Cars of the MSC Tasman Revival F5000 Series*
Easily recognizable and certainly a crowd favourite amongst the F5000 field racing in the MSC Tasman Revival Series is the McLaren M23 Formula One car owned and driven by Phil Mauger. A key difference between this F1 car and the F5000 field is the distinctly different engine sound as it rockets past.
Designed by Gordon Coppuck and built by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing in 1973 the car is most famous for being driven by Kiwi Denny Hulme in the 1973 Formula One championship. Competing in eighteen grand prix’s over the 1973-74 season (Mike Hailwood drove it in 74) it won the 1973 Swedish Grand Prix. Ar Anderstorp. (Current owner Phil Mauger rates this circuit as one of his favourites, competing there in 2008. )
Powered by a Cosworth DFV 3000cc V8 engine producing 480 BHP it certainly has a different tone than the F5000 cars that it competes against. Both have V8 engines whereas the M23 is a 3.0 litre compared with the 5.0 litre F5000 which delivers over 500 BHP.
The difference will be found in the engine revelations per minute (RPM). The M23 will rev up to 10,000 RPM compared with the lower limit of approximately 8,000RPM of the F5000 cars. Mauger comments that, “ When it was raced they revved it to 11,500 and pulled them apart every four hours” Pulling lower revs means Mauger will rebuild the engine every 20 hours which equates to about two and a half years of racing.
So how did the car find it’s way to NZ?
On retiring, Denny Hulme purchased the car and brought it back home to New Zealand. (Legend has it that it took centre stage in his living room.)
It was used as a demonstration in a number of races until 1992 and was then placed in the Te Puke motor museum until 2005. Mauger purchased the F1 car and then set about restoring it and now races it in the Tasman Revival Series and other historic races around the world.
So what other key differences are there between this F1 car and the F5000 cars of the same period? Other than the different engine the car is almost exactly the same as an F5000. But Mauger points out that the F1 car is probably a better quality of build and componentry.
“It is faster because it is lighter (about 150kg) and more nimble. In theory my car should win, in the hands of another driver. I don’t drive it hard enough.“ He also adds that ““ It is nice to drive, it is not hard at all.”
*Over the 2009 Christmas and New Year break we will look at a number of cars that make up the grid of the 2009/10 MSC Tasman Revival Series
