The 1972 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race for cars complying with the

Tasman Formula Tasman most often refers to Abel Tasman (1603–1659), Dutch explorer. Tasman may also refer to: Animals and plants * Tasman booby * Tasman flax-lily * Tasman parakeet (disambiguation) * Tasman starling * Tasman whale People * Tasman ( ...

, which admitted both Formula 5000 and 2-litre racing cars. It was held at

Sandown International Raceway Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in the suburb of Springvale in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately south east of the city centre. Sandown is considered a power circuit with its " drag strip" front and back straights be ...

, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 20 February 1972. The race was the thirty seventh

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

and it was held only 3 months after the 1971 race. It was also round seven of the

1972 Tasman Series The 1972 Tasman Series was a motor racing competition staged in New Zealand and Australia for racing cars complying with the Tasman Formula.''Programme of Events and Awards'', Official Programme, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday 27 February ...

. The race had 19 starters. Defending winner Frank Matich started the race on pole in his Repco Holden powered Matich A50 which had won the 1971 race on debut.

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Graham McRae Graham McRae (5 March 1940 – 4 August 2021) was a racing driver from New Zealand. He achieved considerable success in Formula 5000 racing, winning the Tasman Series each year from 1971 to 1973, and also the 1972 L&M Continental 5000 Champio ...

started alongside Matich on the front row in his Leda GM1-

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

. Matich led from the start but was out after just 5 laps with a failed scavenge pump. McRae recorded the first of three AGP wins (all won at Sandown) by 3 seconds from the

Lola T300 The Lola T300 was an open-wheel formula race car, designed, developed and built by Lola Cars, for Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions aroun ...

-Chevrolet of Frank Gardner who had qualified 3rd. British International driver David Hobbs finished 3rd in his McLaren M18/M22-Chevrolet after starting from 4th on the grid. McRae's win gave him an unassailable points lead in the

with one round remaining.

Classification

Results as follows:

Qualifying

Race

Notes

* Pole position: Frank Matich – 1:01.3 * Fastest lap:

– 1:02.4

References

{{s-end

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

Australian Grand Prix Motorsport at Sandown Formula 5000 race reports Tasman Series