Big banger open-wheeler racing set to return to Australia

Former V8 Supercar racer Chris Lambden has announced his intention to recreate the legendary Tasman Series later this year by proposing the launch of an all-new open-wheeler category.

Back in the 1960s, the Tasman Series became famous for attracting such greats as Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill and Jim Clark because it was held in our summer during the European winter and the Formula 1 off-season.

The new series, called Formula Thunder 5000, consists of just seven races held over December and January in both Australia in New Zealand.

To help launch the series that hopes to race this December, Lambden has teamed up with open-wheel race-builder Mike Borland to create a prototype racer specifically for the series.

Powered by a 425kW Ford Coyote 5.0-litre V8 and weighing in at just 680kg, the new racers will easily be capable of speeds in excess of 320km/h depending on gearing and track.

The prototype racer is based on existing a Swift Formula Nippon chassis to cut costs.

In what organisers describe as “a great advertisement for the Australian motorsport industry”, almost all of the rest of car is Australian made and developed, with the quad -cam engine developed by InnoV8 in Brisbane and the six-speed sequential ‘box coming from Holinger.

Lambden said he came up with the idea of a new Australian-based open-wheel race series after competing in a historic F5000 car and decided it was a shame nothing like it existed anymore.

Speaking to motorsport.com, Lambden says the new race car will be “a seriously challenging, powerful, fast, open-wheeler race car to drive, and the sight and sound of a grid full of them getting off the line should be awesome.”

The former touring car racer says he hopes Formula Thunder 5000 will encourage a “new generation of talented young, mind-blowing performance that Alan Jones, Kevin Bartlett, Spencer Martin, Warwick Brown and the other stars of that 1970s generation did ... and which motorsport fans loved.”

Lambden now hopes he’ll build 20 cars in total for the competition to be viable this December. Each car is rumoured to costs around $230,000.

The series calendar is still said to be under negotiation but is expected to begin in New Zealand for the first two races before moving to Australia for the final five rounds.