The Australian Formula Ford Championship has finalised its eight round calendar for the 2012 season, which will see the category return to the Bathurst 1000 program for the first time since 2004.

It will be the first time that the category has visited the iconic circuit in the Ford Fiesta engine era, and the championship will fittingly wrap up at Australia's most well-known motorsport event.

The year will begin at the Australian Grand Prix, before taking in Symmons Plains in Tasmania and Phillip Island. The category will then return to Hidden Valley after a one year absence, before two events in August at Queensland Raceway and Winton. The championship will wrap up at the two V8 Supercar endurance races with rounds seven and eight at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 respectively.

"We've been working really hard with V8 Supercars to lock in a calendar for this season and I think we've ended up with one of our best calendars to date. There's a great variety of circuits, which will test the drivers, and the season is bookended by two major events, which is great" Margaret Hardy, Category Manager said.

"We're excited about being back on the Australian Grand Prix schedule as it's a great way to start the year and all the drivers love the opportunity to race in front of the Formula One community. The fact that we can also include Hidden Valley on the calendar is a huge plus for everyone involved. The circuit produces great Formula Ford racing and the atmosphere at the event is second to none.

"The Bathurst 1000 is the best finale we could have asked for and we're very proud to be able to announce it as part of the calendar this year. The last time we visited Bathurst in 2004 it was a non-championship event, so it hasn't been part of the Australian Formula Ford Championship since 1995. In the past, the circuit always created great racing and this year will be no different; I think we're in for a really exciting season."

2012 Australian Formula Ford Championship Calendar
Round, Date, Event, Category
Rnd 1, March 15-18, Australian Grand Prix, Formula 1
Rnd 2, March 30-April 1, Symmons Plains, V8 Supercars
Rnd 3, May 18-20, Phillip Island, V8 Supercars
Rnd 4, June 15-17, Hidden Valley, V8 Supercars
Rnd 5, August 3-5, QLD Raceway, V8 Supercars
Rnd 6, August 24-26, Winton, V8 Supercars
Rnd 7, September 14-16, Sandown 500, V8 Supercars
Rnd 8, October 4-7, Bathurst 1000, V8 Supercars

Find the Australian Formula Ford Championship on twitter @ffordaustralia and at www.facebook.com/AustralianFormulaFordChampionship to keep up to date with Australia's premier junior development category.

Formula Ford is the world's premier junior development motorsport category and has been a prominent fixture within Australia since 1969. Ford has been a proud partner of Formula Ford in Australia since the beginning and will support the category again in 2012 as it continues to grow. The relative parity between local and international makes produces some of the closest and most exciting racing seen on any circuit around Australia.