Formula 5000
August 18th, 2010 by NZ Classic Car
A second category original – Reg Cook – is set to join New Zealand’s world-leading MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series this season
Cook, now 63, raced a Lola T300 to second place in the local Gold Star Championship in 1974 and will make his F5000 return this season in a Lola T400 recently acquired from Canada by fellow Aucklander Glenn Richards.
Defending MSC champion Ken Smith was the first ‘original ‘ (defined as a driver who raced one of the V8-powered single-seater racing cars first time around) lured back to the contemporary MSC-backed Tasman Cup Revival series. And though several others – including former Tasman Series champion Graeme Lawrence and Gold Star winner David Oxton – have enjoyed brief outings in series cars Cook is so far the only other to contemplate a serious return.
The car he will drive is one of 14 Lola T400 models produced in 1974 and 1975. It was originally owned and raced by Canadian driver Eppie Wietzes and has only had one other owner, fellow Canadian Horst Kroll.
Kroll bought and re-bodied the T400 to contest the Can-Am sportscar series and it is in this state that the car was advertised for sale.
Richards, whose Christchurch-based brother Tony races a Lola T332 in the MSC series, had been on the lookout for a car of his own to drive for a year or so and with encouragement from Ness Valley, Clevedon, neighbour Cook, and Canadian-based Kiwi Richard Paterson (who checked the car out for the pair before they made the trip to Toronto to negotiate the purchase) a deal was concluded earlier this year.
Under that deal Cook will rebuild and race the car this season with the view to handing it over to Richards when both decide the time is right.
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July 2nd, 2010 by NZ Classic Car
After seven seasons with rounds on both sides of the Tasman, the MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series looks set to be an almost all-New Zealand affair next summer.
Though allowance in the 2010/11 calendar has been made should the popular New Zealand-based MSC-backed group again be invited to join the support class roster at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix meeting in Melbourne in March next year, the five rounds so far confirmed are split between local circuits Hampton Downs in the northern Waikato, Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Christchurch’s Ruapuna Park and Invercargill’s Teretonga Park.
The reason?
“Really, “says NZ F5000 Association spokesman Tony Jack,” there are several. And it’s certainly not for want of invitations from event organisers across the Tasman who want us on their programmes again.
“What’s happened is that we’ve seen fantastic growth both in terms of interest in the category and number of cars on the grid, particularly over the past three years, but with the economy the way it is, plus the prospect of another couple of fantastic New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing meetings over consecutive weekends in January, our members told us that they would prefer to stay a little closer to home this season.”
The move will certainly be welcomed by fans of the big, brutish V8-engined 70s era F5000 single-seaters, particular those in the South Island who have only had the one chance per season – at the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting in early January – to see the cars in action since 2005.
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April 26th, 2010 by NZ Classic Car
The opportunity to track test David Abbott’s Lola T430 was real dream-come-true stuff for motor sport journalist and author Ross MacKay
“So this is it,” I found myself thinking, as Motorsport Solutions’ race engineer Andrew Bell buckled me into David Abbott’s ex Peter Gethin/ Warwick Brown, Australian Grand Prix-winning Lola T430 Formula 5000 car.
I was originally pencilled in to track test the car at the second New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing/ Bruce McLaren meeting at Pukekohe in January, but when Sunday’s lunchtime parade was cancelled, the only option was a flying trip to Christchurch a fortnight later for a couple of 20-minute sessions at Powerbuilt Tools Raceway, before the car was packed into a container and shipped across the 
Tasman for the Australian rounds of this season’s MSC series.
So what’s it like?Good question. And one I don’t mind admitting I’m still pondering as I write this. The short answer is ‘like nothing else I’ve ever driven and by no means an easy car to hustle around a race track.’But that doesn’t really help, does it? So humour me while I provide a longer and more detailed answer.
End of an Era
The T430 was one of the last, in actual fact probably the last, ‘new’ Formula 5000 single-seater produced, and was officially launched as a replacement for the ill-fated T400 in 1976. However, interest in the formula was waning, and what teams and individual drivers who were on the look-out for new cars appeared to favour was the ultimate CS version of the benchmark T332.
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January 29th, 2010 by NZ Classic Car
The New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing shifts from Hampton Downs to Pukekohe Park Raceway this weekend. More than 120 of the world’s most iconic and valuable historic race cars have travelled to NZ to take part in the festival and racing will start from 9am tomorrow.
There are almost 400 entries — with cars valuing tens of millions of dollars — confirmed. A total of 123 are international entries and organisers believe this is easily the largest amount of cars to travel to the country for a motor sports event.
Cars from Ferrari, Chevrolet, Lotus, Aston Martin, MG, Lola, March, Cooper and Brabham are all confirmed, as are cars from home constructors McRae, Begg and of course, McLaren. Many have been rebuilt or restored specifically for the meetings.
The cars date from the fifties through to the mid seventies and the racing will include ten classes for single seaters, sports cars and saloons and the highlights will be one of the biggest ever fields assembled of Formula 5000 cars and a field of spectacular CanAm cars, including McLaren’s that raced in the hands of Kiwi legends Denny Hulme and Bruce Mclaren himself.
