While the 2009 Shannons Nationals will be contested over nine events following the cancellation of Round Nine at Symmons Plains Raceway, the series has announced plans to return to Tasmania bigger and better in 2010. Symmons Plains was scheduled to host Round Nine of the 2009 season in October, however the Australian GT Championship’s withdrawal from the round, along with the Shannons Nationals finale at Sandown, made the event unfeasible.

A group of Shannons Nationals competitors will combine their racing with a role in the WPS Bathurst 12 Hour, in a big weekend of double duty at Mount Panorama on 20-22 February. After racing in the opening round of the 2009 Shannons Nationals wraps up on Saturday afternoon, 22 drivers and numerous crew members will remain in Bathurst for roles as competitors and officials in Sunday’s production car endurance race. A total of 11 drivers will also participate in the 12 Hour, with five drivers from the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge trading their Porsches for production cars. Having finished second in the 2008 12 Hour, series newcomer Tony Quinn will be joined on the grid on Sunday by GT3 Cup Challenge rivals Max Twigg, Josh Hunt, Richard Howe and Dennis O’Keefe.

Almost a year to the day after he was injured in a serious crash, Matt Kingsley will return to the racetrack this weekend, February 20-22, in Round One of the Shannons Nationals at Mount Panorama, Bathurst. Kingsley, 24, will race in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, one of five Shannons Nationals categories running in conjunction with the WPS Bathurst 12 Hour. On February 24 2008, Kingsley was contesting a V8 Ute race at Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar event, when he was seriously injured in a multi-car accident. Nerve damage and severe concussion saw Kingsley spend several weeks in Adelaide Hospital, before undergoing extensive rehabilitation on the Gold Coast over the following months. “After the accident I had a lot of nerve damage,” Kingsley said.

The Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships will visit Queensland’s Morgan Park Raceway for the first time in 2009, following a change to this year’s schedule. Round Seven of the Nationals’ fourth season on 8-9 August has been moved from Queensland Raceway to Morgan Park, located at Warwick, 160km south-west of Brisbane. The Shannons Nationals will be the first national-level series to visit Morgan Park, which is currently undergoing upgrades and a circuit extension. “We were looking forward to returning to Queensland Raceway,” series director Rob Curkpatrick said. “Unfortunately, an issue between track management and CAMS was delaying things, and we needed to finalise arrangements to get on with our business.

British driver James Winslow won the 2008 Australian Drivers Championship at Symmons Plains Raceway today, while Leanne Tander took out the Tasmanian Formula 3 SuperPrix in Round Eight of the Shannons Nationals. Three national champions were crowned at the Launceston circuit over the weekend, as competitors put on exciting racing for spectators who braved wet and wild weather. Winslow entered the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship season finale with a one-point lead over Tander, extending that advantage to three points after topping qualifying on Saturday. The pair were battling it out in the opening race before Tander slowed with an engine problem which would eventually force her out of the race.

The first three series champions from the 2008 Shannons Nationals will be crowned at Symmons Plains Raceway this weekend, as the season enters its final three rounds. Round Eight will be the series’ annual visit to Tasmania, with the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and HQ National Series titles to be decided in a big weekend of racing. Headlining the event will be the Country Club Tasmanian Formula 3 SuperPrix - the final race of the Formula 3 season - which looks set to decide the 2008 Australian Drivers Championship, one of the most-prestigious prizes in domestic motorsport.

Just one week out from Father’s Day, six sets of fathers will race their sons at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway this weekend, aiming for top spot in Round Seven of the Shannons Nationals. Set to spark plenty of discussion over Father’s Day lunch the following Sunday, the family feuds will add extra spice to the on-track competition, with over 170 competitors doing battle across six categories.

The Australian Formula 3 Championship battle will shift up a gear in this weekend’s sixth round of the Shannons Nationals at Phillip Island, with Nathan Caratti and Leanne Tander entering the weekend sharing the championship lead. Phillip Island will host the penultimate Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship round of the year and the 150th race in the championship’s history, which is the nation’s fastest class with alumni including Indycar driver Will Power and impressive V8 Supercar rookie Michael Caruso.

Melbourne sports car enthusiasts will get two for the price of one when the Shannons Nationals heads to Phillip Island on 9-10 August, with two multi-million dollar fields of European thoroughbreds on the program.  In one of the biggest gatherings of sports cars in Australia this year, over 45 competitors are set to tackle Phillip Island across the Australian GT Championship and new Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge. The categories are two of seven in action during Round Six of the 2008 Shannons Nationals, which will also include open-wheel racing, touring cars and Superkarts.

Leanne Tander moved into a share of the Australian Formula 3 Championship lead while Darren Hossack cleaned up in Sports Sedans and Superkarts, in Round Five of the Shannons Nationals at Eastern Creek Raceway. Tander and Hossack were among the winners in a big weekend of racing at the Sydney circuit, with seven categories in action and lap records tumbling. Nathan Caratti was on form early in Round Six of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship, topping each qualifying session to extend his championship lead to 20 points. He lost ground at the start of each race, though, and was involved in a Race Two incident, finishing fourth and 12th in the two races, despite setting a new lap record.