HYDE WINS THE BATTLE, SMITH THE WAR AS MSC F5000 CARS IMPRESS AT PUKEKOHE

It was a case of championship points leader Chris Hyde winning the battle but arch-rival Ken Smith the war at the third round of the 2007/08 MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival motor racing series at Pukekohe's Pukekohe Park Raceway today.

Though Auckland man Roger Williams (Lola T332) qualified quickest and won two of the three races, it was Hyde (McRae GM1) who won the Tasman Cup Revival Grand Prix feature race, and Smith (Lola T430) - with a second place and two thirds - who won the round.

The Tasman Cup Revival Grand Prix race was a classic and had the large crowd attracted to the Historic Racing Club's annual Tasman Cup Revival meeting on their feet as Williams, Hyde, Smith and and Stan Redmond (Lola T332) jostled for position off the rolling start.

Williams and Hyde quickly established a small gap on Smith and Redmond, but the pair lost the advantage as quickly as they had gained it as the field was slowed behind the safety car.

The battle was all on again when the track was cleared however, Hyde at first probing, then making a pass for the lead stick at the hairpin.

Williams remained within striking distance for two laps then pulled off the circuit with what he later described as an electrical problem with two laps to go.

That left Hyde to take the flag and trophy unchallenged and the consistent Ken Smith to take second place from Redmond, Shayne Windelburn (Lola T400) and visiting UK driver Frank Lyons (Lola T400).

The Formula 5000 cars were one of the major drawcards at the Tasman Cup Revival meeting and they didn't disappoint.

Williams gave an indication of the pace the beautifully restored and race-prepared stock-block 5 litre V8-engined cars are capable of on Saturday by easily bettering the track's original category lap record (a 56.70 second lap set by Australian Frank Matich in a McLaren M10B in 1971) in qualifying with a best lap time of 55.35 seconds, then got very close to Ken Smith's contemporary best in an F5000 car (55.20 set in a Matich A50 in 1993) in the first race, his quickest lap a 55.80.

He and Hyde then went quicker again on Sunday, Williams setting a best lap of 54.59, Hyde 54.73, both in the second race.

That, however, was only the tip of the iceberg, nine car/driver combinations lapped under the 1.00.00 mark in qualifying and eleven managing to break it in the first race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon.

Roger Williams won that race from fellow front row starter Ken Smith and McRae GM1 driver Alastair Russell, as well as the second race of the weekend on Sunday morning from Chris Hyde and Ken Smith.

Hyde set the third quickest lap time in qualifying but was was an early retirement from the first race when a stub axle broke.

Auckland's Alastair Russell, driving the McRae GM1 originally restored and race by Williams, impressed in qualifying - setting the fourth quickest time - and finishing third in the first race and fifth in the second, but was forced to sit the Tasman Cup Revival Grand Prix with an engine problem.

That left category stalwart Stan Redmond with one of his best results to date - after qualifying 12th fastest the Christchurch man worked his way up to eighth at the line in the first race, fourth in the second and third in the Grand Prix.

Regular Tasman Cup Revival Series visitor Frank Lyons also got better as the weekend went on, qualifying his recently acquired Lola T400 in 11th place but carding an 8-6-5 run through the races.

Special mention - particularly in the 40th year of the F5000 category - must also go to South Australian John Bryant who owns and drives one of the odlest cars in the field this season, a Lola T140.

The T140 was one of the last Lola cars built without aerodynamic 'wings' yet the determined Bryant was 19th fastest in qualifying and went on to finish 17th in the first race, 19th in the second and a weekend best 12th in the Grand Prix.

This weekend's round of the 2007/08 MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series was the first of two at Historic Racing Club meetings this season. The second is at Taupo's Taupo Motorsport Park next weekend. This season's MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is again sponsored by shipping line MSC, transport operators Pacifica, NZ Express, Bonney Transport, Smith and Davies and Toll, Avon race tyre importer Dold Industries and L.G.Anderson and Co.

The series is supported by the Historic Racing Club (HRC), the MG Car Club of Wellington, the Historic Motor Racing Club Inc, The Canterbury Car Club, Southland Sports Car Club and Australia's Victorian Historic Racing Register. 2007/08 MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series Rnd 3 Pukekohe Park Raceway Pukekohe Sat-Sun Jan 26-27 2008

