2015 F5000 Revival Race Series
By Checkered Flag Films
Let’s get this over with right away. You need not read this review, just order this two-disc DVD. Regular readers will be familiar with my enthusiasm for Formula 5000, but even if I had no such bias, I would find this well-conceived, superbly edited offering fascinating. Set at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the 2015 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, where Formula 5000 was an invited class for the first time, it benefited from a record turnout of F5000 cars that surpassed anything ever seen anywhere before. Disc 1 opens with era- and mood-setting imagery and music, then gains instant credibility from early contributions by David Hobbs, Brian Redman and Mario Andretti.
Viewers are taken inside the paddock to meet the drivers, crews and owners as they talk about themselves and, mainly, their various cars. Lots of illuminating in-car footage from a number of cars puts viewers right in the mix on the track, with several excellent extended dices captured for all to enjoy. Disc 2 provides interview insights from Redman, Andretti and Hobbs, as well as Graham McRae, takes in the Tony Adamowicz Presentation and covers a panel discussion that featured Don Nichols, Howden Ganley, John Morton and others, It’s difficult to see how anyone could not love Formula 5000 after seeing this, but then I’m biased.
