Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
The planned Formula Regional Australia championship will now be known as AU3 after altering plans for its inaugural season.
AU3 emerges from the pre-existing Australian Formula Open (AFO), which features multiple classes of single-seater machinery.
Motorsport Australia approved the AFO promoter’s seperation of the FRegional class into a new championship for 2025 last November, a month ago it was yet to be determined whether it would run with FIA certification as it opted for the Tatuus T-318 chassis used by many FRegional championships but with no spec engine provider.
There were also plans for an invitational class for previous-generation Toyota Racing Series cars that sit roughly at the FRegional level and have been raced in AFO.
In addition to a name change, the promoter has announced a partnership with GB3 team Hillspeed. The AU3 champion will win a test programme with the team, and “Hillspeed is also providing a subsidised test package for the series runner-up”. This year the primarily Britain-based GB3 championship introduces a new FRegional-level car.
Australian Formula 4 is also undergoing a rebrand to AU4, as it combines first and second-generation chassis on its grid. The Mygale M14-F4 was used from 2015 to 2019, then when it was relaunched last year it switched to the second-generation Tatuus T-421 chassis. AFO adopted the Mygales for its AF04 class, which will now be moved across to AU4.
Taking over promotion of AU4 is the AGI Sport team, while fellow single-seater outfit Tim Macrow Racing will run AU3, and a minimum age of 14 has been set in AU4’s class for older cars. The class champion will receive free entry into the 2026 season’s top class, as well as a test, and the overall champion this year will also get a test prize.
Sydney Motorsport Park hosts the season opener on March 22-23, then there are rounds at The Bend Motorsport Park (May 23-25 and July 12/13), Phillip Island (August 16/17) and once again at Sydney (September 26-28).