Qualifying

1. Roger Williams (Lola T332) 55.35
2. Kenny Smith (Lola T430) 57.06
3. Chris Hyde (McRae GM1) 57.42
4. Alastair Russell (McRae GM1) 57.63
5. David Abbott (Lola T430) 57.88
6. Sefton Gibb (Lola T332) 58.15
7. Aaron Lewis (Matich A53) 59.11
8. Tony Richards (Lola T332) 59.25
9. Noel Atley (Begg 018) 59.49
10. Tony Roberts (McLaren M22) 1.01.96
11. Frank Lyons (Lola T400) 1.03.16
12. Stan Redmond (Lola T332) 1.03.92
13. Aaron Burson (Talon MR1/A) 1.04.03
14. Shane Windelburn (Lola T400) 1.04.50
15. Poul Christie (Lola T192) 1.04.53
16. Russell Greer (Lola T332) 1.05.70
17. Kerry Anderson (Lola T142) 1.06.91
18. Kerry Mcintosh (Begg FM2) 1.07.67
19. John Bryant (Lola T140) 1.07.78
20. Steve Ward (Lola T142) 1.08.44
21. Peter Burson (McRae GM1) 1.08.68
22. John Crawford (McLaren M23 F1) 1.09.51
23. Tim Rush (Begg FM4) 1.20.81
24. Judy Lyons (Eagle 74A) 1.21.19

Race 1

1. Roger Williams 7 laps
2. Ken Smith +9.15
3. Alastair Russell +12.53
4. David Abbott +13.08
5. Tony Richards +18.90
6. Sefton Gibb +20.25
7. Aaron Lewis +20.79
8. Frank Lyons +21.06
9. Stan Redmond +21.39
10. Tony Roberts +24.22
11. Shayne Windelburn +26.48
12. Noel Atley +36.36
13. Aaron Burson +37.30
14. Russell Greer +55.62
15. Poul Christie +56.52
16. Steve Ward +1 lap
17. John Bryant +1 lap
18. Kerry Anderson +1 lap
19. Kerry McIntosh + 1 lap
20. Peter Burson + 1 lap
21. Tim Rush +1 lap
DNF: Chris Hyde (broken axle) - Judy Lyons

Fastest lap Roger Williams 55.8

Race 2

1. Williams 8 laps
2. Hyde 1.00s
3. Smith +6.00
4. Redmond +7.00
5. Russell +10.00
6. Lyons +12.00
7. Lewis +13.00
8. Roberts +15.00
9. Richards +16.00
10. Windelburn +17.00
11. Abbott +18.00
12. Aaron Burson +19.00
13. Atley +20.00
14. Rush +21.00
15. Christie +1 lap
16. Anderson +1 lap
17. Greer +1 lap
18. McIntosh +1 lap
19. Bryant +1 lap
20. Peter Burson +1 lap
21. Judy Lyons +2 laps
DNF: Gibb

Race 3 - Tasman Grand Prix

1. Hyde 15 laps
2. Smith +5.49
3. Redmond +27.83
4. Windelburn +32.16
5. Lyons +37.79
6. Richards +37.97
7. Lewis +39.16
8. Abbott +49.83
9. Aaron Burson +55.68
10. Atley +57.65
11. Christie +1 lap
12. Bryant +1 lap
13. Anderson +1 lap
14. McIntosh +1 lap
15. Peter Burson +2 laps
16. Greer +2 laps
DNF: Williams, Lyons, Rush, Roberts.

Round top three

1. Ken Smith 74
2. Chris Hyde 62
3. Stan Redmond 54

Points after Rnd 3 of 5

1. Chris Hyde (Christchurch, McRae GM1) 230 points
2. Ken Smith (Auckland, Lola T430) 218
3. Stan Redmond (Christchurch, Lola T332) 160
4. Sefton Gibb (Napier, Lola T332) 132
5. Roger Williams (Auckland, Lola T332) 125
6. Tony Richards (Christchurch, Lola T332) 120
7. David Abbott (Christchurch, Lola T430) 94
8. Stuart Lush (Auckland, McRae GM1) 74
9. Tony Roberts (Auckland, McLaren M22) 56
10. Frank Lyons (UK, Lola T400) 44

Calendar

Rnd 1: November 10-11 2007 MG Classic meeting Manfeild Autocourse (Feilding, NZ)
Rnd 2: January 5-6 2008 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting Powerbuilt Tools Raceway (Christchurch, NZ)
Rnd 3: January 26-27 2008 HRC Tasman Revival meeting Pukekohe Park Raceway (Pukekohe, NZ)
Rnd 4: February 2-3 2008 HRC Tasman Revival meeting Taupo Motorsport Park (Taupo, NZ)
Rnd 5: March 7-9 2008 Phillip Island Historic meeting Phillip Island (Vic, Aust)

All pictures Jakob Ebrey.

David Abbott has a spin in his T430.



The T400 of Frank Lyons.



The legendary Ken Smith in his T430.



Poul Christie in his T190 leads David Abbott's T430.



The T332 of Roger Williams leads the rest of the runners.



Sefton Gibb's T332.



Another T332, this is Stan Redmond.



Roger Williams took two wins at Pukekohe.



Roger Williams and Ken Smith battle for position.