To escape the northern winter gloom and enjoy a little summer motor sport, overseas drivers and cars have been coming to Australia and New Zealand since the late 1950s.
Initially, it was races for Formula Libre with anything from an Aston Martin DBR4/1 to a Climax-engined Cooper with such names as Bandini, Clark, Hill (Graham & Phil), Gurney and Salvadori attracted by the sun and relaxed atmosphere. Local drivers were also out in force along with Brabham, McLaren, Hulme, Gardner and Amon being drawn home from overseas.
From 1964, it started to get a little more serious with a new championship known as the Tasman Cup for cars with a maximum engine capacity of 2.5 liters. It was under this formula that the Tasman Cup ran through to 1969 with a series of eight races each year. Four were held in New Zealand and the same in Australia including each country’s national Grand Prix. Drawn away from their normal diet of surf and cricket, the crowds came in the tens of thousands.
While the rest of the F1 world was moving to 3-liter engines, the Tasman Cup remained at 2.5. However, the Tasman gained a reputation that attracted works entries from the likes of Brabham, BRM, Ferrari, Cooper and Lotus, as well as from a myriad of local constructors.
Halcyon days indeed and over December 1–3, this year it will be on again at Sydney’s Eastern Creek International Raceway. Organized by the Historic Sports & Racing Car Association of NSW, the net has been cast wide for cars from those 2.5-liter days. The response has been greatly encouraging with the current owners of Rodriguez’s BRM P126/1 of 1968, McLaren’s Cooper T79 from 1965, Amon’s Ferrari 246T of 1968 and Clark’s Lotus 32B from 1965, amongst many Australian cars all lined up to enjoy the Australian summer sun. The weekend’s festivities will not only include two full days of historic racing open to any HSRCA-eligible car, but the final day (Sunday) will be a “Goodwood Revival”-style day where everyone present in the paddock will be dressed in period ’60s clothes and all cars allowed into the paddock will be of the period. Drivers on the invitation list include Moss, Surtees, Hill, Gurney, Stewart and Bell.
If you’re interested in reliving some 1960s winter fun, have a look at www.hsrca.org.au or email to [email protected].
by Patrick Quinn
