1973 Tasman Series

The 1973 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition staged in New Zealand and Australia^[1] for cars complying with the Tasman Formula.^[2] The series, which began on 6 January and ended on 25 February after eight races,^[1] was the tenth Tasman Series.^[3] Officially known as the Tasman Championship for Drivers, it was organised jointly by the Motorsport Association New Zealand Incorporated and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.^[4] The championship was won by Graham McRae, driving a McRae GM1 Chevrolet.^[1]

Races

A McRae GM1, similar to the car driven by 1973 Tasman Series winner Graham McRae

The series was contested over eight rounds.^[1]

Round^[1]		Name^[1]	Circuit^[1]	Date^[1]	Winning driver^[1]	Winning car^[1]	Winning entrant	Report
New Zealand	1	New Zealand Grand Prix	Pukekohe	6 January	John McCormack	Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden	Ansett Team Elfin^[5]	Report
	2	Levin International	Levin	13 January	Graham McRae	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	STP^[5]	Report
	3	Lady Wigram Trophy	Wigram	20 January	Graham McRae	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	STP^[5]	Report
	4	Rothmans International^[5]	Teretonga	28 January	Alan Rollinson	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	McKechnie Racing Organisation^[5]	Report
Australia	5	Surfers Paradise International	Surfers Paradise	4 February	Frank Matich	Matich A50 Repco Holden	Frank Matich^[6]	Report
	6	Chesterfield 100	Warwick Farm	11 February	Steve Thompson	Chevron B24 Chevrolet	Servis Racing Team^[6]	Report
	7	Chesterfield 100^[6]	Sandown	18 February	Graham McRae	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	STP^[6]	Report
	8	Chesterfield 100^[7]	Adelaide	25 February	John McCormack	Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden	Ansett Team Elfin^[7]	Report

Points were awarded at each race on the following basis:^[8]

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	9	6	4	3	2	1

All races were counted towards the final totals for each driver.^[8]

Pos^[1]	Driver^[1]	Car^[1]	Entrant^[5]	Puk	Lev	Wig	Ter	Sur	War	San	Ade	Pts
1	Graham McRae	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	STP	4	1	1	10	2	3	1	Ret	40
2	John McCormack	Elfin MR5 Repco Holden	Ansett Team Elfin	1	Ret	Ret	4	6	6	2	1	29
3	Frank Matich	Matich A50 Repco Holden	Frank Matich Racing Pty Ltd Frank Matich^[6]	Ret	2	4	Ret	1	2	4	Ret	27
4	Steve Thompson	Chevron B24 Chevrolet	Servis / Alan Brodie Servis Racing Team^[6]	3	Ret	3	6	Ret	1	7	3	22
5	Alan Rollinson	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	McKechnie Racing Organisation	2	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	2	21
6	Max Stewart	Lola T330 Chevrolet	Max Stewart Motors Lola Cars Ltd^[6]	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	3	5	3	4	17
7	Warwick Brown	Lola T300 Chevrolet	Team Target	Ret	3	2	7	DNS				10
8	Sam Posey	Surtees TS11 Chevrolet	Champ Car Inc	Ret	Ret	Ret	2	5	7	6	Ret	9
9	Johnnie Walker	Matich A50 Repco Holden	Johnnie Walker^[7]					4	4	5	Ret	8
10	David Oxton	Begg FM5 Chevrolet	GN Begg Engineering Co	Ret	5	5	9					4
11	Kevin Bartlett	Lola T300 Chevrolet	Chesterfield Filter Racing	Ret	4	7	8	10	8	Ret	9	3
12	Garry Pedersen	Begg FM4 Chevrolet	Wright Machinery Ltd	5	12		12					2
=	Noritake Takahara	Brabham BT36 Ford	Takahara Racing Inc	7	9	10	5	8				2
=	Dexter Dunlop	McRae GM1 Chevrolet	Dunlop Racing	Ret	6	6	11	9	11	9	Ret	2
=	Bob Muir	McLaren M10B Chevrolet	Pat Burke Racing^[7]							Ret	5	2
16	Garrie Cooper	Elfin MR5 Repco Holden	Ansett Team Elfin^[7]					Ret		Ret	6	1
=	Ken Smith	March 722 Ford	Air NZ Motor Racing	6	7							1
Pos	Driver	Car	Entrant	Puk	Lev	Wig	Ter	Sur	War	San	Ade	Pts

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Tasman Series, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, pages 40 to 59
^ Official programme, Final Round, Tasman International Series, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, February 25, 1973, page 3
^ Tasman Series, www.sergent.com.au Retrieved on 21 February 2015
^ Tasman Championship for Drivers, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport 1973, pages 88 to 91
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Official Programme, Teretonga, 28 January 1973, page 29
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Official Programme, Sandown, Saturday & Sunday, February 17 & 18 1973, page 65
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Official programme, Final Round, Tasman International Series, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday, February 25, 1973, page 31
^ ^a ^b Tasman Series 1973, www.sergent.com.au Retrieved on 21 February 2015