There’s a big summer ahead for the MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series with rounds in Australia and here culminating in a support slot at the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Manfeild in February.

Last season the local association paired with its Australian counterpart to run two separate but complimentary calendars with the opportunity to contest meetings on both sides of the Tasman but only score MSC series points at rounds here.

This season – with the series in its 12th year – the format returns to its original trans-Tasman foundations, with all six rounds carrying points, two in Australia – at Sandown Park in Melbourne and Sydney Motorsport Park in Sydney in Novemeber this year – and four back here in New Zealand in January and February next year.

The first two local rounds are over consecutive weekends at the two Gulf Oil Howden Ganley F5000 Festival meetings at Hampton Downs in mid-January, while the final two are over consecutive weekends in early February, the penultimate one at the annual Skope Classic meeting at Christchurch’s Mike Pero Motorsport Park (nee Ruapuna), and the final at the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Manfeild.

“It’s taken us a while to nut out, but it’s now in place and, it’s a calendar I think we can be quite proud of,” says NZ F5000 Association committee chairman Aaron Burson.”For a start it’s good that we’re going back to Sandown because its been a few years since we raced there and it’s a track with a lot of category history.

“Then there’s the two rounds at Hampton Downs where the focus category is Formula 5000, they’re going to be a highlight of the season for a lot of our members.”

“The Skope Classic in Christchurch is always a great meeting, too, and we’re also breaking new ground in accepting an invitation to have our final at the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Manfeild. That’s going to be an interesting one because it’s the first time, here anyway, where you are literally going to have the best of the old and the new at one meeting.”

Formula 5000 was New Zealand’s premier motor racing category from 1970 to 1975 and the organisers of the Gulf Oil-backed 2015 New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing at Hampton Downs are eyeing a record lineup of local and overseas-based cars.

Close to 300 cars were built to contest the various Formula 5000 (Formula A in the United States and Canada) series around the world between 1968 and 1982 and as many as 60 are expected to line up at the two Festival meetings.

The MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is organised and run with the support of sponsors MSC, NZ Express Transport, Bonney’s Specialized Bulk Transport, Mobil Lubricants, Pacifica, Avon Tyres, Webdesign and Exide.

Big summer of F5000 racing ahead