Here is our third post featuring images from the Tasman Series by photographer Brian McInerney.

This time we take a look in and around the Pits and Paddock. As you can see, things have changed!

These photos are special, because this is the first time they have been published in any medium for 40 years.

Brian is a professional photographer and in the 1960s he was the young assistant photographer at Channel Seven in Sydney. For each of the Tasman Series races in 1967, 1968 & 1969 he acquired a press photographer’s pass and had complete access to the drivers and the track.

As a result he has a truly remarkable collection of images of the Tasman Series stars, including Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Derek Bell and the local heroes.

Its only three weeks until the Tasman Revival at Eastern Creek, so make sure you grab your tickets.

Images: Brian McInerney, Fine Image Gallery ©

Via: MotorsportRetro.com

When New Zealand’s Graham McRae took out the 1973 Tasman Series he become the first – and only – driver to win the Series three years in a row.

His winning mount for 1973 was the hot pink McRae GM1 Chevrolet, powered by British developed Alan Smith engines. McRae was running hot, having just returned from winning the rich L&M Formula 5000 series in the United States.

Graham is pictured in this ad for Australian petroleum company Ampol at Adelaide International Raceway. Interestingly the image is from the 1972 series, as the following McLaren M10B is driven by Kevin Bartlett, Kevin entered a Lola T300 in the 1973 Tasman. Despite his success, Adelaide proved to be unkind to McRae as he failed to finish at this round in both 1972 and 1973.

With the introduction of Formula 5000 to the Tasman Series the stars of Formula One no longer made the long haul down under each summer. However for 1973, there was an intensely competitive field of New Zealanders, Australians and some well credentialed internationals.

The man most pundits expected to be McRae’s strongest opposition was Frank Matich, fresh from his dominant victory in the Australian Drivers Championship – or Gold Star. Ultimately Matich endured a patchy run, winning only once at Surfers Paradise.

Local hopes also rested with big name Formula 5000 heroes like Max Stewart, Kevin Bartlett, David Oxton, Johnnie Walker, Warwick Brown and John McCormack in the Ansett Team Elfin MR5 Repco.

The US contingent was led by Sam Posey. Sam came to the Tasman Series with a big reputation and experience in American Formula 5000, Indianapolis and Le Mans. From England came Alan Rollinson, one of the name drivers of British and European Formula 5000 racing, along with his 24 year old cousin, and relative new comer, Steve Thompson. The cousins would score a win a piece during the series.

McRae opened his account with a troubled run to fourth at Round 1 at Pukekohe, where a pit stop to replace two damaged wheels dropped him well off the leaders. Victory a week later at Levin and another at the Wigram Airfield Circuit near Christchurch made for a strong New Zealand leg. A consistent run in the early Australian rounds kept McRae well in the hunt, and his third victory of the series at Sandown’s penultimate round in Melbourne sealed his third consecutive Tasman crown.

Tragically the days of the Tasman Series were numbered, costs and a shift in popularity towards sedan racing sealed its fate. What had once been the pinnacle series of the southern hemisphere ended with the last race held at Sandown Raceway in February 1975.

James Meale

Via: Motorsport Retro

Here are some more wonderful images from the Tasman Series from 1967 – 1969 by photographer Brian McInerney.

They are an absolute treat, because this is the first time they have been published in any medium for 40 years.

Brian is a professional photographer and in the 1960s he was the young assistant photographer at Channel Seven in Sydney. For each of the Tasman Series races in 1967, 1968 & 1969 he acquired a press photographer’s pass and had complete access to the drivers and the track.

As a result he has a truly remarkable collection of images of the Tasman Series stars, including Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Derek Bell and the local heroes.

Brian is set to releases a series of Tasman Series framed prints, so watch this space.

Images: Brian McInerney, Fine Image Gallery ©

Vern Schuppan won the Rothmans International Series Formula 5000 series, driving a Lola T332 and placed second in the 1976 Australian Grand Prix driving an Elfin MR8. In 1978 he was runner up in the Rothmans International Series.

Originally from from Whyalla, South Australia. He drove in various categories, but arguably most of his success was as a sports car driver and was heavily associated with Porsche till the end of his career.

His sports car career, particularly at the Le Mans 24 Hours flourished, firstly as a long term member of the Mirage team and later as a member of Porsche’s official factory squad. After coming close to victory many times, a win finally arrived in 1983.

Schuppan participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, mostly for Ensign and Surtees, making his debut on May 12, 1974. He failed to score any championship points during his sporadic six year career.

In 1971 Schuppan won the British Formula Atlantic Championship and this led to a test drive with BRM.

In 1972 whilst BRM’s test driver he tried unsuccessfully to qualify for the 1972 Belgian Grand Prix. However Schuppan had some good non-championship race finishes with a fourth in the Victory Race and a fifth in the International Gold Cup. In 1973 he finished ninth in the BRDC International Trophy in a BRM.

