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Steve Ross in his McRae GM1 leads Ken Smith in David Abbott's Lola T430 at Teretonga.  Copyright Fast Company/Alex Mitchell 2012.  Used with permission.

HRC Tasman Revival 2011/12

After three successive titles in David Abbott's Lola T430, Kenny Smith acquired a Lola T332C from a museum in the USA for the 2011/12 season. He was second in qualifying behind Steve Ross's McRae GM1 at Wigram in November, and finished second to Jay Esterer's McRae in the first two races, but missed the final when an input shaft failed. He then took pole at Manfeild and won the opener, but was involved in a massive startline accident in the second race, and the Lola was heavily damaged. He returned to Abbott's Lola T430, but Michael Lyons completely dominated both races at Hampton Downs, with Ross and Smith left in the minor podium places. Lyons and Ross shared the spoils at the Skope Classic, with Smith absent, and the season ended with a visit to the VHRR Phillip Island Classic, where Ross won three of the four races to take his first title.

The races

14 Aug 2011 > Winton Festival of Speed

06 Nov 2011 > Lady Wigram Trophy at Ruapana Park

13 Nov 2011 > MG Classic meeting at Manfeild

22 Jan 2012 > NZ Festival of Motor Racing at Hampton Downs

29 Jan 2012 > NZ Festival of Motor Racing at Hampton Downs

05 Feb 2012 > Skope Classic at Ruapana Park

11 Mar 2012 > VHRR Phillip Island Classic

MSC New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series events shown in bold

2011-2012 MSC New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series table

1Steve RossMcRae GM1 - Chevrolet V8646 pts 
2Aaron BursonMcRae GM1 - Chevrolet V8534 pts 
3Brett WillisLola T330 - Chevrolet V8454 pts 
4Gregory ThorntonChevron B24 - Chevrolet V8412 pts 
5David ArrowsmithLotus 70B - Ford V8407 pts 
6Russell GreerLola T332 - Chevrolet V8275 pts 
7Michael LyonsLola T400 - Chevrolet V8261 pts 
8=David AbbottLola T430 - Chevrolet V8236 pts 
8=Ian ClementsLola T332 - Chevrolet V8236 pts 
10Ken SmithLola T332 - Chevrolet V8
Lola T430 - Chevrolet V8
231 pts 
11Peter BursonMcRae GM1 - Chevrolet V8223 pts 
12Sefton GibbLola T332 - Chevrolet V8221 pts 
13Frank LyonsEagle 74A - Chevrolet V8219 pts 
14David BanksTalon MR1A - Chevrolet V8203 pts 
15Timothy RushMcLaren M22 - Chevrolet V8201 pts 
16Mark DwyerLola T400 - Chevrolet V8179 pts 
17John Mackinlay4.4-litre March "72A" - Oldsmobile V8178 pts 
18Roger WilliamsLola T332 - Chevrolet V8163 pts 
19Mike WhatleyLola T300 - Chevrolet V8156 pts 
20Jay EstererMcRae GM1 - Chevrolet V8153 pts 

Most events

A total of 47 F5000 Tasman Revival events had taken place by the end of this season. The drivers who had taken part in the most were as follows.

DriverEvents
Ian Clements38
Stan Redmond37
David Abbott36
Aaron Burdon35
Poul Christie32
Stuart Lush31
Tony Richards28
Ken Smith28