Kiwis like nothing more than taking on – and beating – their Australian counterparts on the sports field, and this season that rivalry is set to expand to New Zealand’s F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series.
Though rounds of the popular historic motor racing series for stock block 5-litre V8 single-seaters have been held on both sides of the Tasman since its inception, the 2016/17 series will be the first with a specific Trans-Tasman Challenge series-within-a-series component.
That Trans-Tasman Challenge will be contested over the first four – of a total of six – rounds of the 2016/17 series, the first two in Australia later this year, the second two in New Zealand in early January next year.
In a first for the series the Western Australia Sporting Car Club will host the opening 2016/17 round at the Perth International Historic Race Meeting at Barbagallo Raceway over the October 22-23 weekend. The Victorian Historic Racing Register will then host the second at its 25th annual Classic Sandown meeting in Melbourne a fortnight later.
There is then a break of just over two months before the series reconvenes on this side of the Tasman for rounds at Hampton Downs and Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park in January 2017 and Christchurch and Feilding in February..
An added bonus for competitors chasing Trans-Tasman Challenge honours is the opportunity to celebrate the career of ageless series super vet Ken Smith at the annual New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing meeting at Hampton Downs on January 21 and 22, and take on the best of a full field of pukka period Formula One cars at the inaugural Race of Champions Revival meeting at Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park the weekend after.
Like many of the drivers from the UK and Europe bringing their historic Formula One cars to Taupo for the Race of Champions meeting, a number of the Australian competitors are also expected to stay on and cross Cook Strait to compete at the annual Skope Classic meeting at Christchurch’s Mike Pero Motorsport Park on February 04 and 05.
Traditionally it has been the Kiwi F5000 drivers who have had the upper hand when they have travelled to Australia to compete.
However at the final round of the 2015/16 series at Phillip Island in Australia earlier this year, top Kiwi Ken Smith (Lola T332) was beaten to the line in the races by young gun Tom Tweedie (Chevron B24) from Sydney and category newcomer Tim Berryman (Lola T332) from Stockinbingal (near Wagga Wagga) in rural New South Wales.
Melbourne drivers Paul Zazryn (Lola T332) and Bryan Sala (Matich A50) have also proved the equal of the top Kiwis at home and when they have previously competed in New Zealand, hence the reason the organisers of the MSC series have come up with the Trans-Tasman Challenge initiative.
“The problem in the past,” says NZ F5000 Association committee member Glenn Richards, “is that the Aussies have been playing catch-up in terms of cars, drivers and competitiveness. On the strength of our last two visits it’s been a different story though, so now’s a good time to introduce a Trans-Tasman component to add a little further spice, if you like, to our series.”
The move by the owners and promotors of Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park to revive the classic F1 vs F5000 Race of Champions format at its new meeting over the January 28-29 weekend will give the 2016/17 series another major boost.
The original F1 vs F5000 Race of Champions ran at the Brands Hatch circuit near London from 1965 to 1979 and attracted top drivers from both categories.
It holds special significance for F5000 owners, drivers and category fans here and around the world because in 1973 British ace Peter Gethin beat F1 drivers Denny Hulme (McLaren), James Hunt (Hesketh) and Tony Trimmer (Iso-Marlboro) to the line in his Chevron B24 F5000 car.
That car – now owned and raced by UK-based NZ series regular Greg Thornton – and an example of the McLaren M23 which Kiwi Denny Hulme drove to second place are expected at the meeting.
Series super vet – and now four-time champion – Ken Smith will again head the entry list on this side of the Tasman for the 2016/17 NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival and Trans-Tasman Challenge series.
Other Kiwi drivers expected to join him include former series champ Steve Ross (McRae GM1) from Dunedin, and fellow Mainlanders Russell Greer (Blenheim, Lola T332), Ian Clements (Christchurch, Lola T332), David Arrowsmith (Christchurch, Lotus 70) and Lindsay O’Donnell (Christchurch, Begg FM5).
Most of the Auckland-based series regulars like Clark Proctor (March 73A/1), Glenn Richards, (Lola T400), David Banks (Talon MR1), father and son Peter (McRae GM1) and Aaron (Talon MR1/A) Burson, Grant Martin (Talon MR1/A), Calven Bonney (Begg 018), Shayne Windelburn (Lola T400), John Mackinlay (March 72A), Alastair Russell (McRae GM1) and Kerry McIntosh (Begg FM2) are also expected back as are Brett Willis (Lola T330) from Rotorua, Sefton Gibb (Lola T332) from Napier and Tim Rush (McLaren M22) from Feilding.
Big things are also expected of series’ young gun Alan Dunkley after his impressive pace and results in a high-wing Lola T140 at Laguna Seca in the United States in August last year then back home in a Lola T332 over the summer.
Set to join the series for the first time, meanwhile, are Ian Riley from New Plymouth with a Lola T332, Karl Zohs from Rotorua in a Chevron B32, Howard Wood from Auckland in a rare V6 GAA Cosworth-engined Chevron B30 and Gary Lovie from Christchurch with a Lola T142.
With Alan Dunkley moving up to the later model class (in the Lola T332) the interest in Class A for older model cars will now focus on how Lovie’s Lola T142 fares against the McLaren M10A of Tony Roberts, the M10Bs of Frank Karl, Poul Christie (Auckland) and Grant Clearwater (Kerikeri), and the Surtees TS5 of Warwick Mortimer (Matakana).
CALENDAR
2016/17 New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series
Rnd 1 – Oct 22-23 2016 – Barbagallo Raceway Perth WA Aust
Rnd 2 – Nov 05-06 2016 – VHRR Sandown Melbourne VIC, Aust
Rnd 3 – Jan 21-22 2017 – NZFMR – Kenny Smith – Hampton Downs Auckland NZ
Rnd 4 – Jan 28-29 2017 – Race of Champions Revival – Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park Taupo NZ
Rnd 5 – Feb 04-05 2017 – Skope Classic Mike Pero Motorsport Park Ruapuna Christchurch, NZ
Rnd 6 – Feb 11-12 2017 – NZGP Meeting Manfeild, Feilding, NZ
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