Racing on the runways

New Zealand's first championship road race was meant to be run on public roads at Harewood in February 1949, but the police ruled the county couldn't legally close them. The organisers took the problem to Prime Minister Peter Fraser, who suggested the RNZAF base at Wigram. The Defence Minister agreed, and the station commander was ordered to make the airfield available. Cars could not enter until 4pm on the Thursday, and everything had to be gone after racing on the Saturday.

On 26 February 1949 between 20,000 and 30,000 people, many of them without paying, watched 22 cars race around the runways and perimeter roads. Morrie Proctor of Wellington won in a Riley. Hec Green's Wolseley Special won the second race in 1950. From 1951 the meeting was run by the newly formed Motor Racing Club, and Agnes, Lady Wigram, the widow of the airfield's founder, agreed to be its patron. The Lady Wigram Trophy was first presented in 1951, when Les Moore won in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B.

Sources: Air Force Museum of NZ · Christchurch City Libraries · sergent.com.au · The full story

From 1954 the Lady Wigram Trophy was an international race, part of the New Zealand summer series that brought European drivers south for the northern winter. Englishman Peter Whitehead won three times in Ferraris (1954, 1956 and 1957). There was no race in 1955, because the runway used as the main straight was being resurfaced. Archie Scott Brown won in a Lister-Jaguar sports car in 1958 and Ron Flockhart in a BRM in 1959.

Then came the rear-engined revolution. Jack Brabham won in Coopers in 1960 and 1961, Stirling Moss took his last New Zealand win in a Lotus 21 in 1962, and Bruce McLaren won in 1963. In the same year Brabham set a lap record of 1:18.4 on the original layout.

Sources: Wikipedia · primotipo · Motor Sport database

From 1964 to 1975 Wigram was a round of the Tasman Series, the championship that brought Formula One teams to New Zealand and Australia each summer. In those years the trophy was won by four Formula One world champions or champions-to-be: Bruce McLaren (1964), Jim Clark (1965, 1967 and 1968), Jackie Stewart (1966) and Jochen Rindt (1969). Graham Hill, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Phil Hill and Chris Amon all raced here too.

F5000 cars joined in 1970, and the V8s took over. Frank Matich won in 1970 and New Zealander Graham McRae won four times (1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975), three of them in cars he built himself. In 1974 the race was run as the New Zealand Grand Prix. John McCormack won it, and Peter Gethin's Chevron set the outright Wigram lap record of 1:03.6.

Sources: Wikipedia · oldracingcars · primotipo

After the Tasman Series ended, Wigram hosted New Zealand's international summer series, first for F5000 (Ken Smith won in 1976) and then, from 1977, for Formula Pacific. Young drivers came here on their way up: Keke Rosberg was second in 1977 and won a heat in 1978, and Teo Fabi, Andrea de Cesaris, Roberto Moreno (1982 winner), Allen Berg (1983), Christian Danner and Davy Jones (1984) all raced here. In 1987 it was a home win, for Paul Radisich.

The support programme was just as popular. Open-class saloons, including Mustangs, Camaros, Monaros and rotary Mazdas, raced in the Castrol GTX, Ace-OSCA and OSCA series, alongside Formula Fords, sports cars, historic racers and, in the early years, motorcycles.

Sources: oldracingcars · Wikipedia · the clippings

Swifts and then Reynards, with Toyota engines from 1990, fought for the trophy in its final Wigram years. Craig Baird won three times (1990, 1992 and 1993), and Hiro Matsushita won in 1989. In 1990 and 1991 the meeting went to Ruapuna Park while Wigram's runways were resealed, then came home in 1992 (clipping). In January 1993 two American cars, entered by Bruce Jenner, came for the Peter Jackson TraNZam. Scott Lagasse's Pontiac Firebird won all three races, and Chris Kneifel drove a Porsche 944 Turbo.

The defence review that would close RNZAF Station Wigram was already under way. Paul Stokell won the last Lady Wigram Trophy run on the airfield, in the rain on 23 January 1994. That April the Motor Racing Club announced it would not apply for 1995. As The Press put it, the new Formula Brabham cars and their safety-barrier requirements, more than the closure of the base, ended racing on the runways (20 April 1994).

Sources: Wikipedia · Otago Daily Times · Wigram Aerodrome · the clippings

The air force left in September 1995, with a cathedral service, a parade with an RNZAF flypast and a closing ball (clipping). In 1997 Ngāi Tahu Property bought most of the land. The international race had already moved to Ruapuna as the Ruapuna International Trophy, and the Lady Wigram Trophy lapsed (clipping).

The Motor Racing Club's Wigram Glory Days Relived, at Ruapuna on 31 October and 1 November 1998, brought back the cars of Wigram's great years. The last race on the airfield was a drivers-only farewell classic meeting on the 3.87 km circuit on 9 February 2000. It was closed to the public, but about 3,000 people turned up anyway (clipping). In 2004 Bruce McLaren's widow returned his 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy to the club (clipping). The airfield closed to flying in 2009. The Wigram Skies suburb now covers it, and its main street, The Runway, follows the old main straight. The trophy itself lives on at Ruapuna.

Sources: the clippings · Wigram Aerodrome · Lady Wigram Trophy