With more than four months having passed since the last Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships round at Sydney Motorsport Park, motorsport fans can be forgiven for not remembering how the many different Shannons categories were left. 
  
Over the coming weeks, motorsport.org.au will have a detailed look at each category ahead of our final race meetings.  
  
S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship 
  
Out of all the categories on the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships bill, the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship is the only one to have wrapped up for the year. 
  
The open-wheel single seater category had four rounds as part of its first official season, with two of the rounds part of Shannons, one with the Supercars Championship and the other part of summer’s Race Tasmania event. 
  
The category also had extra prestige to it in 2021, with drivers vying for the renowned Motorsport Australia Gold Star – which made a welcome return to the Australian motorsport landscape since it was last awarded in 2014.  
  
Rounds 
Race Tasmania – Symmons Plains 
-       Race one: Joey Mawson 
-       Race two: Tim Macrow 
-       Race three (John McCormack Trophy): Thomas Randle 
 
Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships – Phillip Island 
-       Race one: Tim Macrow 
-       Race two: Cooper Webster 
-       Race three (Alfie Costanzo Trophy): Joey Mawson 
 
Supercars – Sandown
-       Race one: James Golding 
-       Race two: Kaleb Ngatoa 
-       Race three (John Bowe Trophy): Joey Mawson 
 
Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships – Sydney Motorsport Park 
-       Race one: James Golding 
-       Race two: Kaleb Ngatoa 
-       Race three (Warwick Brown Cup): James Golding 


  
The Winner – Joey Mawson 
Having raced internationally in some highly touted championships such as the European Formula 3 Championship, GP3 Series (now FIA Formula 3) and Porsche Supercup, 2021 was the first time Mawson had raced properly on home soil for seven years. 
  
The New South Welshman was highly consistent in his return to Australia, and was the only driver in the category to finish all but one race in the top five.  
  
Mawson’s numbers throughout the year were quite impressive, with the 25-year-old having stood on the podium in half of the championship’s races.  
  
Starting the season off with a victory in Tasmania, Mawson picked up another two victories over the next two rounds, as well as securing a further two seconds places and one third. 
  
Remarkably, the champion’s only finish outside the top five was 8th in a dramatic season finale at Sydney Motorsport Park, however Mawson had already built a big enough gap over title rival Thomas Randle - and all he needed to do was cross the finish line.  
  
“I’m just so happy. A big thank you to Form 700 and ALABAR for giving me this opportunity. The boys at Team BRM have been doing a fantastic job all year and gave me a great car – I’ll enjoy this. It means a lot to me. I have my name in history now,” Mawson said at the conclusion of the final race.  

 
Top 10 
Joey Mawson - 382 points 
Thomas Randle - 346 
Tim Macrow - 339 
James Golding - 329 
Luis Leeds - 307 
Nathan Herne - 304 
Cooper Webster - 209 
Ricky Capo - 173 
Kaleb Ngatoa  - 149  
Braydan Willmington - 148  


The final standings don’t do the title fight justice, as Thomas Randle had been in the hunt right until the final round.  
  
The Victorian’s chances of securing the title unfortunately all but vanished after the first race of the last round, as he finished fifth to Mawson’s second place – and with the championship leader just too consistent, it was always going to be a tall order to win that title.  
  
Tim Macrow was another driver to score well throughout the year, but a couple of low point scores in a handful of races ultimately cost him the chance to be in the running to reclaim another Gold Star title. 
  
Another driver ruing a couple of bad results was James Golding who actually scored the most number of wins along with Mawson - each winning three.  
  
Unfortunately, two retirements would go on to cost Golding any chance of a title and arguably, his two wins came too late in the season for him.  

The S5000 cars will next be in action when it rejuvenates the iconic Tasman Series at the conclusion of 2021, with dates for the 2022 season yet to be confirmed.