Sunday 10th February 1974

Teddy Pilette drove his Chevron B24-Chevrolet to victory in round 5 of the Tasman Formula 5000 Series, held on the 2.0 mile Surfers Paradise International Raceway, Australia. The race was delayed an hour and a half and nearly didn’t take place at all due to drivers protesting track conditions. The circuit had been under water a week before and a preliminary Sedan race broke up the asphalt in two corners, one of them a 130 mph turn. Organizers took drivers around the course and showed them the holes and the drivers rebelled. At one point, it was suggested that points be awarded based on grid positions, but eventually white paint was used to mark a new course avoiding the holes. Pilette (reported as “very, very angry”) started 3rd, passed pole winner Max Stewart and 3 time defending series champ Graham McRae down the main straight in the first two laps and pulled away, simply disappearing while everyone else drove cautiously. The 3rd generation driver stormed off in a huff to win the 100 mile race by a large margin over Peter Gethin’s team car, giving Count Rudi van der Straaten’s VDS team a 1-2 finish. Frank Matich’s Matich A53-Repco/Holden finished 3rd in his first outing in his new car (the car debuted the week before but Matich was unable to drive his new creation). Gethin led Stewart by 2 points and John McCormack by 3 with 2 rounds remaining.