Australian Grand Prix that became the Tasman Series. The top European Formula One teams and drivers raced the European winters in Australia and New Zealand from 1963 to 1969 playing host to a golden age for racing in the region for which the Australian Grand Prix (and the New Zealand Grand Prix) became jewels of the summer. The popularity of the Tasman formulae was directly responsible for 1966's "return to power" in Formula One, and having spent years developing with Repco the Brabham cars and eventually the Oldsmobile-based Repco V8s in the Tasman series gave Jack Brabham the opportunity to unexpectedly dominate Formula
1971 Formula One season to the rudimentary facilities of Zandvoort was one of the most modern racing circuits in the world; with a smooth surface and state-of-the-art facilities not seen before in Formula One; this was a sign of things to come over the next decades. It also had a long 1.1 mile straight, typical of French circuits. In the 2 previous years, the French Grand Prix was held at the twisty Charade public road circuit near Clermont-Ferrand; this was a very different type of circuit to Paul Ricard. Stewart took pole ahead of Regazzoni, Ickx and surprisingly Graham Hill in a Brabham. At