The Matich name was applied to a series of

sports racing cars Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is o ...

and

open wheel racing cars An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

produced in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

between 1967 and 1974 under the direction of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

-based racing driver and engineer

Frank Matich Frank Matich (25 January 193511 May 2015) was an Australian racing car driver. A highly successful motor racing competitor in the 1960s and 1970s, Matich built his own range of Matich sports cars and open wheel cars, mainly to support his ow ...

.The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 296

SR3

The Matich SR3 was a

Group A Sports Car Group A Sports Cars is an Australian motor racing category that CAMS formulated for sports car racing in Australia. Introduced in 1964, it continues today under the name Group 2A Sports Cars. On introduction in 1964, Group A catered only for close ...

built for Matich by Bob Britton in 1967. It was powered by an

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

V8 engine and was driven to victory by Matich in the 1967 Australian Tourist Trophy, Australia's premier sports car race of that year. Later in the year, Matich raced in both the US

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada (''Can'') and four races in the United ...

series and in Australia, with two SR3s fitted with 4.4-litre

Repco Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialized manufacturing, for which they gained a high r ...

V8 engines. Matich won the 1968 Australian Tourist Trophy with a

powered SR3. File:Matich-SR3-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, The Matich SR3 in the pits at

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

in mid-1968 File:Matich SR3 Mont-Tremblant Bridge.jpg, Re-bodied Matich SR3 in 2010

SR4

A completely new design, the Matich SR4, was produced with designer-frabricator Henry Nehrybecki for 1969 utilising a quad cam

740 V8. Matich dominated the inaugural

Australian Sports Car Championship The Australian Sports Car Championship was the national title for sports car racing drivers sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport from 1969 to 1988. Each championship was contested over a series of races with the exception of ...

in that year, winning all three heats with the SR4. File:Matich-SR4-Graham-Ruckert.jpg, Matich in the SR4 at

in May 1969 File:Matich SR4 Repco of Nigel Tait (2).JPG, The Matich SR4 in 2013 File:Repco Brabham 760 series V8.JPG, Repco Brabham 760 series 5-litre quad cam V8 engine in the Matich SR4 in 2012

SR4B / SR5

The SR4B was a sports racing car of circa 1969 which was powered by a Lotus Twin Cam engine. In 1970 it was revised, renamed as the Matich SR5 and fitted with a

Waggott Waggott Engineering was an Australian automotive engineering company which gained fame for the engines which it produced for motor sport applications from the 1950s through to the 1970s. The company had its origins in a machine shop opened in 1948 b ...

2.0-litre powerplant.The Age, September 23, 1970, page 22
Retrieved from news.google.com on 19 May 2010

A50 / A51 / A52 / A53

A50

Following the adoption of

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

regulations into

Australian Formula 1 Australian Formula 1 (AF1) was a motor sport category for open-wheeler racing cars which was current in Australia from 1970 to 1983. AF1 was introduced by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in 1970, initially restricting cars to unsuperch ...

in 1971, Matich and Nehrybecki produced the Matich A50, the first single seater to wear the Matich name. The A50 was designed as a replacement for Frank Matich's successful

McLaren M10B The McLaren M10 was a Formula 5000 race car chassis built by McLaren that competed in North America and Europe between 1969 and 1973. Design The McLaren M10 was manufactured in large numbers. Built close to the weight limit, it was very light a ...

(Frank Matich had taken over development from McLaren of the M10B for F5000 racing in 1970 and dubbed it the ''M10C''). Designed on a modular basis with separate front suspension, cockpit and rear end, the car was powered by a 5.0 L

Repco Holden Repco is an Australian automotive engineering/retailer company. Its name is an abbreviation of Replacement Parts Company and was for many years known for reconditioning engines and for specialized manufacturing, for which they gained a high r ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...

