# 1973 Tasman Series

The 1973 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition staged in New Zealand and Australia for cars complying with the Tasman Formula. The series, which began on 6 January and ended on 25 February after eight races, was the tenth Tasman Series. Officially known as the Tasman Championship for Drivers, it was organised jointly by the Motorsport Association New Zealand Incorporated and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. The championship was won by Graham McRae, driving a McRae GM1 Chevrolet.

## Races

The series was contested over eight rounds.
| Round | Round | Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Winning car | Winning entrant | Report |
| New Zealand | 1 | New Zealand Grand Prix | Pukekohe | 6 January | John McCormack | Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden | Ansett Team Elfin | Report |
| New Zealand | 2 | Levin International | Levin | 13 January | Graham McRae | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | STP | Report |
| New Zealand | 3 | Lady Wigram Trophy | Wigram | 20 January | Graham McRae | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | STP | Report |
| New Zealand | 4 | Rothmans International | Teretonga | 28 January | Alan Rollinson | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | McKechnie Racing Organisation | Report |
| Australia | 5 | Surfers Paradise International | Surfers Paradise | 4 February | Frank Matich | Matich A50 Repco Holden | Frank Matich | Report |
| Australia | 6 | Chesterfield 100 | Warwick Farm | 11 February | Steve Thompson | Chevron B24 Chevrolet | Servis Racing Team | Report |
| Australia | 7 | Chesterfield 100 | Sandown | 18 February | Graham McRae | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | STP | Report |
| Australia | 8 | Chesterfield 100 | Adelaide | 25 February | John McCormack | Elfin MR5 Repco-Holden | Ansett Team Elfin | Report |

## Points system

Points were awarded at each race on the following basis:
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Points | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
All races were counted towards the final totals for each driver.

## Series standings

| Pos | Driver | Car | Entrant | Puk | Lev | Wig | Ter | Sur | War | San | Ade | Pts |
| 1 | Graham McRae | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | STP | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 | Ret | 40 |
| 2 | John McCormack | Elfin MR5 Repco Holden | Ansett Team Elfin | 1 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 29 |
| 3 | Frank Matich | Matich A50 Repco Holden | Frank Matich Racing Pty Ltd Frank Matich | Ret | 2 | 4 | Ret | 1 | 2 | 4 | Ret | 27 |
| 4 | Steve Thompson | Chevron B24 Chevrolet | Servis / Alan Brodie Servis Racing Team | 3 | Ret | 3 | 6 | Ret | 1 | 7 | 3 | 22 |
| 5 | Alan Rollinson | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | McKechnie Racing Organisation | 2 | Ret | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 2 | 21 |
| 6 | Max Stewart | Lola T330 Chevrolet | Max Stewart Motors Lola Cars Ltd | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
| 7 | Warwick Brown | Lola T300 Chevrolet | Team Target | Ret | 3 | 2 | 7 | DNS | | | | 10 |
| 8 | Sam Posey | Surtees TS11 Chevrolet | Champ Car Inc | Ret | Ret | Ret | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | Ret | 9 |
| 9 | Johnnie Walker | Matich A50 Repco Holden | Johnnie Walker | | | | | 4 | 4 | 5 | Ret | 8 |
| 10 | David Oxton | Begg FM5 Chevrolet | GN Begg Engineering Co | Ret | 5 | 5 | 9 | | | | | 4 |
| 11 | Kevin Bartlett | Lola T300 Chevrolet | Chesterfield Filter Racing | Ret | 4 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | Ret | 9 | 3 |
| 12 | Garry Pedersen | Begg FM4 Chevrolet | Wright Machinery Ltd | 5 | 12 | | 12 | | | | | 2 |
| = | Noritake Takahara | Brabham BT36 Ford | Takahara Racing Inc | 7 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 8 | | | | 2 |
| = | Dexter Dunlop | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | Dunlop Racing | Ret | 6 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 9 | Ret | 2 |
| = | Bob Muir | McLaren M10B Chevrolet | Pat Burke Racing | | | | | | | Ret | 5 | 2 |
| 16 | Garrie Cooper | Elfin MR5 Repco Holden | Ansett Team Elfin | | | | | Ret | | Ret | 6 | 1 |
| = | Ken Smith | March 722 Ford | Air NZ Motor Racing | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | Car | Entrant | Puk | Lev | Wig | Ter | Sur | War | San | Ade | Pts |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |