FORMULA 5000 THE STARS AT NEW WINTON FORMULA FESTIVAL

By Bruce Williams

Date posted: September 6, 2022

In a tribute that will pay homage to the halcyon days of Formula 5000, the Rose City 10000 will be revived and races for the historic Formula 5000 cars will be the headline act as part of a new ‘open wheel motorsport festival’ to be held at Winton Raceway in October this year.

The ‘Winton Formula Festival’ will be held over the October 14-15 weekend, the event could see a gathering of one of the biggest fields of the five litre V8 open-wheel hero cars that have been seen for some years.

Formula 5000 competitors will battle it out for the AUTO ACTION Rose City Cup for historic Formula 5000 cars.

The original Rose City 10000 event was one of the biggest events for Formula 5000, which was the premier open wheel category in the 70’s and early 80’s. (see some details below).

Formula 5000 will be the major draw card at the new event which the Benalla Auto Club and Winton Motor Raceway are promoting in conjunction with the Formula Vee National Challenge and Formula Ford Association.

A big field of F5000 cars are expected – Lola, Elfin, Matich, McRae, Chevron and March will all be represented – Image by Peter Ellenbogen.

The event will be called the ‘Winton Formula Festival’ and will be held over the October 15-16 weekend – See details here.

Organisers of Formula 5000 Australia, the group the drives the historic racing class, are excited about the event. AUTO ACTION spoke to Rod Carroll who is part of the event organising committee.

“We are very excited to announce that we are reviving the Rose City 10000 as part of the Winton Formula Festival.

“It’s something that we have been working towards for some years and we think that this will be a great event for our Formula 5000 owners, fans and motorsport enthusiasts in general.

“Winton is a great venue, and it was an exciting place for Formula 5000 races back in the day, and we think that this event will generate a heap of interest from people that are not just Formula 5000 fans, but motorsport enthusiasts that are interested in all open wheel classes.

There will be a significant line up of historic Formula 5000 at the event, most marques will be represented from the all conquering Lola in the various models, the fabulous locally made Elfin’s, Australia’s own Matich will be on hand, McRae, Chevron and March will all be at the event.

The Elfin MR8 Chev that James Hunt drove to win the last Rose City 10,000 in 1978 will be at the event – Image by Peter Ellenbogen.

“We have at least 15 Formula 5000 cars confirmed for the weekend’s competition including the same Elfin MR8 Chev that James Hunt drove to win the last Rose City 10000 in 1978.

“The car is owned by a Benalla local Mike Glynn, and it will be fantastic to see it hopefully back on the track being demonstrated, if not it will certainly be on display. We will also see current Formula 5000 racer Chas Talbot who finished a fantastic fifth in the 1978 Rose City 10000 event and will be competing at this years event in a Lola 332.

“We are hoping that we can encourage a few more owners to bring their fabulous and fast Formula 5000s to this event, it’s something that we want to grow and have as an annual feature on the calendar.” Confirmed Carroll.

AUTO ACTION will be supporting the event and in particular the Rose City Cup for Historic Formula 5000 cars.

AUTO ACTION Publisher Bruce Williams is enthusiastic about the event and thinks it will be a great weekend of open wheel racing with the stars of the past represented by the Formula 5000 racers and plenty of stars of the future competing in the Formula Ford and Formula Vee categories.

“It will be a fantastic weekend of racing, I am excited to see the thundering Formula 5000 cars racing around Winton and being able to see them up close.

“I was lucky enough to meet James Hunt when he raced at Winton for the Rose City 10000 all those years ago and to be part of this revival event is a fantastic opportunity to give a little back to the people that keep these fantastic racing cars on the track.” Williams enthused.

“I’m also excited to see all the great young talent on display in both the Formula Ford and Formula Vee categories. So many of our champions of Supercars and even Formula 1 started their racing careers in these categories, so again its great to be part of an event that will showcase all the fantastic young talent that we have in this country.” Williams said.

Rod Carroll who is part of the F5000 event organising committee, seen here at Sandown in his Lola T140 – Image by Peter Ellenbogen.

