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race report

Scott-Brown wins Wigram Trophy race

Archie Scott-Brown won the 150-mile, 71-lap 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy in his Lister-Jaguar in 1hr 47min 27.4sec, a new race record of about 85 mph and only the second time a sports car had won the trophy. Ross Jensen's ex-Moss 250F Maserati was second, Stuart Lewis-Evans's Connaught third, and Pat Hoare drove the race of his life to fourth in his 3-litre Ferrari. Scott-Brown set a new lap record of 1:23.8 (90.8 mph). Brabham and McLaren both retired with gearbox trouble.

Lady Wigram Trophy (71 laps, 150 miles)

1Archie Scott-Brown (England)Lister-Jaguar1:47:27.4
2R. Jensen (Auckland)Maserati 250F1:48:18.5
3Stuart Lewis-Evans (England)Connaught1:48:11.7
4P. Hoare (Christchurch)Ferrari 3-litre1:48:31.8
5M. Mayo (Auckland)Cooper-Climax
6A. Glass (Australia)Ferrari Super Squalo
7F. Cantwell (Christchurch)Tojeiro-Jaguar1:48:45
8Dick Gibson (England)Cooper-Climax1:48:45.1
retiredJack Brabham (Australia)Cooper Formula 1
retiredBruce McLaren (Auckland)Cooper-Climax

Lap times

  • Archie Scott-Brown (Lister-Jaguar): 1:23.8 lap record
  • Archie Scott-Brown (Lister-Jaguar): 1:31 other

Facts

  • Archie Scott-Brown's win in 1hr 47min 27.4sec in the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy was a new race record of about 85 mph; only once before had a sports car won the trophy.
  • Scott-Brown set a new Wigram lap record of 1:23.8 (90.8 mph) early in the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy.
  • Scott-Brown, disabled in his right hand, won in a Lister-Jaguar; Jensen was first New Zealander and Pat Hoare first Motor Racing Club member to finish.
  • Brabham retired from second place after about 30 laps and McLaren from third after 59 laps, both with gearbox trouble.
  • The 1958 win was only the second time a sports car had won the Lady Wigram Trophy, ending a run of single-seater winners.

Photos

  • Sailor of triumph: England's Archie Scott-Brown, the victor of the Lady Wigram Trophy race. Scott-Brown's win was a popular one for the crowd.
feature

A 'Hardon' girl reporter in the pit of Dick Gibson

A humorous first-person account by a girl reporter in the pit team of English driver Dick Gibson during the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy: his goggles fell down at the start, he made a 30-second stop on lap 12 with dust in his eyes, ran into the hay bales once, and finished eighth. Mechanic Derrick Edwards and the under-geared Cooper feature, and Gibson congratulated Scott-Brown.

