A preview from "Around the Raceway"
Stuart Kostera
STUART
Kostera’s racing career
got off to a flying start as long ago as 1965, when he attended a WASCC Advanced
Driving School and was so interested that he entered his street Ford Anglia 105E
in the 1965 Six Hour Race at Caversham. He and co-driver Derek Fletcher placed
11th and covered 183 laps. Increasing the power of the Anglia reduced its reliability
during 1966, so he went back to a 997cc motor and managed ninth outright and a
class win in the 1967 Six Hour. He is one of the select band who has raced Around
the Houses: he competed at Geraldton in 1965 in the Anglia and was a horrified
witness of the spectacular multiple rollover by Hank Vaanholt's FJ Holden (Hank
was only slightly injured, but the car was totalled.). From 1968 to 1970 he campaigned
the ex-Stan Starcevich Elfin Ford racing car, and then more or less retired from
racing.
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| Early Days: Top, the 105E Anglia; Bottom, the ex-Stan Starcevich Elfin Catalina (Stuart Kostera Collection) |
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| 1969 Carbon Brakes 500 winners: left to right, Stuart Kostera, Bernie Zampatti, Bob Ilich and Mike Tighe (Kostera collection) |
He
kept his hand in with a good co-drive in the 1970 Six Hour at Wanneroo Park, sharing
Stan Starcevich’s Graduate Sports. Stuart found the big V8 sports very much
to his taste and, after a year’s absence, reappeared with the ex-Don O’Sullivan
Matich SR3. He steadily developed this car over the next three years, with his
eyes on the Sports Car Championship. He was second in 1972, third in 1973, second
again in 1974, and finally won outright in 1975, by which time the Matich bore
little resemblance to its original form. It sported an ugly but very effective
body which had enormous downforce.
His next car was the potent Elfin MS7 5-litre, far and away the fastest car at Wanneroo in 1976. He took it east to win the Australian TT (the national sports car championship) for 1976, set an outright lap record in August, 1978 and won the WA Sports Car Championship. He was untroubled to win the Championship for the third time in 1981, due to a regrettable lack of big sports cars in WA. At this time he was a works driver for Elfin, sponsored by both Ansett and Room With a View, which meant a certain amount of juggling with liveries according to contractual obligations, and for the most part his cars were now based at Elfin in South Australia. (He also had another works supported Ansett Team Elfin drive in an Elfin F 5000, which never appeared in Western Australia.)
Stuart rates the sports car, basically a wide-body F 5000 car, as easier to drive than the single seater, probably due to the better aero package. The F 5000 was always more skittish. Both cars required a delicate foot to race effectively, as the massive Hewland gearboxes were on the edge of their envelopes. They had to be stripped and crack tested after every meeting, and rebuilt at the end of the season.
The Ansett sponsorship had one marvellous benefit: first class free air travel!
This phase of Stuart's racing career came to an end with the death of Elfin boss Garrie Cooper in 1982 and the disbanding of the Ansett Team Elfin racing team. However, he was far from finished with motoring competition.
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| The era of the big sports cars: TOP LEFT, the Matich SR3; TOP RIGHT, the mighty Elfin MS-7 5-litre. BOTTOM ROW; racing the Elfin MS7 in Victoria. (Stuart Kostera Collection) |
Stuart now embarked on a series of great motor sport adventures, including the London-Sydney Marathon rerun with Charlie Mitchell, in a Holden Kingswood; several years' competition in the Wynn's Outback Safari off-road rallies (Australia's own version of the Paris-Dakar) in a four-wheel-drive; and several Targa Tasmanias in a Lotus Europa. In amongst all of this, he bought Julian Cowan's Elfin streamliner in decrepit condition, and restored if for Historic events. The car came with a Ballamy split beam axle independent front suspension and an aftermarket alloy Aquaplane cylinder head on the 10 hp side-valve Ford engine. It boasted about the same bhp as an earlyFormula Vee 1200. Stuart even licenced it for road use. This car was raced by Stuart, and Stuart Jr, at Phillip Island, Winton, and other historic racing venues in the early 1990s.
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| TOP: London-Sydney Marathon. Left: Stuart in red jacket leaning on the Kingswood; at extreme right in red overalls, Trevor Eastwood. Right, with Charlie Mitchell, in Sydney. BOTTOM: LEFT, the streamliner as found; RIGHT, racing at Phillip Island. (Stuart Kostera Collection) |
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| Two of the numerous Wynns Safaris contested by Stuart Kostera. (Stuart Kostera Collection) |
He was also involved, for many years, with CAMS including the Board of Management, a role he has only recently vacated.
Achievements:
| 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1978 1981 | 2
3 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 | Six Hour
Le Mans, Graduate Six Hour Le Mans, Graduate WA Sports Car Championship, Matich SR3A WA Sports Car Championship, Matich SR3A WA Sports Car Championship, Matich SR3A WA Sports Car Championship, Matich SR3A Australian Tourist Trophy, Elfin MS7 WA Sports Car Championship, Elfin MS7 WA Sports Car Championship, Elfin MS7 |