Sandown historics gallery 2016

Billed as ‘The Return of the Thunder’, the 25th anniversary Historic Sandown on November 4-6 was headlined by a Formula 5000 Trans-Tasman Challenge and 17 of the big-banger open-wheelers gridded up for battle.

A first for Sandown and Australia was a round of the World Championship for Formula Junior cars. From 1958 to 1963, Formula Junior was a breeding ground for grand prix drivers like Jim Clark, John Surtees, and Jochen Rindt and it is now undergoing a revival around the world. Over 20 of these screaming 1000 and 1100cc racing cars staged epic tussles over the weekend.

Group N touring cars, always crowd favourites, were also there en masse reliving the glory days of Australian tin top racing. Also there in large numbers was the historic Formula Ford contingent and a large entry in Regularity ranged from wire-wheeled MGs to home-grown ‘specials’ and Group C touring car replicas. Historic Sandown 2016 also celebrated Sir Jack Brabham’s 1966 World Championship and his title-winning Brabham Repco BT19 (which won four grands prix in ‘66) was on display. 

See the full report in a coming issue of Unique Cars.