Matich

Last updated

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. [1]

Contents

SR3

The Matich SR3 was a Group A Sports Car built for Matich by Bob Britton in 1967. It was powered by an Oldsmobile V8 engine and was driven to victory by Matich in the 1967 Australian Tourist Trophy, Australia's premier sports car race of that year. Later in the year, Matich raced in both the US Can-Am series and in Australia, with two SR3s fitted with 4.4-litre Repco V8 engines. Matich won the 1968 Australian Tourist Trophy with a Repco powered SR3. [1]

SR4

A completely new design, the Matich SR4, was produced with designer-frabricator Henry Nehrybecki for 1969 utilising a quad cam Repco 740 V8. Matich dominated the inaugural Australian Sports Car Championship in that year, winning all three heats with the SR4. [1]

SR4B / SR5

The SR4B was a sports racing car of circa 1969 which was powered by a Lotus Twin Cam engine. [2] In 1970 it was revised, renamed as the Matich SR5 and fitted with a Waggott 2.0-litre powerplant. [3]

A50 / A51 / A52 / A53

Matich A50 / A51 / A52 / A53
MatichA50.jpg
Matich A50 at the Speed on Tweed in 2007.
Category Australian Formula 1 / Formula 5000
Constructor Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
Designer(s) Frank Matich
Henry Nehrybecki
Technical specifications [4] [5] [6] [7]
Chassis Aluminium and Titanium monocoque
Suspension (front)Independent with upper and lower wishbones and inclined coil spring/shock units
Suspension (rear)Independent with single upper link and radius rod, twin tower links and radius rod, inclined coil spring/shock units
Axle track Front: 1,549 mm (61.0 in)
Rear: 1,625 mm (64.0 in)
Wheelbase 2,610 mm (103 in)
Engine Repco-Holden, Ford 4,998 cc (305.0 cu in), (Repco Holden) 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted
Transmission Hewland DG300 5-Speed manual
Weight625 kg (1,378 lb)
Tyres Goodyear
Competition history
Notable drivers Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Matich
Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Goss
Flag of New Zealand.svg Jim Richards
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Johnnie Walker
Debut 1971 Australian Grand Prix (A50)

A50

Following the adoption of Formula 5000 regulations into Australian Formula 1 in 1971, Matich and Nehrybecki produced the Matich A50, the first single seater to wear the Matich name. The A50 was designed as a replacement for Frank Matich's successful McLaren M10B (Frank Matich had taken over development from McLaren of the M10B for F5000 racing in 1970 and dubbed it the M10C). Designed on a modular basis with separate front suspension, cockpit and rear end, the car was powered by a 5.0 L Repco Holden V8 engine. Matich drove an A50 to victory in the car's first race, the 1971 Australian Grand Prix at Warwick Farm after qualifying on pole position. Just three months after his 1971 AGP success, Matich qualified the A50 on pole for the 1972 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown and led early before retiring with scavenge pump failure on lap 5. Frank Matich then went on to win the 1972 Australian Drivers' Championship at the wheel of his A50. A total of four A50s were built during this period. [1]

Power output of the Repco-Holden engine around this time was approximately 470 bhp (350 kW; 477 PS)

A51

2 new Matich A51s chassis 005 and 006 was constructed for Matich to contest the 1973 L&M Championship in the United States. Chassis 005 was used by Lella Lombardi in 2 races in 1974 and was later sold to John Goss who rebuilt it as an A53 and used it to win the 1976 Australian Grand Prix. Chassis 006 was modified and became the A52.

A52

Matich built a revised car, the Matich A52, using A51-006 monocoque for the 1973 Australian Drivers' Championship. The A52 had side radiators, a shorter wheelbase, shorter nose and updated suspension. After just a single race, Matich withdrew from the championship and put his cars up for sale. It was later wrecked in a testing accident. [8]

A53

The Matich A53 was raced by Matich in the 1974 Tasman Series after which he retired from racing. [8] The car was then sold to John Goss who finished 9th in the 1974 Australian Drivers' Championship. It failed to start the 1974 Australian Grand Prix at Oran Park due to engine failure. Goss then used the A53 to finish 13th in the 1975 Australian Drivers' Championship before poor visibility in the wet conditions and a rough engine caused his retirement in the 1975 Australian Grand Prix at Surfers Paradise.

Goss drove the car to 5th in the 1976 Rothmans International Series and then finished 6th in the 1976 Australian Drivers' Championship thanks to his Round 1 victory in the 1976 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown in Melbourne, Goss becoming the only driver to have won both the Bathurst 1000 and Australian Grand Prix in the process. Goss drove the A53-Repco to another 5th in the 1977 Rothmans International Series and 3rd in the 1977 Australian Grand Prix at Oran Park.

