MOTORSPORT: S5000s at record pace in Island test

A pair of fired-up young Aussies upstaged Brazilian F1 veteran Rubens Barrichello as the new S5000 open-wheel race category cleared its final hurdle before take-off at Sandown Park in Melbourne this weekend.

John Martin and Tim Macrow were the quickest of 12 cars in the first all-in test at Phillip Island today, with Barrichello just over a second slower in the second batch of drivers including Matt Brabham.

Bart Mawer became the first driver to have a big crash in an S5000 when he speared off at more than 200km/h in Turn 12 leading onto the Gardner Straight, but he was cleared at the medical centre while his crew rushed back to Garry Rogers Motorsport to assess the damage.

The car’s chassis survived but the team has yet to decide if they will invest the time and money on the major repairs needed to front at Sandown.

Martin recorded a 1:24.0 second lap to top the test, a time that is around six seconds quicker than a V8 Supercar at Phillip Island and also three seconds clear of the quickest GT3 sports cars.

He and Macrow benefitted from their previous test experience in the S5000 cars, while most of their rivals were still making adjustments and getting attuned to cars that were hitting 300km/h down the pit straight.

The S5000 cars are based around a French-designed Onroak-Ligier carbon-fibre chassis and powered by a 560hp 5.0-litre V8 with a holinger gearbox/transaxle and control wheels, tyres, suspension and electronics.

“It was scary at first. These things are so quick,” said Will Brown, the youngest who is leading the carsales TCR Australia Series and, like Martin, will be doing double duty at Sandown.

“Eventually we got a handle on things but they are fast. It’s going to be good at Sandown.”

Brabham concurred after his first drive in a wings and slicks machine since competing with PIRTEK Team Murray in the 2016 Indianapolis 500.

“The car has a lot of power and is heavy and you really need to sneak up on it,” he said. “You have to have half a clue of what you are doing or it could catch you out pretty quickly.”

Barrichello, who only arrived in Australia on Tuesday, took his time adjusting to the car while also combatting his jet-lag.

He is still expected to be among the leading contenders when S5000 practice begins on Friday ahead of qualifying and races on both Saturday and Sunday.