17-9-73 English driver After a good second in the New Zealand Grand Pris, Englishman, Alan Rollinson is more determined than ever to steer his tory Tasman series. Painted in blue and yellow, the McRea, chassis 007 (McRea himself drives Uto! will be easy to pick on the grid. There will be only one other car with a similar paint job and this is the Begg FM3 driven by Aucklander. Gary Pederson. Rolliason admits he has been attracted to the series partly because of the hot weather. However, it will give him a head start on the rest when the next European Formula 5000 series starts. finished fourth behind McRea in the last European series and is determined to beat the New Zealander on his home ground. With 10 years of racing experience behind him, Rollinson is going to be a big threat to Kiwi supremacy in the Tasman Series. In 1967 he won the coveted Grovewood Award as Britain's most promising driver at the end of his first professional season in Formula Three In 1968 he won several national championship races in Formula Libre and drove the works Chevron in Formula Three. The following year the Englishman really began to hit top form and finished second to Emerson Fittipaldi in the Formula Three Championship. He drove Formula Two Cars. Rollinson's first Formula 5000 season started in 1970 in a Lotus 70, but the car turned out to be so uncompetitive he switched to a Surtees TS5 half through the season. That winter he took a Brabham BT30 to Columbia where he won several big races--in hot weather. A surprise win in the New Zealand Grand Prix has put the Australian driver, John Hel'ormack amongst the favourites to win the Lady. Wigram Trophy. McCormack piloted Elfin-Repco MR5 to in in the Grand Pry and looks sei in: SACe run in his second seast the Tasman comperition. He entered : ea series race succee ben including third pia 19,2 Austral a G cries He • achiered this unusuall • shaped MP5 which made its spectacula first appearance on the lew Zealand circuits during tro 1972 Tasman series. These cars are designed and manufactured in Adelaide by racing driver Garrie Cooper. who last year toured New Zealand with McCormack in the. Tasman series. After considerable experience with both fast motorcycies and motor-cars, he suosequentl! acquired the ex-Mickay Scuderia Veloce Frabham. complete with FPF Climax engine. For three 93Ts he drate this machine. notching a third ar Simmons Plains. Tasmania. in the 1966 Guld Star rund and second the follewing year. In 1968 the McCormack/ Brabham Climax combination failed tu finish in •he Guid Star round on his home ground. but even so McCormack held the Tasmanian Road Racing Chan- - rio done for the two pre with the advent of *he Eltn MRS. McCormack drove ine prototype car at Sandor:? Park, Melbourne. in the third last round of i ne 1971 Gold Star series. The race debut proved succes. ful. and with a gund third place. secured the ... üti~ unutualbul i. I reliahle racing ca: The the 1972 Tasian se::. "The approaca ... left a lictie to be mainiy because not Are been motor racing in Zealand. we had no great knowiedge of the different logistic prohiems mack said when commer ing on the New Zea and nf the 19,2 Australian motor racing season, the Teary embarked on an extensite programme of 21 events. included in these were the seven-race Gold Star series. and the fiverace Repco series held in Victoria. the Gold Siar McCormack's Elfin finished third. and in the Repco series. fourth. Before his win at Pukei he. McCormack said that if the great number • lessons leamt On the cam's last visit for the Tasman series. and the wub equent development of the Elfin. he felt sure the team would make a greater impression on this year's Ta-man. 11cCormack is shown (above) on his way to winning the 1973 New Zealand Grand Prix. 19th LADY TRO INTERNATIONAL A WIGRAN PHY RACE SATURDAY 20th JANUARY Major sponsor required A major sponsor is needed for the Tasman motor racing championship to keep it alive and well, say's the winner of the New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekone, John deCormack, of Adelaide. He believes a sponsor for the series could provide the prize money needed to attract the world's major Formula One racing manufacturers to New Zealand and Australia, in addition to the present Formula 5000 cars. McCormack estimates that prize money in the region of $250,000 for the eight-race Tasman series is needed to persuade the big British and European racing manufacturers to compete. Present prize money totals $96.000 ог $12,000 рег гасе. McCormack, one of Australia's most experienced racing drivers, said the general feeling in Australia was that Formula 5000 should be retained for the Tasman championship. He personally agreed because this formula made available to New Zealand and Australia a good variety of cars and drivers of world standard But an increase in prize money would make it worth while for manufacturers like Lotus, McLaren. March. Ferrari. Tyrell and Surtees to build cars specially for the Tasman and to bring out their top works drivers. "The Tasman is a worldwide recognised inter- national series but it would gain greater prominence if we could obtain a major sponsor prepared to put up money in return for the great identification which the Tasman provides," McCormack said. "I would say the sponsor would have to be an international company because the Tasman is a big, international event. "Frankly, it's the toughest international series in the world-eight races in eight weeks-and it deserves to have a higher rating. "Prize money ai Indianapolis is sl million and while we can't expect to get near that we should certainly have more for he Tasman than at present. While McCormack feels that the basic source of any extra finance will have be a big sponsor, he believes there is room for a limited increase in ground charges. "These days it is cheap entertainment for an adult to pay 32 to see a whole day's top class racing." ne said. "Any rise in the status of Tasman racing would justify charging something more." said facilities in New McCornach Zealand for drivers y drivers were extremely poor bv Australian standards. The Pukekohe track surface was far too bumpy and again below Australian standards. but surfaces at Levin, Wigram and Teretonga were good McCormack said he felt that the general New Zealand attitude was to vet the racing going without worrying too much about facilities.