races by themselves and were amalgamated into the OzBOSS category. As part of this amalgamation, the cars themselves were re-badged again as Formula 3000V6.

The drivers in the series in the 2000s were a mix of older drivers who owned their own cars, or very young Oceanic or South Asian drivers looking to make a name for themselves on the international scene. Although technically using cars just a step below Formula One, the lack of competition in the series means that drivers tend to progress from Formula 4000 to a minor series in Europe (Will Power, British Formula 3) or North America (Scott Dixon, Indy Lights).

From 1 January 2012, Formula Holden cars with a competition history established prior to 31 December 1991 are eligible to compete in Group R "Historic Racing & Sports Racing Cars (post-1977)". However, cars constructed with a full carbon tub are specifically excluded from this Group.