THE ROAR of legendary Formula One cars will once again echo around Sydney Motorsport Park, as a dozen examples of the spectacular racers from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s take to the track for the inaugural Sydney Retro Speedfest on May 3 -4. With only around 20 examples in Australia, there will arguably never be a better time to see these amazing machines in action. The F1 cars will be trackside for display, hot laps and will also be racing over the weekend of the Speedfest, which promises close classic competition and fantastic off-track entertainment for fans of all ages.
One of the main attractions will be the Williams FW07, driven by Alan Jones to victory in the 1980 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, and also took out the Constructors’ Championship. The 3.0-litre Cosworth Ford-engined machine will be driven by Victorian owner Paul Faulkner in its NSW debut. Another car driven by Jones in 1985 and now owned by Ian Ross is the turbo-engined Beatrice Lola Hart; one of the last used by the World Champ on the international scene before he embarked on his touring car career. A significant inclusion will be the Repco-Brabham BT24 used by Sir Jack Brabham to secure second place in the 1967 World Drivers’ Championship behind team-mate Denny Hulme. A winner of the French and Canadian Grands Prix, the BT24 played a big part in taking the Brabham-Tauranac team to a second consecutive F1 Constructor’s Title.
Current Race Director of V8 Supercars, Tim Schenken, also had his hand in F1 racing history as a factory driver with the Surtees Formula 1 team in 1972. His car, the Surtees TS9B, will be driven at Sydney Retro Speedfest by John Gale, who has enjoyed success on the track since acquiring the stunning racecar in 2009. Also featured will be the fearsome Benetton B186 driven by Gerhard Berger in six Grands Prix in 1986. Powered by a turbocharged BMW engine which reportedly produced 1500 horsepower on full boost, current owner Les Wright will opt for a more conservative boost delivering a mere 800 horses… Other legendary marques include Arrows, Ferrari, March, Spirit-Honda and Tyrrell. The Retro Speedfest will showcase a feast of racing, with the best of classic touring cars, historic sedans, production sports cars, open-wheel and pedigree sports racers, and formula fords and vees, with 28 races including trophy feature races over the two-day weekend.
Early-bird ticket pricing is now available: call the ARDC office on (02) 9672 1000 to secure your place in Motorsport history!
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