16/2/1969

Record updated

Springvale, Victoria, Australia, Chris Amon drove his Ferrari 246T V6 Dino across to victory in the final round of the Tasman Series.

Crowned Tasman Series champ the week before, Chris Amon drove his Ferrari 246T V6 Dino across to victory in the final round of the series, held on the 1.9 mile Sandown Park circuit. Jochen Rindt put his Lotus on the pole for the 5th time in the 7 race series, all on tracks he hadn't seen before. In the interest of a cleaner, faster start, the field was lined up in rows of two. Rindt got the jump on the start and led Amon, Graham Hill, Derek Bell and Jack Brabham through the first two corners. Exiting the second turn, Amon closed on Rindt and out accelerated the Lotus as they went up the rising back straight, Brabham doing the same to Amon's Ferrari teammate Bell. At the end of lap 1, Brabham was 3rd as Hill slowed with a dislodged throttle linkage and coasted his Lotus to the pits, where he would lose 4 laps before returning to the fray. Piers Courage was in trouble on the back part of the circuit, a halfshaft broken on his Frank Williams Brabham. Courage's crew had seen the halfshaft twist badly as he came off the start line and had no alternative but to hang out a pit board if he completed lap 1 and then settle in to spectate. By the 15th of the 55 laps, Amon was 1.5 seconds ahead of Rindt, Brabham was 21 seconds back and Australian ace Frank Gardner had moved the Mildren-Alfa past Bell's Ferrari for 4th. In what was described as a dull race, Amon took the checkered flag to a thunderous ovation, his 4th win of the series. Rindt finished 7 seconds back in 2nd with Brabham, making his only Tasman appearance of the year, a lap back in 3rd in his new BT28B Formula 3 car fitted with a 2.5 liter Repco-Brabham V8. Gardner and Bell completed the top 5. Courage's retirement cost him 2nd in the final standings as Rindt moved past him. The race turned out to be the last for the Tasman Formula of up to 2.5 liters, as Formula 5000 would take over as the new formula for 1970.