The event will also host the Formula Vee National Challenge and the Australian Formula Ford Festival, with prize-money on offer for the winners of each Formula Ford category as the Formula Ford Festival is revived.

Stephen Whyte, Benalla Auto Club Group General Manager told AUTO ACTION that the event has been a few years in the making.

“We were planning for a return of an open wheel festival for some time, but of course like many activities COVID stopped the planning in our tracks.

“Formula 5000 is a great category to have back at Winton as the star attraction.

“Winton saw one of its biggest crowds of all times back in 1978, when Formula 1 world Champion James Hunt raced and won in the Rose City 10000 and we are excited to bring the race back to Winton and give Formula 5000 an event to focus on each year.

“We already know it will be a great event, Formula Vee will have plenty of entries and we are hoping that the Formula Ford competitors will want to add their own name to the Formula Ford Festival trophy.

“If you are a fan of great open-wheel racing then this will be a great event to attend.” Whyte concluded.

For more details on the for the 2022 Winton Formula Festival incorporating Australian VDub Performance Centre 2022 Formula Vee National Challenge, 2022 Australian Formula Ford Festival, 2022 Formula 5000 Rose City Cup for Historic Formula 5000.

Below are some great stories about Formula 5000 racing cars, history and some information about the Rose City 1000.

AUTO ACTION UNDER THE SKIN FEATURE: LOLA T330 FORMULA 5000 – LIFE BEGINS AT FIFTY LINK HERE

Under the Skin on the Lola T330

It’s over 50 years since Formula 5000 started around the world and one of the most evocative cars of that era remains Lola’s glorious T330

OFTEN IN the history of motor racing, one can say that a car changed a category.

Various Porsches have done that; the 907, the 956/962, even the just-retired 919. Audi’s Quattro and its diesel-powered Le Mans winners. Roger Penske’s pushrod Mercedes-Benz IndyCar that won the Indy 500 in 1994.

Lola changed Formula 5000 in the 1970s. It is 50 years ago that the category first appeared and for a while, a number of makes fought it out for superiority – including Lola. While Elfin, Frank Matich and Graham McRae were refining their own cars for local competition.

FORMULA 5000: DAYS OF THUNDER is a great story on the AUTO ACTION WEB SITE – LINK HERE

Graeme McRae won the Tasman then took his his stylish GM1 to success in both America and England

A LITTLE HISTORY OF THE ROSE CITY 10000

The official ‘Rose City 10000’ Promotional poster

While Winton was deemed too short for Gold Star rounds, the Benalla Auto Club organised $10,000 in prize money and created the Rose City 10000 for Australian National Formula 1 cars and Formula 5000 in 1976, that year Alfredo Costanzo won it aboard his Lola T332 Chev.

The Rose City 10000 was an event last run in 1978 and saw the 1976 Formula 1 World Champion James Hunt compete in the race – which he won.

It was one of the few events that James Hunt contested outside of Formula 1 and the event drew a huge crowd to Winton to see Hunt race the locals.

A huge amount of publicity was generated by Hunts presence in Australia, attendances at the circuit on the weekend, of around 15000 people on race day reflective of interest in both his driving talent and flamboyant tabloid lifestyle.

Driving an Elfin MR8 Chev, Hunt took on the best of the locals including Alfie Costanzo, John McCormack as well as current Formula 5000 racer, Victorian Chas Talbot who finished a fantastic fifth in the 10,000 event and will be at the event in 2022.

In a fast, measured performance all weekend, Hunt won the 30 lap 10,000 from Costanzo in a Lola T332 Chev and Kevin Bartlett driving a Brabham BT43 Chev.

Bruce Williams

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FORMULA 5000 THE STARS AT NEW WINTON FORMULA FESTIVAL

Below are some great stories about Formula 5000 racing cars, history and some information about the Rose City 1000.

AUTO ACTION UNDER THE SKIN FEATURE: LOLA T330 FORMULA 5000 – LIFE BEGINS AT FIFTY LINK HERE

FORMULA 5000: DAYS OF THUNDER is a great story on the AUTO ACTION WEB SITE – LINK HERE

A LITTLE HISTORY OF THE ROSE CITY 10000

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