Top Kiwi Steve Ross (McRae GM1) and top Aussie Bryan Sala (Matich A50/51) ended up sharing the spoils at the opening round of the 2012/13 MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series in Sydney over the weekend.

The round was held at the annual Muscle Car Masters meeting at the recently extended and re-named Sydney Motorsport Park (nee Eastern Creek) with former Australian Touring Car and NASCAR driver Sala beating three-time former series champion Ken Smith (Lola T430) and defending champion Steve Ross to pole in qualifying then chasing a fast-starting Ross down on the last lap to win the first race of the weekend on Saturday.

Ross came back strongly on Sunday, however, winning the second race – another 6-lapper – in the morning from compatriots Roger Williams (Lola T332) and Aaron Burson (McRae GM1, and the 10-lap MSC feature in the afternoon from Smith, Sala and 2011/12 season series runner-up Aaron Burson (McRae GM1).

Though at just six laps the same length as the first race on Saturday, the second on Sunday took a heavy toll on equipment with nine dnfs, amongst them race one winner Sala, who pulled in when a rocker cover gasket burst and dipped oil onto his car;s left hand exhaust bank, Smith, who was a late retirement with a sticking throttle, and Jay Bondini, Russell Greer and Chris Lambden with broken input or half shafts.

Sala ran second for two laps before pitting to find the source of the smoke, elevating Roger Williams to second, Aaron Burson to third and the best of the Australians, Darcy Russell (Lola T330), to fourth.

Behind Russell, David Abbott (Lola T430) moved into fifth and Bill Hemmings (Elfin MR8) and David Banks (Talon MR1A) engaged in a spirited battle for sixth, eventually resolved in the local man (Hemmings’) favour.

Between Sunday’s two races one of the F5000 category’s original heroes, Australian Warwick Brown, was re-united with one of the last cars he drove in the era, the Lola T333CS now owned and driven by Christchurch MSC series stalwart Stan Redmond.

Brown and Ken Smith were invited to join the ‘Legends’ demo, Brown in the Redmond car, Smith in the sister car to the one he usually drives, the other ex Warwick Brown car at the meeting, the Lola T430 now owned and driven by David Abbott.

Between races most of the issues which affected the cars in the second race were fixed and a full field again faced the starter for the 10-lap feature final in the afternoon.

A highlight of this race was the come-from-behind charges put in by drivers like Sala and Smith who because they failed to finish the second race started the third well down the grid .

Ross got his customary flier off the rolling start with Roger Williams tucking into second place for the first two laps before being forced to pull off the track with a diff problem. Where his car ended up was deemed dangerous so the Safety Car was dispatched while it was retrieved, bunching the field up and setting the scene for a tightly contested run to the flag.

With Williams out Bryan Sala, who has already worked his way back up the running order to fifth at the end of the first lap and third in the second, found himself in second place with Ken Smith following him through into third – where he stayed until a last lap move on Sala gave him second!

Behind Sala, meanwhile, Aaron Burson ran a lonely race for  fourth from Darcy Russell, Chris Lambden, Russell Greer (Lola T332), David Abbott, David Banks – who this time got the better of Race 2 rival Bill Hemmings despite being back in 14th place at the end of the first lap – with Shayne Windelburn and Stan Redmond 11th and 12th respectively.

With a long-standing invitation to compete at the big Muscle Car Masters meeting prompting an earlier-than-usual start to the annual MSC F5000 series this year there is now a break until the second round back in New Zealand at the end of October (at the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting at Powerbuilt Tools Raceway in Christchurch) before a return to Sydney Motorsport Park for some of the series regulars for a non-championship round at Australia’s own Tasman Revival Series meeting at the end of November.

The points rounds then resume back in New Zealand at the two NZ Festival of Motor Racing – celebrating Denny Hulme meeting at Hampton Downs in January before returning to the South Island for the penultimate series round at the annual Skope Classic meeting in Christchurch and final at the Classic Speedfest meeting at Invercargill’s Teretonga Park in February.

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, Smith & Davies, Avon Tyres and Exide.