John McCormack won the championship driving an Elfin MR5 (pictured in 1972)
The championship was contested over a five-round series with one race per round.[3] There was to be a round at Symmons Plains on 23 September in an event shared with the 1973 Australian Formula 2 Championship. However, as just four Formula 5000 cars were entered, organisers decided to run the event only for Formula Two cars.[4] There was also originally to be an event at Warwick Farm before that facility closed suddenly earlier in 1973.[5] As a result of these cancellations, a second event was added at Phillip Island in late November.
Championship points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the top six places in each round[3] with all rounds counting towards each driver's points total.[1] Only drivers holding a CAMS General Competition License were eligible to score points.[1]
Note: The Australian Grand Prix was won by New Zealander Graham McRae.[3] However, as the Australian Drivers' Championship was open only to holders of a CAMS General Competition License,[1] 9 points were awarded to the highest placed eligible driver, John McCormack, 6 points to the second highest placed eligible driver etc.[3]
Championship name
Conditions for the championship were promulgated by CAMS under the name "Australian Formula 1 Championship – Gold Star Award",[1] with mention of the requirement for the phrase "Australian Champion Driver" to be reserved exclusively for the winner of the CAMS Gold Star.[1] Historic records published by CAMS use the term Australian Drivers' Championship[2] and that title has been used here.
References
^ abcdefgConditions for Australian Titles, 1973 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 92 to 93
^ abRecords, Titles and Awards : Australian Drivers' Championship – CAMS Gold Star, 2006 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 14-4
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrsAustralian Formula One Championship, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, pages 60 to 77
^Australian Competition Yearbook 1974 Edition. 1974. p. 92.
^Australian Competition Yearbook 1974 Edition. 1974. p. 60.