| Thu, Sep 9 5:54PM (NZ) |
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This website is now dedicated to covering the Black Bullets. Current Black Bullets news is now provided on iSportz » with past news archived here for your continued reference.
Members of New Zealand's enterprising Formula 5000 Association have handed their cars over to the MSC shipping line for a second time this season ahead of next month's final F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series in Australia.
The cars were packed into their specially fitted out containers in Christchurch and Auckland this week and delivered to waiting MSC line ships by local transport companies NZ Express (Christchurch) and L.W.Bonney & Sons (Auckland).
All told 14 cars are being shipped (and one more is being air-freighted) from New Zealand to the meeting, where they will line up on the grid with ten similar cars from Australia and three from the UK - making up one of the biggest grids of genuine '70s-era Formula 5000 cars ever seen - more in fact than were ever assembled at rounds of the Tasman Series in which many of the cars were originally run in.
New Zealand has more race-ready Formula 5000 cars than any other country and the go-ahead local association has made a name for itself around the world for its pro-active approach to promoting the re-born category.
The innovative freighting arrangements, which sees the MSC line, NZ Express and L.W. Bonney & Sons moving the cars between New Zealand and Australia every summer and New Zealand and the UK - on average - every two years means that enthusiasts the world over can see the cars in action at the world's best classic and historic motor racing meetings.
The New Zealand association was also instrumental in getting British husband and wife duo Frank and Judy Lyons involved, and now the Lyons - and various other UK-based Formula 5000 owner/drivers - make reciprocal trips, last summer to New Zealand and this summer to Australia.
This time the pair – who also own a substantial collection of 1970s and 1980s F1 cars – are bringing out a Lola T332 for Frank to drive, and a 1974 Eagle FA74 once raced by the late F1 World Champion James Hunt and top female racer Lella Lombardi, for Judy.
Joining them from the UK is top F5000 historic competitor Peter Dunn driving the 1973 March 73A in which he scored podium places in three Britain's HSCC Derek Bell Trophy Series races last year.
Though the Australians have been slower than their New Zealand counterparts to catch on to the revival of interest in the Formula 5000 era the Phillip Island meeting has attracted the biggest single entry of Australian-based cars to date.
Included in the field will be original era competitor Bruce Allison, who will return to competition in a F5000 for the first time in nearly 30 years, and interested spectators will be some of his fellow competitors including Frank Matich, Vern Schuppan, Alan Hamilton, Jon Davison and Alfredo Costanzo.
Contemporary Australian single-seater racer Chris Hocking will also be stepping back in time at the wheel at Phillip Island of the Matich A53 Repco that John Goss drove to win the Australian Grand Prix at Sandown in 1976. The car has recently been completely rebuilt and Hocking will race it for the first time at the 'Classic.
Sponsored by Shannons, the VACC and Jayair, this year's 'Classic at Phillip Island is set to be even more popular than last year's - which attracted a bumper crowd of around 20,000 to watch 470 vehicles spanning nine decades in 33 individual events over the weekend.
The focus for competitors in the F5000 Tasman Revival Series however will be on the title chase, with defending champion Ian Clements (Lola T332) heading into the final round at the meeting with just a one point lead over Auckland's Aaron Burson (Talon MR1A) and Chrisatchurch's Stan Redmond (Lola T332).
Auckland's Stuart Lush (McRae GM1) could also be a factor, having burst back into front-running contention with wins over Clements at the Pukekohe round, and in his absence (Clements was called away on family matters on the second day of competition) at Timaru a fortnight ago.
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