The 1964 Tasman Series was an international motor racing series contested in New Zealand and Australia over eight races beginning on 4 January and ending on 2 March. It was the first Tasman Series. The series, which was officially known as the Tasman Championship for Drivers, was organised jointly by the Association of New Zealand Car Clubs Inc. and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport with the winning driver awarded the Tasman Cup. [1] The championship was open to racing cars using unsupercharged engines of up to 2,500 c.c. capacity. [2]
The inaugural series was a battle of the British-based expatriates with a two-car team led by Australian Jack Brabham and a two-car team of Coopers from Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, led by the New Zealander Bruce McLaren. Although Denny Hulme won the opening round of the series, McLaren took a trifecta of wins in New Zealand setting up the title win. When the teams moved to Australia, Brabham won the first three races, ensuring a thrilling finish, however Brabham was unable to better his score and therefore McLaren emerged as champion. The last round of the series at Longford was won by the Englishman, Graham Hill, securing sixth place in the final standings as a result. Brabham led the final race until the last laps before his car suffered a transmission failure. [3]
The most successful of the local-based drivers was John Youl. Although the Cooper T55 he was driving was three-years old, he took the aging car to six top five finishes. Australian Bib Stillwell only completed in three races, twice beating Youl, including a second place in the Australian Grand Prix. Another competitive local was Frank Matich in his Repco Brabham BT7A, taking pole at Warwick Farm. Whilst leading, his suspension broke and he was forced to retire. With a further four retirements, Matich only finished one race, gaining a third place at Longford. [3]
Championship points were awarded at each race on the following basis:
Position [1] | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points [1] | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Championship placings were determined by points won by drivers in the New Zealand Grand Prix and any two of the other three races held in New Zealand, plus the Australian Grand Prix and any two of the other three races held in Australia. [2]
Denis Clive Hulme was a New Zealand racing driver who won the 1967 Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his final race in the 1974 US Grand Prix, he started 112 Grands Prix, resulting in eight victories and 33 podium finishes. He also finished third in the overall standing in 1968 and 1972.
Bruce Leslie McLaren was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor.
The 1966 Formula One season was the 20th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine-race series that commenced on 22 May and ended on 23 October. The season saw the "return to power" with the introduction of the '3 litre formula', doubling maximum engine capacity from 1.5 litres. Jack Brabham won the World Championship of Drivers and Brabham-Repco was awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers.
Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialised manufacturing, for which it gained a high reputation. It is now best known as a retailer of spare parts and motor accessories.
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula. The '5000' denomination comes from the maximum 5.0 litre engine capacity allowed in the cars, although many cars ran with smaller engines. Manufacturers included McLaren, Eagle, March, Lola, Lotus, Elfin, Matich and Chevron.
The 1962 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre racing cars. The winner of the title, which was the sixth Australian Drivers' Championship, was awarded the 1962 CAMS Gold Star.
The 1965 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition staged in New Zealand and Australia for cars complying with the Tasman Formula. The series, which began on 9 January and ended on 1 March after seven races, was the second Tasman Series. It was won by Jim Clark, driving Lotus 32B Coventry Climax.
The 1966 Tasman Championship for Drivers was a motor racing competition for racing cars complying with the Tasman Formula. The championship was jointly organised by the Association of New Zealand Car Clubs Inc. and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. It began on 8 January 1966 and ended on 7 March after eight races, four of which were staged in New Zealand and the remainder in Australia. The winning driver was declared Tasman Champion and was awarded the Tasman Cup.
The 1967 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition open to racing cars complying with the Tasman Formula. Officially known as the Tasman Championship for Drivers, it was organised by the Motorsport Association, New Zealand Inc. and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport and was contested over six races in New Zealand and Australia between 7 January and 6 March 1967.
The 1963 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Libre cars with the championship winner awarded the 1963 CAMS Gold Star. The title was contested over a six-round series:
Warwick Farm Raceway was a motor racing facility which was in operation from 1960 to 1973. Warwick Farm Raceway hosted numerous major events during its life such as the Australian Grand Prix and rounds of both the Australian Touring Car Championship and the Tasman Series.
The Longford Circuit was a temporary motor racing course laid out on public roads at Longford, 23-kilometre (14 mi) south-west of Launceston in Tasmania, Australia. It was located on the northern edges of the town and its 7.242 km (4.500 mi) lap passed under a railway line viaduct, crossed the South Esk River via the wooden Kings Bridge, turned hard right at the doorstep of the Longford Hotel, passed over the railway line using a level crossing and traversed the South Esk again via another wooden structure, the Long Bridge.
The 1964 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Sandown Park circuit in suburban Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 9 February 1964. It was the twenty ninth Australian Grand Prix and was also Round 5 of the 1964 Tasman Series and Round 1 of the 1964 Australian Drivers' Championship. The race was open to Racing Cars complying with the Australian National Formula or the Australian 1½ Litre Formula.
The 1965 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Longford Circuit in Tasmania, Australia on 1 March 1965. It was open to Racing Cars complying with the Australian National Formula or the Australian 1½ Litre Formula. It was the 30th Australian Grand Prix.
The 1968 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Sandown Park in Victoria, Australia on 25 February 1968. The race was open to Racing Cars complying with the Australian National Formula or the Australian 1½ Litre Formula. It was the thirty third Australian Grand Prix and was also round seven of the 1968 Tasman Series. The race was staged by the Light Car Club of Australia and was sponsored by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria.
The 1971 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Warwick Farm Raceway in New South Wales, Australia on 21 November 1971. It was open to Racing Cars complying with either Australian Formula 1 or Australian Formula 2 regulations.
The 1962 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race for Formula Libre cars, held at the Caversham circuit in Western Australia, Australia on 18 November 1962. It was the twenty seventh Australian Grand Prix and the sixth and final race in the 1962 Australian Drivers' Championship. The Grand Prix meeting was organised by the Western Australian Sporting Car Club Inc.
The Matich name was applied to a series of sports racing cars and open wheel racing cars produced in Australia between 1967 and 1974 under the direction of Sydney-based racing driver and engineer Frank Matich.
The 1965 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian national motor racing title open to racing cars complying with the Australian National Formula or the Australian 1½ Litre Formula. The title was contested over a six race series with the winner awarded the 1965 CAMS Gold Star. It was the ninth Australian Drivers' Championship.
The 1971 Australian Drivers’ Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing title open to Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 racing cars. It was the fifteenth Australian Drivers' Championship and the first to feature cars complying with a new for 1971 Australian Formula 1 which permitted cars with production based V8 engines of up to 5 litre capacity or racing engines of up to eight cylinders and up to 2 litre capacity. The championship winner was awarded the 1971 CAMS Gold Star and the title of Australian Champion Driver.