Look back in history Sunday: Repco power wins NZ Grand Prix, twice!

Repco (Replacement Parts Company) first gained international success having developed engines that powered Brabham Formula One cars to win both the 1966 (Jack Brabham) and 1967 (Denny Hulme) World Championship Drivers titles.

It was also in the 1967 season that the new, and soon to be very successful, Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine appeared in a Lotus 49, making an immediate impact on the F1 grid. This would help to see the demise of the Repco engine, even though they attempted to gain more power that was needed with gear driven double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder for the 1968 season, only to prove too unreliable.

For the F5000 category, Repco developed and built the Repco-Holden engine using the block and head castings of the current Holden 308 V8 motor. It’s first success was in the 1970 Australian Grand Prix won by Frank Matich in a Repco powered McLaren M10B.

At the 1973 NZ Grand Prix, John McCormack made people sit up and take notice after setting third fastest time in practice and starting third on the grid. He went on to win beating the likes of Graham McRae, Frank Matich, Kevin Barlett, David Oxton and Warwick Brown.

To show that it was not just a one off result, McCormack came back in the following year to win the 1974 NZ Grand Prix, this time held at the Wigram Airfield in Christchurch. The first and only NZGP to be held at the Wigram Circuit.

1973 New Zealand Grand Prix Results

Result	Driver	Nat	Car	Laps	Time
1	John McCormack	Aust	Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8	58	67m 41.8s
2	Alan Rollinson	UK	McRae GM1 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	58	67m 42.4s
3	Steve Thompson	UK	Chevron B24 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	57
4	Graham McRae	NZ	McRae GM1 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	56
5	Garry Pedersen	NZ	Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	56
Ret	Warwick Brown	Aust	Lola T300 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	54	Out Of Fuel
6	Ken Smith	NZ	March 722 / Cosworth 1930cc 4cyl	52
7	Noritake Takahara	Jpn	Brabham BT36 / Cosworth 1790cc 4cyl	52
8	Dave McConnell	Can	Surtees TS15 / Hart 1975cc 4cyl	49
Ret	Sam Posey	USA	Surtees TS11 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	44	Throttle
N/C	Frank Matich	Aust	Matich A50 / Repco 4994cc V8	43	Not Classified
Ret	Baron Robertson	NZ	March 722 / Cosworth 1790cc 4cyl	40	Engine
Ret	Dexter Dunlop	NZ	McRae GM1 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	40	Flagged Off
Ret	Kevin Bartlett	Aust	Lola T300 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	17	Overheating
Ret	Evan Noyes	USA	McRae GM1 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	15	Fuel Injection
Ret	Kelvin Cameron	NZ	Brabham BT23C / Cosworth 1791cc 4cyl	11	Flywheel
Ret	David Oxton	NZ	Begg FM5 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	5	Accident
Ret	Max Stewart	Aust	Lola T330 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	3	Suspension
DNS	Frank Radisich	NZ	McLaren M10B / Repco 4994cc V8		Accident

1974 NZ Grand Prix Results

1	John McCormack	Aust	Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8	47	52m 29.8s
2	Teddy Pilette	Belg	Chevron B24 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	47
3	Peter Gethin	UK	Chevron B24 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	47
4	David Oxton	NZ	Begg FM5 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	47
5	Garry Pedersen	NZ	McLaren M18 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	46
6	Graeme Lawrence	NZ	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8
7	Allan McCully	NZ	Begg FM5 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8
8	Reg Cook	NZ	Lola T300 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8
9	Baron Robertson	NZ	Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8
10	Ken Smith	NZ	March 732 / Cosworth 1930cc 4cyl
Ret	Dexter Dunlop	NZ	McRae GM1 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	38	Fuel Injection
Ret	Graham McRae	NZ	McRae GM2 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	30	Valve Spring
Ret	Warwick Brown	Aust	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	27	Gearbox
Ret	Robbie Booth	NZ	Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	24	Differential
Ret	Johnnie Walker	Aust	Lola T330 / Repco 4994cc V8	20	Gearbox
Ret	Max Stewart	Aust	Lola T330 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	12	Oil Line
Ret	Neil Doyle	NZ	Surtees TS9B / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	7	Suspension
Ret	John Laney	NZ	McLaren M10B / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	7	Engine

The list of Repco-Holden’s Formula 5000 engine race, championship and series wins includes:

Australian Grand Prix

1970 - Frank Matich, McLaren M10B
1971 - Frank Matich, Matich A50
1976 - John Goss, Matich A53

Australian Drivers’ Championship

1972 - Frank Matich, Matich A50
1973 - John McCormack, Elfin MR5
1975 - John McCormack, Elfin MR6

New Zealand Grand Prix

1973 - John McCormack, Elfin MR5
1974 - John McCormack, Elfin MR5

Australian Sports Car Championship

1975 - Garrie Cooper, Elfin MS7

Australian Sports Sedan Championship

1980 - Tony Edmondson, Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV

Australian Tourist Trophy

1976 - Stuart Kostera, Elfin MS7

Toby Lee Series

1974 - John McCormack, Chrysler Charger