20 replies to this topic

[SJ Lambert]

It appeared late in the peace and took a bit of taming, but had F5000 not been going through 1000 cuts in Oz (and everywhere else really) at the time, did this car have the potential to take on/beat all comers?

Edited by SJ Lambert, 05 February 2011 - 02:32.

[Lee Nicolle]

I saw that car have its first race, a shakedown really at the Austin7 club Easter meeting at AIR. From memory it only did one maybe 2 races. My biggest memory is the centre post rear wing wobbling noticeably up the straight. It was really quite different to the cars then racing in appearance.

[SJ Lambert]

I saw that car have its first race, a shakedown really at the Austin7 club Easter meeting at AIR. From memory it only did one maybe 2 races. My biggest memory is the centre post rear wing wobbling noticeably up the straight. It was really quite different to the cars then racing in appearance.

Is it true that there were no other dedicated ground effect F5000s? Alf Costanzo's McLaren M26 was a converted F1 car wasn't it?

Garrie Cooper drove it to a seventh place finish in the 1980 AGP at Calder after having to reinforce/re-engineer the suspension to tub mounting brackets upon the originals failing during practice.............AJ won in his FW07.....

It got a run in Sandown in 81 and AIR in May 81 - Driver's Championship that year was going to be seven rounds - don't know how many the MR9 made it to.

Edited by SJ Lambert, 26 July 2010 - 10:51.

[ellrosso]

I can remember it at Calder in 1982 at the Arco Graphite support race for the AGP with Garrie driving (I have a b/w shot of him behind John Wright who ended up winning the race from memory). Terrific looking car, great exhaust note with the flat-plane crank and single exhaust too.

[xj13v12]

John Bowe reckons it had great potential. The concept of the very high spring rates was unknown territory and the box section front suspension simply broke under the stress. A little more development would have been nice from an historic perspective but the category was long since dead for all intents and purposes. The F5000 based cars with aero sports bodies of course became the 2nd generation Can-am and they really got the ground effects working very well. Good article in the last Motorsport magazine. Drivers loved them which is always a good sign. xj13v12

[Lee Nicolle]

Did John ever race it? My only [dim] recollections of the car was in Garries hands. How many times was the car raced ? Not very many I am sure.

[timbo]

Is it true that there were no other dedicated ground effect F5000s? Alf Costanzo's McLaren M26 was a converted F1 car wasn't it?

Garrie Cooper drove it to a seventh place finish in the 1980 AGP at Calder after having to reinforce/re-engineer the suspension to tub mounting brackets upon the originals failing during practice.............AJ won in his FW07.....

It got a run in Sandown in 81 and AIR in May 81 - Driver's Championship that year was going to be seven rounds - don't know how many the MR9 made it to.

Along with Alan Jones in the Williams FW07, the 1980 AGP also included Bruno Giacomelli in the Alfa Romeo 179, although one knowledgable reporter was to call Giacomelli, "Jack O'Malley" the Irish international motor racing driver.

The race also included Didier Pironi driving a local Elfin MR8, who was the best of the F5000 brigade, although finishing 4 laps down.

[ellrosso]

Lee,yes John did race the car - we have 2 shots on the website (oldracephotos.com) of him at Sandown in 1982. He did have a fright when something let go from memory - pretty sure he spoke about his Sandown outing in a magazine only quite recently (Aust Muscle Car maybe?). I can't recall whether this was his sole outing or whether he had a couple of runs in it. If you type Elfin MR9 into Advanced Search it will bring them up (plus a shot of mine from Birdwood Museum).

[Lee Nicolle]

Lee,yes John did race the car - we have 2 shots on the website (oldracephotos.com) of him at Sandown in 1982. He did have a fright when something let go from memory - pretty sure he spoke about his Sandown outing in a magazine only quite recently (Aust Muscle Car maybe?). I can't recall whether this was his sole outing or whether he had a couple of runs in it. If you type Elfin MR9 into Advanced Search it will bring them up (plus a shot of mine from Birdwood Museum).

Thanks, I too have a shot at Birdwood mill of the MR9 and Stan Keens Shrike alongside it. It helps being a [comparitive] local

[SJ Lambert]

I saw that car have its first race, a shakedown really at the Austin7 club Easter meeting at AIR. From memory it only did one maybe 2 races. My biggest memory is the centre post rear wing wobbling noticeably up the straight. It was really quite different to the cars then racing in appearance.

Here's a couple more shots of the beast.

[Lola5000]

Here's a couple more shots of the beast.

I'm told it would have been a weapon by a guy that was at the time 5 litre driver.The MR8s were also a very good race car.

[SJ Lambert]

I'm told it would have been a weapon by a guy that was at the time 5 litre driver.The MR8s were also a very good race car.

Probably taken around the same time, at a guess.

Edited by SJ Lambert, 05 February 2011 - 00:03.

[Lee Nicolle]

Probably taken around the same time, at a guess.




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Almost the complete collection of Elfin at the time, The MR8?, the D series and Garries x army XR ute.

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 05 February 2011 - 05:39.

[SJ Lambert]

Almost the complete collection of Elfin at the time, The MR9, the D series and Garries x army XR ute.

Is that Garrie walking away from camera left of shot?

[Lee Nicolle]

Is that Garrie walking away from camera left of shot?

Looks like him, white overalls and all.

[cooper997]

In issue #9 of Australian magazine, Motor Sport Legends, John Bowe wrote of his Elfin MR9 experiences.

For back issues try - www.motorsportlegends.com.au or usually they have a stand at Phillip Island Historics.

Stephen

[oldjonesfan]

Be interested in comments on these statements on Wikipedia :

 

on the Garrie Cooper page :

"In 1980, Cooper designed and built the first open wheel car in Australia to use Ground effect aerodynamics, theElfin MR9."

 

and on the Elfin page in reference to the MR9 :

"The first open wheel race car to be designed and built in Australia using Ground effect aerodynamics."

 

If it said F5000 I'd agree but "open wheeler" I can think of at least three ground effect "open wheelers" that were built in Australia before the MR9 .

 

What was the first?

[oldjonesfan]

I saw that car have its first race, a shakedown really at the Austin7 club Easter meeting at AIR. From memory it only did one maybe 2 races. My biggest memory is the centre post rear wing wobbling noticeably up the straight. It was really quite different to the cars then racing in appearance.

 

Easter 1980?  Are you sure given it's debut was at the 1980 AGP late in the year?

[ellrosso]

Here is an assortment of MR9 pics from 1980, 81 and 82. The b/w is from the F5000 support race AGP 1981

[Lee Nicolle]

Here is an assortment of MR9 pics from 1980, 81 and 82. The b/w is from the F5000 support race AGP 1981

Three different colorschemes over 3 years. It raced longer than I remembered. The red and white Ansett colors actually looks very smart. Though the orange was probably more distinctive with a field of red cars!

[oldjonesfan]

Don't be confused by the "Red" colour in the third photo as the colour tinting is incorrect as it definitely was in Ansett "Orange" like in the other photos.  You only have to look at the Alfa 179 behind the MR9 as it should be Marlboro "Orange".  As far as I recall the Alfa 179 only ran in Alfa "Red" in 1979 as it didn't have a major sponsor.  In 1980 it ran in the Marlboro "Orange".