Old School Formula Holden Overseas

[Falcadore]

Folks,

Looking to expand the knowledge of some websites and I was looking for information relating to Formula Holden's overseas jaunts. Their 1993 trip to Indonesia is fairly well documented but a trip to Malaysia in 1995 is not, and details of the New Zealand Tasman Series appears to have all but disappeared.

Anyone able to help?

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Falcadore

Folks,

Looking to expand the knowledge of some websites and I was looking for information relating to Formula Holden's overseas jaunts. Their 1993 trip to Indonesia is fairly well documented but a trip to Malaysia in 1995 is not, and details of the New Zealand Tasman Series appears to have all but disappeared.

Anyone able to help?

My sharp memory remembers these races being covered with a race report(as all NZ summer racing was in this magazine) in the late lamented "On Track" magazine which was a bi weekly American racing magazine which of course had most of it's coverage centered around the big known international series, but they also carried national race reports from places like South Africa, Brazil and New Zealand.

Copies can usually be found on ebay USA here and there. I unfortunately and now foolishly jettisoned all my issues during a move a number of years ago, otherwise I'd be happy to pull them up.

So that is one source if you are desperate.

I'm sure old issues of Speedsport Magazine from NZ would probably have reports as well.

One place if you really need the knowledge is the http://www.racingarchives.org/

Their racing magazine collection is impressive.

[Just Do It!]

Hey Falcadore,

I reckon I might have an article tucked away down near GregMurphyTown at Dad's place. I shall be there from Boxing Day and shall troll a few draws to see if it is where I think it may be.

The publication was called Race and Rally for memory and was a sister publication to the recently (and very sadly) defunct Driver Magazine. If you google Straight 8 Publications and flick an email to them, Allan Dick may have the article kicking around somewhere.

Manfeild was very, very wet that day....webbed feet were needed by all. It was ugly for the Formula Holden category and the promoter took two baths - one literal, and the other metaphorically.

Names like Noske, Lowndes, Stokell, and Kennett ring bells, but I can't precisely confirm. Manfeild did turn on rain to duck-like proportions though.

The crowd was pretty average due to the weather. Formula Holdens went incredibly well around Manfeild, as long as Adrian Gamble wasn't on your crew - see the piece in Murph's Law regarding his "wee off" their into the trees, and almost the creek, at Dunlop. I was there that day too.

Brian Kelly or Robin Curtis may have covered that rain-filled Manfeild weekend. It was a shocker, to be fair.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Falcadore

Folks,
.... trip to Indonesia is fairly well documented but a trip to Malaysia in 1995 is not......
Anyone able to help?

I will try and fill in the blanks on the Malaysian race.....
That Formula Holden race in Malaysia was in fact the 1995 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix. It was before Sepang even existed, and the inaugural F1 Championship race was not until 1999 so the race was a non championship Grand Prix, and held on the old Shah Alam track. The event was held only on rare years, with the next Malaysian GP being the F1 race in '99. Previously was the 1982 Malaysian GP, for Formula Pacific cars. That year (and the year before) it was won by Andrew Miedecke in a Ralt-Ford.

Going back to the 1995 Malaysian GP Paul Stokell won the race in a Reynard-Holden.

I believe this list would cover previous Malaysian GPs, prior to the F1 days and indeed the F Holden race..
the Tasman Series (1968-1972),
Formula Pacific (1973-1974, 1978-1982), Formula Atlantic (1975)

[E.B]

One thing I forgot to mention about the Sham Alam circuit was that it was designed by the late great John Hugenholtz, of Suzuka and Zandvoort design fame, amongst others. The circuit is located on the outskirts of the capital of Selangor.

Prior to Shah Alam, which hosted all of the Malaysian GP's held in the period from 1968 - 1995, the event was held on the Thomson Road circuit in Singapore. The 1962-1965 races were held there, although the 1964 race was cancelled after practice. Ironically enough Singapore gained independance from Malaysia and i believe the race was as a result, being held at the Singapore Thomson Road circuit again, the race was actually called the Singapore Grand Prix. There was no race in 1967, with the race being moved to Shah Alam for 1968.

I also forgot to mention another category that ran as the Malaysian GP was F2, which ran in 1977 (at Shah Alam). That race was won by Patrick Tambay in a March BMW.

There is a Vintage Racecar issue from May last year which included a report on some of the famous Malaysian specials that were built in the early days of Malaysian racing, but I guess this is all being pointed a bit off topic and more towards the history of the Malaysian GP rather than the F. Holden race in Malaysia!
Apologies, but as they say I have started so I will finish....

For those that might be interested though, a .pdf copy of the mag is
here >May 2009 VINTAGE RACECAR

The article on the Asian Specials starts p52, but there are other articles that may be of interest.

[Falcadore]

Originally Posted by E.B

I will try and fill in the blanks on the Malaysian race.....
That Formula Holden race in Malaysia was in fact the 1995 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix. It was before Sepang even existed, and the inaugural F1 Championship race was not until 1999 so the race was a non championship Grand Prix, and held on the old Shah Alam track. The event was held only on rare years, with the next Malaysian GP being the F1 race in '99. Previously was the 1982 Malaysian GP, for Formula Pacific cars. That year (and the year before) it was won by Andrew Miedecke in a Ralt-Ford.

Going back to the 1995 Malaysian GP Paul Stokell won the race in a Reynard-Holden.

I believe this list would cover previous Malaysian GPs, prior to the F1 days and indeed the F Holden race..
the Tasman Series (1968-1972),
Formula Pacific (1973-1974, 1978-1982), Formula Atlantic (1975)

Cheers EB, but pretty much knew all of that. Was hoping for entry list/ placings. It's rapidly become a forgotten event.

As you bring up F-Pacific era racing, there was also an Indosedian Grand Prix in the early 80s which was actually AF2 rather than F-Pacific, which was very strange as F-Pacific might have been able to pull entries from all over the region but AF2 would not have been able to do the same.

But there is a dearth of information out there about Australian forays into SE Asia open wheel racing, which was once common place. Garrie Cooper won the Singapore GP. Big Rev Kev won in Macau I think. Schuppan too had victories in the region. Ian Geoghegan had a big win in Japan (which despite a lot of references saying so, was not actually the Japanese Grand Prix. Up until the mid-70s the JGP was a touring car race)

I would love to be able to populate the exploits of Aussies racing in SE Asia, but it's hard to find.