Preparing for a new season
Just because it is winter and there has not been any on–track action, the world of Formula 5000 has been anything but quiet, as the F5000 Association prepares for the 2013/14 season, with changes being made to both the calendar for the upcoming season and the rules regarding the cars themselves in the country’s most popular single-seater class.
To put it simply, a decision had to be made – is this a contemporary race series which just happens to be based around old chassis, or is it a genuine historic championship? Where it was heading, the class was falling somewhere between the two and there has been some gnashing of teeth and robust debate to get a consensus on what direction F5000 needed to take.
The decision has been made to follow the historic route, taking in the FIA guidelines for this, but even this is not as clear-cut as it may sound. Readers of a certain age will remember when Formula 5000 was the premier singleseater category in New Zealand, which also means remembering that one thing these cars were not in their heyday was reliable. Step forward 40 years and with the assistance of modern metals and technology the cars are now far more likely to reach the flag intact than they ever did when they were new. No owner is going to want to make their racing-car more fragile than it needs to be, just to make it more “original”. It is the owners who are left to foot the bills when cars break and of course they are not wanting to find the cost of going racing has got catastrophically more expensive and the cars slower.
Part of the solution is that engines will be rev-limited for the new season. This serves the dual purpose of reducing some of the speed differential between the older and newer cars and hopefully should improve engine reliability as well. As well as this, aerodynamics and even car liveries will be kept in period. The result of this should be closer racing and more exciting racing for us to watch, less expense for the owners and a grid full of cars which will look just as they did in their heyday.
The season starts at Manfeild on 09/10 November for the traditional MG Car Club Classic meeting and then move to Hampton Downs for the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing meetings 18/19 and 25/26 January, before concluding at Ruapuna for the Skope Classic on 01/02 Feb.
As well, the New Zealand cars have been invited to four meetings in Australia, beginning with the traditional Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park (aka Eastern Creek) at the end of August, with the biggest drawcard probably being the Phillip Island Classic 07-09 March and, all going well, a support race for the Formula One Grand Prix at Phillip Island, subject to confirmation from the organisers.
A new committee is in charge of the Formula 5000 Association, headed by Tony Roberts, and with a committee of long-time drivers and engineers all totally committed to the future of a strong and successful future for the class. We wish them luck!