Schuppan competed in three Indianapolis 500 races (1976, 1979, 1981), with a best result of third in 1981 driving a McLaren-Ford. He won the 1974 and 1976 Macau Grand Prix races, dominating the 1974 by four laps.

He was the 1983 Japanese Sports-Prototype Champion, and followed his 1976 5th place finish, 1975 3rd place finish and 1977 & 1982 2nd place finishes of the 24 hours of Le Mans by winning in 1983 driving a Porsche 956 with Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood. In 1984 he finished 6th at Le Mans with former Formula One World Champion Alan Jones. He had a number of other podium finishes in the World Sports Car Championship. These include a second in the 1973 & 1982 Spa 1000km, third in the 1983 & 1984 Fuji 1000km and a third in the 1985 Selangor 800km races. Schuppan also placed third in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

With Japanese backing, he also produced a road going evolution of the Porsche 962 called the Schuppan 962CR. At the then price of 195 million yen (1.5 million USD) only six were built.

Via : Wikipedia

Round Five: WARWICK FARM

Sydney Grand Prix

Date: 14th February 1965

45 Laps of 3.621kms (162.945kms)

The 1965 International 100 at the Farm was a notable triumph for the flying Scotsman Jim Clark, who not only established lap and race records, but overcame the loss of third gear very early in the race.

Clark had been in devastating form leading up to the International, with three consecutive wins in the Tasman series, but at the unofficial practice session on the Friday, the leading drivers had sounded a warning that Clark wouldn’t have things all his own way. First, Graham Hill, had scorched round in 1:35, well inside the 1:37.4 record, and he was closely followed by Frank Matich, 1:35.6. Bib Stillwell got down to 1:34.8 and McLaren returned 1:35.8, Clark replied with a 1:34.7 lap. This spurred Graham Hill to a 1:34.2 lap in the next session and Matich to 1:34.3. Matich cut his time to 1:32.8, Hill returned an even 1:33, and Clark and Brabham 1:33.5.

At the end of the day, it was apparent that several cars were suffering from overheating due to leaking sealing rings, and there was some concern that compressions were too high for the 100-octane fuel.

At the first official practice session on Saturday, Hill changed to 5.50 tyres on the front and went out to equal Matich’s best time of 1:34.2. Jack Brabham was officially credited with a 1:34.6 lap, which his pit crew had clocked at 1:34.2. Clark was lapping at about 1:35, and there was no joy for the McLaren team of Bruce McLaren and Phil Hill, whose oversized 15-inch Firestone tyres were inhibiting the Coopers’ performances.

It appeared that the three Repco-Brabhams would start off the front line, but in the final practice session Clark whipped round in 1:34.5, relegating Jack Brabham to the second row of the grid.

The qualifying order was: Frank Matich (Repco-Brabham-Climax), Graham Hill (Repco-Brabham Climax), Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax 2.5), Jack Brabham (Repco-Brabham Climax 2.5), Bruce McLaren (Cooper Climax 2.5), Frank Gardner (Repco-Brabham Climax 2.5), Bib Stillwell (Repco-Brabham Climax 2.5), Lex Davison (Repco-Brabham Climax 2.5), Jim Palmer (Repco-Brabham Climax 2.5), Phil Hill (Cooper Climax 2.5), Greg Cusack (Repco-Brabham Ford 1.5), Roly Levis (Repco-Brabham Ford 1.5), Kerry Grant (Repco-Brabham Climax 2.5), Rocky Tresise (Cooper Climax 2.5), Leo Geoghegan (Lotus 32-Ford 1.5), Greg McLelland (Repco-Brabham Ford 1.5), David Walker (Repco-Brabham Ford 1.5), Glyn Scott (Lotus 27-Ford 1.5), Collerson (Repco-Brabham Ford 1.5).

Race day on Sunday was hot and clear. The start was delayed while spectators were cleared from the Creek hairpin. First off the mark was Matich, from Clark and Hill, but at Creek, Hill outbraked the other two to take a slight lead. Behind him the field was closely packed.

At the end of lap two, Clark raised three fingers to indicate he’d lost third gear. He was two seconds behind Hill at this stage and having to rely on the torque of the Climax engine to supply enough power to enable him to use fourth gear from the hairpin to the straight.

The over-sized tyres on McLaren’s Cooper were already proving a handicap and he’d lost his fourth spot, passed first by Brabham, then Stillwell. In fact, both the McLaren Coopers were early retirements – Phil Hill’s with a broken rear axle shaft on lap eight, and Bruce McLaren’s a lap later with piston failure.

Davison had been first out of the race with a broken steering wheel spoke, and another early retirement was Kerry Grant, with a broken valve spring. Clark had a stroke of luck when his air-intake picked up a sheet of loose paper, which fortunately didn’t blow inside but remained just draped over the edge.

