Graeme Lawrence: Former F5000 driver previews the first round taking place this weekend

F5000 hits the track this weekend, with the first of four rounds setting off at Mansfield in Fielding.  

Graeme Lawrence is a former racer in F5000 but still has skin in the game, as his old car is being driven by competitor Anna Collins.  

Graeme caught up with D'Arcy to preview the event. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Wildgrave from News Talk S'B.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
And it's very good morning to Graham Lawrence as we
look at one of the iconic categories in motorsport, the
F five thousands. Graham, welcome to the show this weekend.
It's the start of the four round series with these
ridiculous cars and one of them is one of your
old rides, the Lola from back in the day. How

(00:33):
exciting is this series?

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Looking looks pretty good at this stage and sort of
we're really proud of the job that the guys have
done Michael and Mark on the Lola to put it,
get it back to what it is, and in fact
it looks beautiful.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Say back to what it is? How old is the
right itself? And how much work has been done on it.
I'm talking chassis, body, everything.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Oh it's hard to put it down. I mean I'm
not sure that the hours, but it go into months
to work, you know, to get them deed right and
bring them back to like they were. I mean when
we first bought the car back in In fact, it
arrived in New Zealand on New's Eve nineteen seventy four.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
That's a while ago now, but it's still still running
as there's much been adjusted to that or is it
just those tank of a car that will just keep
going on and on and on.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Well, the Lolas are very good. They had little idiosyncrasies
with them, but if you've got you could work your
way through that part of you had a very very
good car. And I guess they're a bit like the
old box of wiburds. So just keep chucking on astonishing ride.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
And if no one out there has seen a Formula
five thousand, go and watch because the noise the shudder
is quite extraordinary. But this this car, this lot of
T three thirty two, I think been it's been running
this entire series. And the wheel is the daughter of
the new owner of the car, is that right?

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yes? Yeah, and has done Anna Collins. She's done a
few races beforehand with her brother and McCrae. I can't
remember the other one that she drove, but it's a
pretty good peddler.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
What is the trick to driving these cars of this
vintage Because they're not exactly the most stable and safe
cars in the world either. They are monsters. You are
strapped to a bit of ten and some rubber and
good luck to you.

Speaker 3 (02:41):
I suppose that. Well, yeah, it's pretty much that. But
it's a matter of you've got to treat delicately and
just massives and through the turns and stuff like that,
and just be careful because when they come back and
bite you, they can bite you pretty hard.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
What's the field looking like as far as this entire
revival series right the way through the four events over
the summer. What's competition like? How many cars are around you?
You'd know a wee bit about this, I presuming, Graham.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah, I'm not sure how many there are, but I
think they have something like about eighteen or twenty entries
all together, and you know, the cars range from probably
back as far and they've got two classes. They've got
a classic I think they're called a classic car class,
and then the Lolls the late model of Loll of
D three THO two and there's a Talon there. They're

(03:36):
in the open class. They all race together, but they have,
you know, the two different categories within the one race.
So I'm not sure how many they are, but there's
a fair old master of this time, which is really good.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
The competition is intense to these guys when they climb
all girls when they climb in the car, do they
just get fully competitive or maybe there's a little bit
of older cars got to be a wee bit careful.
What's the editude like do you think.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
Graham to be fair? I mean, at the end of
the day, when you're in a race car, the old
red myss comes down and you want to do your best,
and you don't Johnny next to or Jill whoever's there
to be to be you. So I would say that,
you know, they get pretty well stuck in. Yes, there
are some of them that treat them very cautiously, but

(04:26):
I'd say that majority of the field it's a race.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
And talk to us about the Lola. It's an icon
in that particular category up there, maybe with the McCray.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yes, definitely, there was the Lola and an American and
the Talon and then the McCrae. You know, they're all
pretty much of muchness. And often you'll find that a
particular car is better suited to, say the fast flowing turns,
whereas that other one might be better on the short

(05:00):
stop start thing. But in a sense, the Lolla and
the McCrae were pretty much a pretty a good all
rounder really.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
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