S5000 delays first round by four months

The brand new open-wheeler championship was set to kick off at the opening Shannons Nationals round at Sydney Motorsport Park this May, which was to be the first of six rounds.

However supply issues from Onroak-Ligier, which builds the control chassis in the US, have put a stop to that, technical partner Garry Rogers Motorsport unable to complete the cars in time.

As a result the series is now set to kick off at the Sandown Shannons round, which would have been the penultimate event without the delay.

The category is yet to confirm how it will compensate for the missing four rounds.

“Launching S5000 is just that more complex than most other categories because you can’t just go out and buy the cars. In our case, they’re being manufactured here, which comes with its own unique set of additional challenges,” said category manager Chris Lambden.

“I agree entirely with our decision to hold back until we’re 100 percent sure we will deliver. There’s no point in going off half-cocked.

"With the first mini-batch of four cars undergoing assembly at GRM, there’s absolutely no doubt S5000 is under way and, having been in at GRM this week, it’s exciting to see the ‘production line’ in place and happening – they’re doing a great job.

"The remaining nine chassis will be on their way soon, which will complete the 14 cars for Sandown.

“Sandown was the scene of some of the most exciting moments when Australia last had a seriously crowd-pleasing single-seater category, the Formula 5000s of the 1970s, and so in many ways it’s appropriate that S5000 kicks off there.”