1973 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series explained

The 1973 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series was an Australian motor racing competition open to Formula Ford racing cars.^[1] It was the fourth annual Australian national series for Formula Fords.^[2]

The series, which was sponsored by TAA,^[3] was won by John Leffler, driving a Bowin P4a and a Bowin P6F.^[1]

Schedule

The series was contested over nine rounds.^[1]

Round	Circuit	State	Date	Round winner	Car
1	Phillip Island	Victoria	28 January	John Leffler	Bowin P4a
2	Warwick Farm	New South Wales	11 February^[4]	David Mingay	Bowin P6F
3	Sandown	Victoria	18 February ^[5]	John Leffler	Bowin P4a
4	Amaroo Park	New South Wales	4 March ^[6]	John Leffler	Bowin P6F
5	Calder Raceway	Victoria		Peter Larner	Wren
6	Oran Park	New South Wales	20 May^[7]	Enno Buesselmann	Elfin 600
7	Hume Weir	Victoria	10 June ^[8]	Paul Bernasconi	Bowin P4a
8	Lakeside	Queensland		John Leffler	Bowin P6F
9	Warwick Farm	New South Wales	15 July ^[9]	John Leffler	Bowin P6F

Points system

Points were awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis at each round.^[6]

The worst results from one round in New South Wales and from one round in Victoria were dropped from each drivers final points score.^[6]

Series standings

Position	Driver	Car	Entrant^[10] ^[11] ^[12]	Points
1	John Leffler	Bowin P4a & Bowin P6F	Grace Bros Race Team	68
2	David Mingay	Bowin P6F	David Mingay	61
3	Gerry Murphy	Elfin 600	Gerard Murphy	48
4	Paul Bernasconi	Bowin P4a	Paul Bernasconi	43
5	Peter Larner	Wren	Bill Reynolds	34
=	Terry Perkins	Elfin 600 & Elfin 620	Strapp Ford	34
7	Geoffrey Brabham	Elfin 620	Jack Brabham Ford	17
8	Dale Thompson		Dale Thompson	15
9	Chester Kernot	Elfin 600B	Chester Kernot	13
=	Stephen Brook	Bowin P4a	S Brook	13

Note: All cars were powered by 1.6 litre^[4] Ford engines.^[13]

Note: Only the top ten points-scorers are shown in the above table.

Notes and References

1. Formula Ford, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1974 Edition, pages 156 to 160
2. Jim Shepherd, A History of Australian Motor Sport, 1980, pages 87 to 89
3. T.A.A. Driver to Europe, Competition Communicator, January 1973, page 13
4. "Competitors' Final Instructions, Warwick Farm Motor Racing Circuit, Sunday, 11th February 1973"
5. Official Programme, Sandown, Saturday & Sunday, February 17 & 18 1973
6. CrossflowFF, Competition Communicator, March 1973, page 15
7. Official Programme, Oran Park Raceway, Sunday, 20 May 1973
8. Official Programme, Hume Weir, June 10, 1973
9. Official Programme, Warwick Farm, Sunday, July 15, 1973
10. Racing Car News, March 1973, page 58
11. Racing Car News, March 1973, page 62
12. Racing Car News, July 1973
13. https://web.archive.org/web/20090908205400/http://formulaford.com.au/content/about_keyfacts.php What is Formula Ford, formulaford.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org