Years ago the trans-Tasman rivalry was alive and well in this part of the world – and the introduction of a new category to Australia may lead to it coming back in style..
THERE are two words in the motorsport lexicon in this part of the world that, without fail, stir up the passions of racing fans both young and old.
Tasman Series.
Between 1964 and 1975 the best drivers from Australia, New Zealand and around the world came to race down-under in high powered open wheelers each Summer, putting on a spectacular show.
Those eleven seasons saw the likes of Bruce McLaren, Jim Clark, Chris Amon, Warwick Brown, Frank Gardner and more race at places like Warwick Farm, Pukekohe, Wigram and Lakeside in what was essentially the South Pacific Formula 1 Championship in everything but name only.
Sadly, as regulations changed and the increasing demands on Formula One drivers’ as that championship evolved meant that from 1976 the series disappeared.
It was re visited for two brief years under Formula Holden / Brabham regulations but never really failed to capture the imagination of the paying public on either side of the Tasman sea.
Since then it has become a title discussed in hushed tones and in near reverence, without there really being a chance of it returning.
Which is odd, because despite all the similarities in the way Aussie’s and Kiwi’s go about life there has rarely been an instance where we can run the same formula of top-level racing cars at the same time.
When Australia had Super Touring, NZ had Schedule S. Supercars were here, NZ V8’s and SuperTourers there. Even our junior open-wheel categories have never aligned; the spectacular Toyota Racing Series never even considered for introduction on these shores, in favour of the FIA-blessed Formula 4.
So while our Cricket, Rugby Union and League teams regularly tee-off in annual sporting contests that are amongst the most fiercely contested and passionately supported anywhere in the world, there is no such equal platform for our drivers.
Of course, New Zealander’s have a habit of coming over to Australia and knocking off the best that we have to offer; just citing the names Jim Richards, Greg Murphy and – more lately – Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen means I don’t need to extrapolate further.
Yet wouldn’t it be nice if they could do it with a platform raced both in Australia and New Zealand?
That opportunity may arise thanks to the recent news that TCR – the currently in-vogue global touring car formula – has been approved for introduction into Australia.
With a 2019 start date in mind, new promoters the Australian Racing Group will be responsible for the introduction of the four-cylinder category into Australia for the first time.
Locally, the category has been at pains to promote itself as an alternative to Supercars and not a rival. It is expected to slot onto the support program of major events and other national-level rounds and be the international option for Touring Car Fans who may not get off on the current Supercars schedule.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand is a country in desperate need of a new front-line Touring Car Category.
The war between SuperTourers and NZV8’s decimated the headline act there and though the category that emerged – a mixture of both cars and the older TL-specification racers – provides entertaining racing, it is obvious it’s not a sustainable mixture going forward.
Word on the street is that TCR is one of the options being looked at as an eventual replacement and should Motorsport NZ head down that route it could be the best thing to happen for both sides of the Tasman.
In Australia there is some hesitation towards TCR’s local introduction – after all, we have three major, national-level series running Supercar-specification vehicles and each of them has averaged more than 20 cars at each round this year.
It’s not like Australia is missing out on Touring Car Racing, and some within the sport see it as a cynical cash grab or a play to unseat Supercars’ power base.
Whether it is or not, time will tell.
However, should NZ head down the TCR pathway as well there will be injected a real meaning to a local version of the class in Australia.
You’d never race an Australian Supercar against an NZ V8, but a TCR car is a TCR car whether it’s in Australia, New Zealand or, for all I know, the Bahamas.
Wouldn’t it be a thing if cars racing to an identical set of regulations on each side of the sea could come together for a series of races – say two or three in each country – over Summer to find out who was best?
You could start with a support race to the Pukekohe Supercars round, take in some of the Summer series events there and then come to Australia for a spot on the Adelaide 500 support program and perhaps even the Grand Prix.
TCR cars are obviously not open-wheel racing but in these times we need to take what we can get – and what we have in front of us is a real opportunity for the Tasman Series to return.
Yes, it would have a very different identity to what we once knew and yes, it would probably lack the romanticism of the old battles that featured Formula One stars in fast cars at great circuits.
But when Australia and New Zealand do battle on the sporting field great things happen – and there is little doubt that the same would occur should New Zealand join the TCR global push.
After all, the ‘TCR Tasman Series’ has a certain ring to it, right?
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