Underway this weekend at the Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW, is the Shannons S5000 Tasman Series with six teams fielding cars in the two-event, seven race competition with $50,000 and the Tasman Cup up for grabs. The field has two international drivers with ex F1 driver Roberto Merhi from Spain, plus F3 and GT driver Yoshiaki Katayama from Japan.
It is a far-cry from the original Tasman Series that was held annually from 1964 to 1975 over a series of race meetings in both New Zealand and Australia. Particularly in the early days, many F1 chassis and drivers made the trip down under, competing against local Kiwi and Australian drivers in summer conditions while the Northern Hemisphere endured their winter.
Now we have the S5000, a modern rendition of the Formula 5000 category which the Tasman Series involved into from 1970. It’s a new generation of Australian single seater racing with a powerful 5-litre V8 engine, and, reportedly, quite spectacular to watch.
I’m just not sure about the Australian use of the ‘Tasman Series’ and awarding the ‘Tasman Cup’ to the overall winner. That time, back in the mid 1960s to 70s, was unique for many reasons. There is nothing unique about the S5000 class other than it is the only category like this in the world. There is little connection with what went before, in the original Tasman Series.
The Tasman Cup Revival Series has been around for many years and features the very Formula 5000 cars that actually raced in the 1970s, both here and in Australia, albeit mostly with new owners and drivers. Now that is unique in its own way with a serious connection to the past, yet they have never attempted to adopt the name, instead using the word ‘Revival’.
Maybe it is clever marketing by the Australian owners ARG. Let’s hope that in time we do see this series evolve with meetings on both sides of the Tasman with quality grids, making it into something unique.
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