We have taken the liberty to badge today F5000 Friday by taking a look at a pair of small-block engined single seaters. The earliest of the two is the McRae GM-1 Chevrolet that debuted in 1972. The car started life as the Leda LT27 but had input from 'Kiwi' racer and engineer Graham McRae from the start of the development and it was subsequently dubbed the McRae GM-1. In McRae's hands, the car proved to be the F5000 racer to beat on three continents with the hugely talented driver winning races 'Down Under', in Europe and North America. The car also proved a sales success as a total of 14 were built in 1972 and 1973. All are accounted for and most raced in historic events around the world. Of these, four are featured today.
From 1973, Lola produced the most successful F5000 cars with the T330 and subsequent T332 dominating all of the major championships. For the British manufacturer the all-conquering single seaters proved a tough act to follow. In order to keep ahead of the rivals, Lola developed the sophisticated T400 with rising rate suspension. The teams struggled to get to grips with the car and reverted back to their T332s. Today, the T400 has been mastered and in particular the featured example is among the fastest F5000s of all in the hands of Michael Lyons.

Enjoy the links:

1975 Lola T400 Chevrolet - Images, Specifications and Information

1972 - 1973 McRae GM-1 Chevrolet - Images, Specifications and Information