1973 Tasman Series

1973 Tasman Series

Champion
Graham McRae

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1972

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1974

The 1973 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition staged in New Zealand and Australia ^[1] for cars complying with the Tasman Formula. ^[2] The series, which began on 6 January and ended on 25 February after eight races, ^[1] was the tenth Tasman Series. ^[3] Officially known as the Tasman Championship for Drivers, it was organised jointly by the Motorsport Association New Zealand Incorporated and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. ^[4] The championship was won by Graham McRae, driving a McRae GM1 Chevrolet. ^[1]

Races

A McRae GM1, similar to the car driven by 1973 Tasman Series winner Graham McRae

The series was contested over eight rounds. ^[1]

Round [1]		Name [1]	Circuit [1]	Date [1]	Winning driver [1]	Winning car [1]	Winning entrant	Report
New Zealand	1	New Zealand Grand Prix	Pukekohe	6 January	John McCormack	Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden	Ansett Team Elfin [5]	Report
	2	Levin International	Levin	13 January	Graham McRae	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	STP [5]	Report [6]
	3	Lady Wigram Trophy	Wigram	20 January	Graham McRae	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	STP [5]	Report [7]
	4	Rothmans International [5]	Teretonga	28 January	Alan Rollinson	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	McKechnie Racing Organisation [5]	Report [8]
Australia	5	Surfers Paradise International	Surfers Paradise	4 February	Frank Matich	Matich A50 Repco Holden	Frank Matich [9]	Report [10]
	6	Chesterfield 100	Warwick Farm	11 February	Steve Thompson	Chevron B24 Chevrolet	Servis Racing Team [9]	Report [11]
	7	Chesterfield 100 [9]	Sandown	18 February	Graham McRae	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	STP [9]	Report
	8	Chesterfield 100 [12]	Adelaide	25 February	John McCormack	Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden	Ansett Team Elfin [12]	Report [13]

Points system

Points were awarded at each race on the following basis: ^[14]

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	9	6	4	3	2	1

All races were counted towards the final totals for each driver. ^[14]

Series standings

Pos [1] Driver [1] Car [1] Entrant [5] Puk Lev Wig Ter Sur War San Ade Pts 1 Graham McRae McRae GM1 Chevrolet STP 4 1 1 10 2 3 1 Ret 40 2 John McCormack Elfin MR5 Repco Holden Ansett Team Elfin 1 Ret Ret 4 6 6 2 1 29 3 Frank Matich Matich A50 Repco Holden Frank Matich Racing Pty Ltd Frank Matich [9] Ret 2 4 Ret 1 2 4 Ret 27 4 Steve Thompson Chevron B24 Chevrolet Servis / Alan Brodie Servis Racing Team [9] 3 Ret 3 6 Ret 1 7 3 22 5 Alan Rollinson McRae GM1 Chevrolet McKechnie Racing Organisation 2 Ret Ret 1 Ret Ret Ret 2 21 6 Max Stewart Lola T330 Chevrolet Max Stewart Motors Lola Cars Ltd [9] Ret Ret Ret 3 3 5 3 4 17 7 Warwick Brown Lola T300 Chevrolet Team Target Ret 3 2 7 DNS 10 8 Sam Posey Surtees TS11 Chevrolet Champ Car Inc Ret Ret Ret 2 5 7 6 Ret 9 9 Johnnie Walker Matich A50 Repco Holden Johnnie Walker [12] 4 4 5 Ret 8 10 David Oxton Begg FM5 Chevrolet GN Begg Engineering Co Ret 5 5 9 4 11 Kevin Bartlett Lola T300 Chevrolet Chesterfield Filter Racing Ret 4 7 8 10 8 Ret 9 3 12 Garry Pedersen Begg FM4 Chevrolet Wright Machinery Ltd 5 12 12 2 = Noritake Takahara Brabham BT36 Ford Takahara Racing Inc 7 9 10 5 8 2 = Dexter Dunlop McRae GM1 Chevrolet Dunlop Racing Ret 6 6 11 9 11 9 Ret 2 = Bob Muir McLaren M10B Chevrolet Pat Burke Racing [12] Ret 5 2 16 Garrie Cooper Elfin MR5 Repco Holden Ansett Team Elfin [12] Ret Ret 6 1 = Ken Smith March 722 Ford Air NZ Motor Racing 6 7 1 Pos Driver Car Entrant Puk Lev Wig Ter Sur War San Ade Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX)

References

1. Tasman Series, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, pages 40 to 59
2. Official programme, Final Round, Tasman International Series, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, February 25, 1973, page 3
3. Tasman Series, www.sergent.com.au Retrieved on 21 February 2015
4. Tasman Championship for Drivers, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1973, pages 88 to 91
5. Official Programme, Teretonga, 28 January 1973, page 29
6. Vintage! 1973 Toyota Corolla Levin Coupé – DW – 03/25/2015 . Retrieved 27 June 2025– via www.dw.com.
7. "1973 Lady Wigram Trophy | Motorsport Database". Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
8. Brown, Allen. "Teretonga Park, 28 Jan 1973 « Tasman Cup (F5000)". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
9. Official Programme, Sandown, Saturday & Sunday, February 17 & 18 1973, page 65
10. "Surfers Paradise, 4 Feb 1973 « Tasman Cup (F5000)". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
11. Brown, Allen. "Warwick Farm, 11 Feb 1973 « Tasman Cup (F5000)". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
12. Official programme, Final Round, Tasman International Series, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, February 25, 1973, page 31
13. Brown, Allen. "Adelaide International Raceway, 25 Feb 1973 « Tasman Cup (F5000)". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
14. "Tasman Series 1973". www.sergent.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2025.

External links

• Tasman Cup (F5000) races 1970-1975, www.oldracingcars.com