S5000 to race at Albert Park, Gold Coast in 2022

As was the case this year the season will effectively be split into two different series, starting with the Australian Drivers' Championship.

That will kick off with the Race Tasmania event at Symmons Plains on February 11-13 followed by the Motorsport Australia Championships round at Phillip Island on March 18-20.

The V8-powered category is then set to make its first full appearance at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on April 7-10.

S5000 did make a brief appearance at the AGP in 2020, getting its first day of track time done before the event was cancelled when a McLaren staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

The 2022 Gold Star season will continue with a TBC event in May, expected to be Sydney Motorsport Park, before supporting Supercars at the Darwin Triple Crown.

The Gold Star will be decided at the Motorsport Australia Championships event at Sandown on September 16-18.

The Tasman Series then returns for a second year, run across three high-profile events.

The first is the Gold Coast 500, marking a return of high-powered open-wheelers to Surfers Paradise.

The second Tasman Series round is the Bathurst International on November 11-13, followed by the Supercars round at Sydney Motorsport Park on November 18-20.

“The 2022 S5000 calendar includes a great mixture of high-profile events and fantastic circuits that will really suit the cars as we continue to grow Australia’s premier open-wheel series,” said Matt Braid, CEO of series promoter the Australia Racing Group.

“From the streets of the Gold Coast to our debut in Darwin and a highly-anticipated return to the Grand Prix and the debut of the Bathurst International, there are key major events spread throughout the year.

“Returning to Albert Park will be incredible and allow S5000 to continue a journey working with the team at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation that began in 2020 and will hopefully result in us racing in 2022. The entire category is excited to be among the first to sample the exciting new layout next April.

“Then there’s more traditional circuits like Symmons Plains, Phillip Island and Sandown that the drivers thrive on.

“It’s a great mixture of events and circuits that will give S5000 the season it deserves after several interrupted years since its formation.”

Joey Mawson is the reigning Gold Star winner while Aaron Cameron secured the Tasman Series despite his campaign ending with a spectacular crash at Mount Panorama.