Facts

  • Dick Gibson's Cooper-Climax was lapping at about 1:35 in the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy before a 30-second pit stop on lap 12.
Read the OCR text
S SCOTT-BROWN WIN WIGRAM TROPHY RACE TREATING a record er •.speed festival ever sce Archie Seott-Brown romp mile Lady Wigram Proph afternoon. He established a nev eighty-five miles an hou sports racer. In setting t tradition for the Wigram has a sports car carried of But Scolt-Brown and the Lister Jaguar made It look easy. Ross Jensen, of Auckland, driving the ex-Stirling Moss 2501* Maserall, finished a good secona In 108min 18.5sec. But he was never a threat to the winner, 'The other Englishman, Stuart Lewis-Evans, completed sixty• nine of the seventy-one laps in hls Connaught to finish thirdin 108min 11.7sec. Christchurch's Pat Hoare, having his second outing with his threelitre ferrari, drovo the race of his life to fish in fourth place having completed rixty-elght laps in 108min 31.850C. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the performance of M. Mayo In Ron Frost's Cooper-Climax. Fifth Place He finished fifth and was followed by the Australian Arnokd Glass (Ferrari, » the Christchurch driver, Prank Cantwell (Tojelro Jaguar), and the English amateur driver, Dick Gibson (Cooper). Although the main issue did not appear to be in doubt after about len laps, the Australlan, Jack Brabham, Was a menace in his Formula 1 Cooper. 00 the rarly sages it Ln looked as though he might gather in Scott-Brown, hut after about thirty lage retired while in second position with prar box trouble. Similar trouble beset the young Aucklander, Brnce Ne- Laren, who drove the other works Cooper. He was comfortably in third place at the end of fifty-elght laps and then had to retire, It was at that stage that Lewis Ivans moved in third, and it was soon afterwards that Pat Hoare got by Mayo who made a brief pit stop to take on oll. Lap Record Everyone drove well but Scott-Brown was outstanding. Darly in the race he set a new lap record of 123.8sec--an average of 90.8 miles an hour-5.2 sec better than the record set in 1956 by Peter Whitehead with a Ferrari. Scott-Brown, who in dis. abled in his right hand, evi. dently finds it no hamlieup. He in a manter of the fourwheel drift the essence of steadiness. He can make the Lister. Jaguar do anyihing for hlm, and this afternoon he obvlously drove well within his own and the car's limits once he had the measure of the field. At the drop of the flag Jensen, Scott-Brown, Lewis-Evans and Roycroft showed out first. At the end of one lap Scott- Brown was In front followed by McLaren and Jensen and Lewls- Evans and Roycrolt logether with Brabham next, then Nell and Hoare. After four lapy Scott• Brown had begun to lap the tallendern; Jensen wan now third with Mebaten fourth, Brabham, Royeroft and Lewly Evann next in that oriler, After seven laps Jensen made owd to the most thrilling n on the Wigram circuit, ed away with the 150y in 107min 27.4sec this w race record of about w' in his Lister-Jaguar the new figure he broke _ race. Only once before ff the trophy. a bid when evidently Scoti- Brown made an error somewhere out on the circuit. He moved through to first place but Scott-Brown was close behind. However, next time round Scott-Brown was back in front Mcharen followed by Jenset Roycroft, and Brabham, with Lewis-Lvans, Cantwell Hoare next in that order. With Scott-Brown comfortably out in front, Brabham made his bid and took Jensen after eighteen laps. With nineteen laps completed, Scott-Brown led Jensen, McLaren, Brabhan, LewisTovans, Hoare, Royeroit, Cantwell, and Glass. Scott-Brown was 14sec ahead of Brabham after twenty laps at that stago Royeroft made a pit stop to check some vibration which had apparently developed in his Ferrarl. It cost him all chance of a major place and from then on his car did not sound its best, With thirty laps gone Brabham had made a pit stop and he retired a lap later. Scott-Brown completed his thirty-third lap in imin 31sec, an average speed of 83.7 miles and hour. He was then 21sec ahead of Jensen who had a comfortable lead over MeLaren. Lewis Evans was still a lap back. Then came Mayo, Hoare, Glass, Cantwell, and Sprague. Sprague Skids Sprague provide excitement along the pit straight when he rame out of the S-bend and skidded on to a straw bale. 'The car bucked in the air and for a moment it looked though Spraguc was going to be thrown out. However, he went on his way. The order did not change much from then until the race was well on its way. By fifty. three laps Scott-Brown had lapped the third man, McLaren. Jensen was second, lapping about 83.7 miles an hour and then came MeLaren and Lewislovans. Then, with fity-nine laps gone, Mcharen dia not appear in the pit straight, and he was out of the race with gearbox trouble. I'rom then on it was just a matter of everyone keeping going. Mayo's pit stop at sixtythree laps cost him his chance of fourth, and Hoare moved in lo that position. And so they finished, Scott-Brown, and Jensen each completing 71 laps, Lewis-Evans 6D, Hoare 68, Mayo 67, and Glass, Cantwell, and Gibson 66. The Individual prizes apart from the premier honour went lo Jensen, first New Zealander to finish, and Pat Hoare, first member of the Motor Racing Club to Anish. Results: England (Lister- Jaguar), 107min (a) 107mm 27 8c. 1: R. Jen- Ben, Auckland . (Maserati), 108min 18.0sec, 2; S. Lewis Lvang, England (Connaught), 108min 11.7sec, sixty• nine laps, 3; P. Hoare, Christchurch (Ferrari) sixty-elght паря, : M. 108m1n 31.88ес, Mayo, Auckland (Cooper- Climax), 107min 30.8sec, sixty-seven laps, 5; A. Glass, Australia (Ferrarl), 108m1t sixty-Hix laps, 0; I* Cantwell, well, christchurch (Tojelro Jaguar), 108min 45sec, sixty-six. laps, Gibson, England (Cooper- Climax), 108mn 45.1sec, sixty•six laps, 8. SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1958 SMASHES RECO Price 6d. RD TO SAILO OF TRIMPH iran Hugland's Archie Scott-Brown, the vletor of the Lady Migram Trophy rare, Scott-Brown's win was a popular one for the crowd. Worse And Worse ClINGs were pretly bad al so was the language. The for the circuit and we could tyres to lift the "axle ratio." Derrick, our very experie had even stopped connenting tiveness of New Zealand girls. practice last night-and • cal was under-geared not get the right-sized nced English mechanic, on the startling attrac- But to-day, at 1.30 p.m., things were very much worse. The flag flicked down, the cars roared off, and there was Dick still sitting on the starting line, for just as the flag came down, so did his goggles. Derrick rushed out and tried to adjust them, But the flold was on its way and Dick roared after them with the goggles still around his neck. Sitting in the plt, I held a stop watch which told an • encouraging story for lap after lap-the little Cooper Climax was doing it in 1min 35sec, as fast as Archie Scott-Brown. Then, as the Cooper" swept hand gave a signal past on the eleventh lalthe from cockpit, Dick was coming in. First Stop On the twelfth, he came in-eyes full of dust and grit-and the 30sec stop put him three laps behind the fiekd. There was misery in the pituntil several other cars, among them Jack Brabham's, also pulled in. At this stage in the race the Connaught was making a noise like aeroplane-or Spiko Jones's P31—but everybody in our pit was too tense to conment on it. 'l'he noise meant nothing, fortunately, and the Connaught kept going well. Now, however, there seemed no more hope for us because the commentator WAS saying that Archie Scott-Brown had the roco "In the bag" Derrick, our mechanic, who is a better sport than the rest of us, kept saying, "Joves, that châp can drive." Then there was a terrible moment when Dick came screaming round a corner and hurtled into the hay bales. But he made a very quick twist back on to the track. That was one of the worst moments in the race for us. There was no danger to the And... A "Hardon' girl reporter WiN at Wigram to-day - in the pit team of Dick Gibson, an longlish driver competing in the bady Wigram Prophy ract. Here she drives home some impressions public it is true, bat he could have lipped the car over. Archie Scotl-Brown only had one more lap to go. All hope was gone when the loud speakers blared that "Here comes Archie Scott-Brown in his Listerdag alter a magnificent race." Our car must have been six laps belind then. Jensen cane In second, one lap behind, and Lewis-Evans vas laps behind that and Dick in "our Cooper" finally finished in eighth place. The post morten examinatons were awful. Everybody stood around in gloomy silence —which Dick broke by warmly congratulaling Archie as he walked past. Whatever Mum says, lacing drivers are wonderful. But now I come to think of it, Derrick was pretty nice, 10o.

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