S5000 is the fastest category of Motorsport in Australia

Australia has a new fastest racing category, and you should be excited.

Why? Well, because it’s exactly what racing fans have been baying for in numbers, with big power, big rubber, and an old-school ethos.

The category is called S5000, and is intended to be a retro-inspired modern interpretation of the classic Formula 5000 category.

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Formula 5000 was a type of open-wheel race category that ran around the world between 1968 and 1982, as a low-cost alternative for cars that no longer fit elsewhere. The recipe was simple, with big wings and slicks, and 5.0-litre V8 powertrains.

S5000 reignites this formula with modern tech. Powered by a 5.0-litre naturally aspirated Coyote V8 crate motor, modified by InnoV8, S5000 cars have official outputs of 420kW and 620Nm. Power is delivered via a six-speed Hollinger gearbox, with the same company also supplying the transaxle.

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The chassis is a bespoke unit built to FIA Formula 3 standards by French company Onroak-Ligier, while suspension and aero is supplied by Borland Racing Developments, before everything is fabricated and assembled by Garry Rogers Motorsport in Australia.

The launch of the series has been delayed firstly by political manoeuvring, with a Supercars attempting to launch a rival series, then supply issues from the United States, but it made its debut at Sandown last year. A debut season in 2020 has been delayed by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Something that should excite all Australian motorsport fans is S5000's plan to bring wings'n'slicks racing back to Mount Panorama! Expect the lap record to get a good beating.

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An ‘old’ Formula 5000 car – the category that S5000 pays tribute to – holds the current lap record at Sandown, with Tom Tweedie driving a Chevrolet-powered Chevron B24/28 to a 1:05.7669. For a bit of context, Chaz Mostert holds the Supercars record with a 1:09.0987 lap in 2017. It’s highly likely the S5000 cars will eclipse this time.

In fact, it’s likely that S5000 will reset the lap records at most, if not all, the tracks they visit, including Bathurst.

Traditional race fans have been demanding a race category with a similar ethos to S5000 for years, and now it is finally here, despite the best efforts of a select few to see it killed off.

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Its future looks bright, with Australian Racing Group managing the series – the same group that’s behind TCR Australia. Modern tech, like the halo safety device, will help ensure it remains safe, despite the massive speeds the cars are likely to achieve.