After 15 laps Hill led Clark, but spun on Polo Corner, losing half a minute. Later, he ruined any chances of catching up when he completely misjudged Leger.

Gardner came into the pits on lap 20 for a plug change, losing three laps. At this point, Hill held a 2.6second margin over Clark, with Brabham four seconds back in third place. Three laps later and Clark had narrowed the margin to less than two seconds, with Brabham now six seconds away. But Hill opened the gap again with a 1:34.4 lap, with Brabham dropping off further, 10 seconds behind Clark.

Then Clark attacked. Lap by lap he closed the gap, until Hill led by only one second on lap 33. Behind them, only 10 other cars remained in the race, spread over four laps.

On lap 36 Clark made his move at the Hairpin, and at the pits he had opened up a 1.4 second break on Hill. He continued to pull away, despite several sub-35 laps by Hill. Brabham headed the remainder, 27 seconds back, followed by Matich, Stillwell and Palmer. In the 1500 class, Roly Levis was chasing Leo Geoghegan. The New Zealander took Geoghegan at Paddock Bend and drew away to an eight-second lead, which he maintained to the line.

Into the last lap, Clark had an unbeatable six-second lead over Hill, and the placings seemed a formality. But at Polo, Hill spun and stalled. So, Clark went on to take the flag, 62 seconds ahead of Brabham. There were five seconds to Matich and a 30second gap to Stillwell. Eleven seconds later Hill arrived, having been helped by officials to get the engine restarted. Jim Palmer was next. Roly Levis led home the 1500s from Geoghegan and Cusack.
Jim Clark covered the 100 miles in one hour 11 minutes 6.8 seconds at an average speed of 85.4 mph. He set a new lap record of 1:33.7. It was to be the first of three years in which he dominated international racing at the Farm.

Via: Tasman-Series.com

Images: Tasman-Series.com

Check out these images of the original race program covers from 1965.

The second year of the Tasman Championship consisted of four races in New Zealand and three in Australia. Points could only be gained from three of the New Zealand races which had to include the New Zealand Grand Prix. All three Australian rounds counted for championship points.

The 1965 Tasman Series was won by Jim Clark

The 1965 Tasman Series featured the following events.

1. Pukekohe – NZ

2. Levin – NZ

3. Wigram – NZ

4. Teretonga – NZ

5. Warwick Farm – AUS

6. Sandown – AUS

7. Longford – AUS

Images: TasmanSeries.com

Frank Gardner was a regular Tasman competitor throughout both the 2.5 litre and Formula 5000 Tasman Championships. He drove various cars for the Alec Mildren team in the ’60s and had the best overall Tasman record for “local” drivers. Mainly competed in Europe where he was regarded as one of the best test drivers and carried out these duties for the Lola factory.

He was best known as a Touring car racing and Sports car racing driver, but he also participated in nine World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 July 1964. He scored no championship points. Gardner also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races, including a third placing at the 1965 Mediterranean Grand Prix, fourth in the 1965 Race of Champions and third in the 1971 International Gold Cup.

In 1966 Gardner finished second in the 1000 km Spa round of the World Sportscar Championship. In 1967 he also finished second in the European Formula Two Championship and second in the British Autocar Formula 2 Championship. In 1970 he was third in the British Formula 5000 Championship and in 1971 was Champion.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s Gardner had podium finishes in the Australian Grand Prix – second in 1966 and 1972 and a third in 1967. He finished third in the 1967 and 1972 Tasman Series. He won the British Touring Car Championship title on three occasions in 1967 (Ford Falcon Sprint), 1968 (Ford Escort) and 1973 (Chevrolet Camaro), and was runner-up in the BTCC in 1970. In 1975 he finished second at Bathurst in the Hardie-Ferodo 1000.

When the race team was shifted in 1998 Gardner became involved in driver training. Gardner passed away in August 2009.

Via: Wikipedia and 2008 Tasman programme.

Images: Autosport Forums

Here is a great little video summarising Jack Brabham’s early days, through to his first Formula 1 World Championship in 1959.

Here are some wonderful images from the Tasman Series from 1967 – 1969 by photographer Brian McInerney.

They are an absolute treat, because this is the first time they have been published in any medium for 40 years.

Brian is a professional photographer and in the 1960s he was the young assistant photographer at Channel Seven in Sydney. For each of the Tasman Series races in 1967, 1968 & 1969 he acquired a press photographer’s pass and had complete access to the drivers and the track.

As a result he has a truly remarkable collection of images of the Tasman Series stars, including Stirling Moss, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Jochnen Rindt and the local heroes.

Brian is set to releases a series of Tasman Series framed prints, so watch this space.

Images: Brian McInerney, Fine Image Gallery ©

Here is another ripper set of photos from the brilliant John Stanley.

Included are some excellent shots of Jochen Rindt, Pedro Rodrigues, Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Piers Courage.

Visit Johns site at John-Stanley.com