. Matich drove an A50 to victory in the car's first race, the 1971 Australian Grand Prix at

Warwick Farm Warwick Farm is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Warwick Farm is located 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool and is part of the So ...

after qualifying on pole position. Just three months after his 1971 AGP success, Matich qualified the A50 on pole for the 1972 Australian Grand Prix at

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...

and led early before retiring with scavenge pump failure on lap 5. Frank Matich then went on to win the 1972 Australian Drivers' Championship at the wheel of his A50. A total of four A50s were built during this period. Power output of the Repco-Holden engine around this time was approximately

A51

2 new Matich A51s chassis 005 and 006 was constructed for Matich to contest the 1973 L&M Championship in the United States. Chassis 005 was used by Lella Lombardi in 2 races in 1974 and was later sold to John Goss who rebuilt it as an A53 and used it to win the

1976 Australian Grand Prix The 1976 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Sandown International Motor Racing CircuitOfficial programme, Hang Ten 400 plus Marlboro presents the 41st Australian Grand Prix, 12 September (1976), page 22 in Victoria, Australia o ...

. Chassis 006 was modified and became the A52.

A52

Matich built a revised car, the Matich A52, using A51-006 monocoque for the 1973 Australian Drivers' Championship. The A52 had side radiators, a shorter wheelbase, shorter nose and updated suspension. After just a single race, Matich withdrew from the championship and put his cars up for sale. It was later wrecked in a testing accident.Matich A52, A53
Retrieved from www.oldracingcars.com on 19 May 2010

A53

The Matich A53 was raced by Matich in the

1974 Tasman Series The 1974 Tasman Series (formally the Tasman Championship for DriversTasman Championship for Drivers, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport with National Competition Rules 1974, pages 80 to 83) was an international motor racing competition which commenced on ...

after which he retired from racing. The car was then sold to John Goss who finished 9th in the 1974 Australian Drivers' Championship. It failed to start the

1974 Australian Grand Prix The 1974 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Oran Park Raceway in New South Wales, Australia on 17 November 1974. It was open to Racing Cars complying with Australian Formula 1 or Australian Formula 2.Conditions for Australian Titles ...

at Oran Park due to engine failure. Goss then used the A53 to finish 13th in the

1975 Australian Drivers' Championship The 1975 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing title open to Australian Formula 1 cars and Australian Formula 2 cars.''Conditions for Australian Titles'', 1975 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 84 to 8 ...

before poor visibility in the wet conditions and a rough engine caused his retirement in the

1975 Australian Grand Prix The 1975 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race for Australian Formula 1 and Australian Formula 2 racing cars,Conditions for Australian Titles, 1975 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 84 held on a very wet track at the Surfers Paradise Internation ...

. Goss drove the car to 5th in the

1976 Rothmans International Series The 1976 Rothmans International Series was an Australian motor racing competitionRothmans International, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1977 Edition, pages 104 to 112 open to single seater racing cars complying with Australian Formula 1.Official ...

and then finished 6th in the 1976 Australian Drivers' Championship thanks to his Round 1 victory in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, Goss becoming the only driver to have won both the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rece ...

and Australian Grand Prix in the process. Goss drove the A53-Repco to another 5th in the

1977 Rothmans International Series The 1977 Rothmans International Series was an Australian motor racing competitionRothmans International, Australian Competition Yearbook, 1978 Edition, pages 84 to 95 open to Formula 5000 Racing Cars.Official Programme, Adelaide International R ...

and 3rd in the 1977 Australian Grand Prix at Oran Park. Goss' win in the

has so far proven to be the last time the race was won by an Australian designed, built and powered car, giving the Matich A53 a special place in Australia's motor racing history. ''Note that the

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex- Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s unde ...

cars that won the 1981-1984 Australian Grand Prix's were designed and built in England, despite Ralt having its origins in Australia in the 1950s,'' Late in 1977, Goss, staying true to his touring, sports car/sedan ties, decided to replace the successful, but ageing

V8 engine with a 4.9 L Ford engine. However, the Ford engine provided less power and ultimately proved uncompetitive compared to the Repco and, after Goss sold the car to Mel McEwin, it was replaced by another Repco-Holden unit. During its competition life the Matich A50-53's Repco-Holden power output was rated around . Matich-A50-Graham-Ruckert

References

;Books *

External links

{{commons category, Matich racing cars
Matich SR4 at www.auslot.com/
Australian racecar constructors