Looking at Steves great video post for the Australian GP for F5000,s Great footage of Graham Mcrae ,great driver and car builder ,what happened to him I saw somewere He had a bit of a breakdown but he had some help and things were now ok.Great cars with some good racing,but I remember our dissapointing how many cars allways broke down when you look at the construction its amazing somebody didnt lose there legs!
There were more than a few ended up with a "Lola Limp".
a few more would like to see some shots of GM3 chev with its transperent cockpit
Pukekohe, 1974. NZGP meeting.
The first 5000 in NZ, actually a Formula A car, The Eisert Chevrolet, driven by Dennis Marwood. It was clear that this formula was utterly spectacular.
McRae goes bang
They were and still are great cars. The hackles on the back of my neck still stand up when a field of these cars accelerate away from the rolling start. Great to see so many of them resident in NZ. Would like to see a re-creation of Graham McRae's M10A or B in the black 'Crown Lynn' colours with the gold # 22 on its flanks.
Wow ! Good call there, I don't think you'd be alone in wishing to see that again. Grouse !
BTW Isn't that Eagle in the top two pics a USAC car, rather than a Formula A/5000 ?
Last edited by GD66; 07-22-2011 at 06:27 AM.
Graham McRae won the SCCA Continental Grand Prix Series in the USA driving his own MK1 F5000 in 1972, no mean feet i'd say!!
Dale Mathers
Good set of pix Nigel, that T300 of Frank Gardner's was a mean-looking weapon.... and there's not nearly enogh shots of Surtees in the TS9B.
And let's be honest, if we could've tapped Graham McRae's energy, you could've powered a small town...
We remember, "Cassius"...
correct about the USAC car liked the look of it
Right there GD! He had, for that time, an outspoken nature and the media were quick to quote him. Typically he would make headlines in the rugby-mad sports pages with how he was going to decimate his opposition. Like Cassius, he usually did.Originally Posted by GD66
As a driver he was at a very high level, as a constructor he was brilliant. How he did both so well at the same time defies reasoning. He didn't have the small army of guys with him that Bruce McLaren had by that time gathered. He won the F5000/Formula A series both sides of the Atlantic in his own car. The GM from the outset was the car to beat against the McLaren and Lola factories and many other constructors like Eagle. It's great to see plenty of examples of GMs on Historic grids today. Wouldn't it be great to see an M10B in those black and gold Crown Lynn colours - a tribute to him and Tom Clark.
Despite his difficulties later in his life (does anyone have any encouraging news on how he's getting on?) he remains in my mind "Mr Formula 5000". What a great class of racing this is that it is as well supported as it was nearly 40 years ago and the highlight in NZ of top historic meetings.
How did so many of the cars end up in CHCH ,which is probably were the resurgence of F5000 started I would think ,any BEGG pics anybody ?
Funny how a name brings back memories. When I was a kid in the 50's I was sent off to boarding school. Tom Clark's son [I can't remember his name] was also a boarder. I can't remember what the occasion was but Tom Clark brought his Maserati to the school for a blat up and down the long driveway. We were told by the guards, oops I mean staff, that we we were to stand well back and under no circumstances to cross the driveway. Well I never really listened to what I was told so ran across the road to get a better position and of course got nicked. I was sent off in disgrace to the main building. When I got up to the entrance courtyard I could hear the car screaming up the driveway towards me. Imagine my delight when Tom slowed the car drove around me in a circle and disappeared back down the driveway again. He was so close I could almost reach out and touch the car!! Talk about the best seat in the house. Didn't stop grinning for days!!
Graeme McRae Winner
Alan Hamilton has a monsterous crash in the Lola T430, now owned by David Abbott in NZ. Garrie Cooper als o has a career ending crash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnn6HDhks4E
Lee hurst and co restore a britsh racing classic lola T142 formula 5000
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