Top Aussie rival 'beatable' says Kiwi F5000 front-runner

MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series Historic Sandown round winner Tom Tweedie (#2) shares the front row on the warm-up lap with Clark Proctor (#57 March 73/1A) at Sandown. Photos / Fast Company, Darren Symonds

Top Australian single-seater racer Tom Tweedie (Chevron B24) qualified quickest and won two of the three F5000 races at the opening round of this season's MSC New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series in Melbourne last month. But that doesn't necessarily mean he will do the same at the second Australian round in Sydney this weekend.

"Definitely not. Everybody's beatable," says Steve Ross (McRae GM1), the series champion in 2012/13 and only driver to take a win off the 26-year-old former Australian National class Formula 3 champion Tweedie at the Melbourne meeting.

Ross beat Tweedie off the line at the start of the second race at Sandown and once in front held him out until the chequered flag.

The young Australian was back in front in the feature race but, to be fair, Ross had other things - namely fellow Kiwi Clark Proctor - on his mind.

Proctor (March 73 A/1) who won races on his way to finishing second to Ross in the 2012/13 MSC series, was the quickest of the Kiwis in qualifying at Sandown, and after being slowed by a fuel issue in the first race (slipping back to fourth at the flag) finished third behind Ross and Tweedie in the second race, then second in the final after a titanic dice with Ross.

This weekend's second series round in Sydney promises similar hard and fast racing up front, and Ross says Tweedie won't have the same advantage he did over Proctor and himself at the start of the weekend as he did in Melbourne.

"We'd never seen the place before we got there," says Ross of the historic Sandown circuit.

"At least with Eastern Creek Clark and I have been there before so I don't think Tom will have the chance to be so much quicker than the rest of us when we go to qualify."

The MSC F5000 series races are the headline act at the Historic Sports and Racing Car Association of New South Wales-organised Tasman Trophy meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park.

The meeting has attracted a 15-strong field of F5000 cars, led again by Tweedie, Ross and Proctor and - against all odds - expected to include top Melbourne driver Paul Zazryn.

Zazryn hit the tyre barriers hard just after the original start of the second race at Sandown, and though he walked away unscathed, his Lola T332 looked very second hand.

Expected back on the grid this weekend after his big accident at Sandown is Melbourne driver Paul Zazryn (#24 Lola T332).

However his crew had been working round the clock to repair the damage - which was not as bad as was first thought - and Zazryn is serious about being back in action this weekend.

Another Australian driver, Richard Davison, has also vowed to be on the grid at this round, after missing Sandown thanks to an engine issue.

The other Australians entered are Jay Bondini (Lola T332), Bill Hemming (Elfin MR8), Philip Lewis (Matich A50), Rod Carroll (Lola T140) and Phillip Jewell (McKee Mk8/12).

Steve Ross and Clark Proctor will be joined, meanwhile, by fellow Kiwis Russell Greer (Lola T332) from Blenheim, Ian Clements (Lola T332) and David Arrowsmith (Lotus 70B) from Christchurch, and David Banks (Talon MR1) and Grant Martin (Talon MR1/A) from Auckland.

Series regular Greg Thornton (March 73) is also again flying out from the UK to compete.

After this weekend's round the MSC F5000 series returns to New Zealand for consecutive weekend meetings at the Gulf Oil Howden Ganley F5000 Festival meetings at Hampton Downs in late January, and at the Skope Classic (Christchurch) and New Zealand Grand Prix (Feilding) meetings in February.

The MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is organised and run with the support of sponsors MSC, NZ Express Transport, Bonney's Specialized Bulk Transport, Mobil Lubricants, Pacifica, Avon Tyres, Webdesign and Exide.