In keeping with the period cars, all spectators to the event are being encouraged to wear period clothing from the fifties and sixties. “We really do want everyone to get into the spirit of the event,” commented event organiser Jim Barclay. ”This will be like a trip back in time and it would be great to see some of the many superbly restored and well-cared for classic cars in New Zealand come out for those weekends.”
“If the event is a success it has a great chance of becoming one of just a handful of globally recognised international historic motoring events, alongside the likes of the Goodwood Revival, Pebble Beach in the USA and the Philip Island meeting in Australia.”
Entries have come from Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Denmark, Belgium and even Dubai with around 1,000 international motorsport visitors expected to descend on New Zealand.
There is a show and shine evening tonight (Jan 29th) with the racing starting tomorrow (Jan 30) at 9am.
Tickets are available at the gate and vary in price from $30 – $110
To find out more head to www.nzfmr.co.nz
January 22nd, 2010 by NZ Classic Car
The New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing begins today and is running all weekend at the Hampton Downs Racetrack. More than 120 of the world’s most iconic and valuable historic race cars have travelled to NZ to take part in the festival.
The event is the first major international race meeting at the brand new Hampton Downs facility this Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th before shifting to Pukekohe for the following weekend (29th-31st), will mark the 40th anniversary of the passing of Kiwi racing and engineering legend Bruce McLaren.
There are almost 400 entries — with cars valuing tens of millions of dollars — confirmed. A total of 123 are international entries and organisers believe this is easily the largest amount of cars to travel to the country for a motor sports event.
Cars from Ferrari, Chevrolet, Lotus, Aston Martin, MG, Lola, March, Cooper and Brabham are all confirmed, as are cars from home constructors McRae, Begg and of course, McLaren. Many have been rebuilt or restored specifically for the meetings.
The cars date from the fifties through to the mid seventies and the racing will include ten classes for single seaters, sports cars and saloons and the highlights will be one of the biggest ever fields assembled of Formula 5000 cars and a field of spectacular CanAm cars, including McLaren’s that raced in the hands of Kiwi legends Denny Hulme and Bruce Mclaren himself.
In keeping with the period cars, all spectators to the event are being encouraged to wear period clothing from the fifties and sixties. “We really do want everyone to get into the spirit of the event,” commented event organiser Jim Barclay. ”This will be like a trip back in time and it would be great to see some of the many superbly restored and well-cared for classic cars in New Zealand come out for those weekends.”
“If the event is a success it has a great chance of becoming one of just a handful of globally recognised international historic motoring events, alongside the likes of the Goodwood Revival, Pebble Beach in the USA and the Philip Island meeting in Australia.”
Entries have come from Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Denmark, Belgium and even Dubai with around 1,000 international motorsport visitors expected to descend on New Zealand.
The racing starts at 9am on all three days and concludes at 4pm.
Tickets are available at the gate and vary in price from $30 – $90
To find out more head to www.nzfmr.co.nz
December 3rd, 2009 by NZ Classic Car
An exodus to New Zealand of some of the world’s most iconic and valuable racing cars is fully underway as more than 120 head to our shores for the first ever New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing in January.
The event, which kicks off with the first major international event at the brand new Hampton Downs facility on January 22nd, 23rd and 24th before shifting to Pukekohe for the following weekend (29th-31st), will mark the 40th anniversary of the passing of Kiwi racing and engineering legend Bruce McLaren.
There are almost 400 entries — with cars valuing tens of millions of dollars — confirmed. A total of 123 are international entries and organisers believe this is easily the largest amount of cars to travel to the country for a motor sports event.
Cars from Ferrari, Chevrolet, Lotus, Aston Martin, MG, Lola, March, Cooper and Brabham are all confirmed, as are cars from home constructors McRae, Begg and of course, McLaren. Many have been rebuilt or restored specifically for the meetings.
The cars date from the fifties through to the mid seventies and the racing will include ten classes for single seaters, sports cars and saloons and the highlights will be one of the biggest ever fields assembled of Formula 5000 cars and a field of spectacular CanAm cars, including McLaren’s that raced in the hands of Kiwi legends Denny Hulme and Bruce Mclaren himself.
In keeping with the period cars, all spectators to the event are being encouraged to wear period clothing from the fifties and sixties. “We really do want everyone to get into the spirit of the event,” commented event organiser Jim Barclay. “This will be like a trip back in time and it would be great to see some of the many superbly restored and well-cared for classic cars in New Zealand come out for those weekends.”
“If the event is a success it has a great chance of becoming one of just a handful of globally recognised international historic motoring events, alongside the likes of the Goodwood Revival, Pebble Beach in the USA and the Philip Island meeting in Australia.”
Entries have come from Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, Denmark, Belgium and even Dubai with around 1,000 international motorsport visitors expected to descend on New Zealand.
To find out more head to www.nzfmr.co.nz