Goss' win in the 1976 Australian Grand Prix has so far proven to be the last time the race was won by an Australian designed, built and powered car, giving the Matich A53 a special place in Australia's motor racing history. Note that the Ralt cars that won the 1981-1984 Australian Grand Prix's were designed and built in England, despite Ralt having its origins in Australia in the 1950s,

Late in 1977, Goss, staying true to his touring, sports car/sedan ties, decided to replace the successful, but ageing Repco Holden V8 engine with a 4.9 L Ford engine. [8] However, the Ford engine provided less power and ultimately proved uncompetitive compared to the Repco and, after Goss sold the car to Mel McEwin, it was replaced by another Repco-Holden unit. [8]

During its competition life the Matich A50-53's Repco-Holden power output was rated around 500 bhp (373 kW; 507 PS).

The Matich A50 of Frank Matich at the Surfers Paradise round of the 1972 Australian Drivers' Championship Matich-A50-Graham-Ruckert.jpg
The Matich A50 of Frank Matich at the Surfers Paradise round of the 1972 Australian Drivers' Championship

Related Research Articles

Brabham British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team

Brabham is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac the team won four Drivers' and two Constructors' World Championships in its 30-year Formula One history. Jack Brabham's 1966 FIA Drivers' Championship remains the only such achievement using a car bearing the driver's own name.

Repco

Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and it is best known for spare parts and motor accessories.

Vern Schuppan Australian racing driver

Vernon John Schuppan is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.

Formula 5000 Former Single-Seater Racing class

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.

Formula Holden Former Single-Seater Racing Championship

Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989.

Ralt

Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under the Ralt name. Tauranac won the 1954 NSW Hillclimb Championship in the Ralt 500.

John GossOAM is an Australian retired motor racing driver who competed in his home country during the 1960s, 1970's and 1980's. He is the only driver to have won Australia's two most prestigious races, the Bathurst 1000, and the Australian Grand Prix (1976).

Brabham BT19 Formula One racing car

The Brabham BT19 is a Formula One racing car designed by Ron Tauranac for the British Brabham team. The BT19 competed in the 1966 and 1967 Formula One World Championships and was used by Australian driver Jack Brabham to win his third World Championship in 1966. The BT19, which Brabham referred to as his "Old Nail", was the first car bearing its driver's name to win a World Championship race.

The 1975 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Australian Formula 1 cars and Australian Formula 2 cars. The championship winner was awarded the 1975 CAMS "Gold Star". The title, which was the nineteenth Australian Drivers' Championship, was won by John McCormack driving an Elfin MR6 Repco-Holden.

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. The championship was open to racing cars using unsupercharged engines of up to 2,500 c.c. capacity.

Warwick Farm Raceway

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.

Shrike (racing car)

Shrike is a racing car developed in Australia by the students of the Croydon Park Institute of TAFE in Adelaide in 1988 and 1989. It was developed for the then new Formula Holden category which mandated an aluminium tub monocoque, powered by a Buick sourced 3.8 litre Holden V6 engine, as used in the Holden VN Commodore at that time. The car proved to be instantly competitive in the Australian Drivers' Championship against designs from Elfin, Cheetah, and imported Formula 3000 chassis such as Ralt and Reynard.

The 1972 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race for cars complying with the Tasman Formula, which admitted both Formula 5000 and 2-litre racing cars. The race, which was held at Sandown International Raceway on 20 February 1972, had 19 starters.

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.

1968 Australian Grand Prix Motor car race

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 1976 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Sandown International Motor Racing Circuit in Victoria, Australia on 12 September 1976. It was open to racing cars complying with either Australian Formula 1 or Australian Formula 2.

Briggs Motor Sport was an Australian motor racing team which has represented Queensland based businessman John Briggs in motor racing. The team has competed in Sports Sedans, Australian GT, Formula Holden, and most notably as a touring car team competing in the V8 Supercar Championship Series. The team last competed in historic motor racing and the Australian GT Championship but was folded at the end of the 2009 season.

Rennmax

The Rennmax name was applied to a series of open wheel racing cars and sports racing cars constructed by Rennmax Engineering in Sydney, Australia between 1962 and 1978. Rennmax Engineering was established by Bob Britton in 1961, its name derived from the German word "Renn", meaning race and the abbreviation "max", for maximum.

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.

The Mildren name was used on a series of racing vehicles constructed for, or acquired by, Australian racing team owner Alec Mildren during the 1960s and early 1970s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 296
  2. Matich SR4B image Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.autopics.com.au on 19 May 2010
  3. The Age, September 23, 1970, page 22 Retrieved from news.google.com on 19 May 2010
  4. http://www.oldracingcars.com/matich/a50/
  5. http://www.oldracingcars.com/matich/a51/
  6. http://www.oldracingcars.com/matich/a52/
  7. http://www.oldracingcars.com/matich/a53/
  8. 1 2 3 4 Matich A52, A53 Retrieved from www.oldracingcars.com on 19 May 2010
Books