PLAN OF WIGRAM CIRCUIT MiSPECTATOR BARRIERS RE MT WT WT ESCAPE ROUTE Bomb-Bay Вено The Main Straight Hairpin Back NO SPECTATORS Straight Vickerys PERMITTED ON INSIDE OF CIRCUIT Club Control COMPETITORS® Curre ENTRANCE CONTROL TOWER Tower® LAPSCORING AND DUBUK AND BOnd Chicane TIMING STAND ADDRESS 80X JickeD ONLY CREWS * ARTIFICIAL CHICANE ELIMINATES OTHERWISE Paddock SPACED OIL DRUMS HIGH SPEED BUMP •e• GRANDSTAND START -FINISH BARRIER. MEMBERS Hangar Bend Birthday Present Set Coopers THE Cy Wigram • cars which should dominate the Lady Wigram Trophy race on Saturday originally came about as the result of a father's wish to give his son, aged 8, a tiny racing car to amuse himself. Charles Cooper designed and built this insignificant car himself at his Surbiton motor garage, and gave it to his son, John, as a birthday present. This action laid the foundation of the outstanding rise to fame of the Cooper car. Although a small car, John land set up his small garage busi- Cooper's vehicle packed ness at Surbiton. plenty of power, It had a Fran- to 1934, Charles cis-Barnelt motor-cycle engine Cooper was the mechanic of Kaye Don, a well-known racing driver. and three-speed gearbox, four- When Don got his 130 miles an wheel drum brakes, and a maxi- hour badge at Brooklands in 1928 mum speed of about 40 mlles an -Ihe first person to gain an award nour. for this speed-it Charles Charles Cooper, born in Paris 60 Coope. who tuned the car, Cooper years surprisingly also drove an M.G. Tagnetle and cnough not from a family of raced in a team with the great one Captain George Eyston. moloring enthusiasts, which had a theatrical tradition. John Cooper, bred Into a world He had net the slightest interest of moloring lalk and activity, was in the stage, and from his earllest in his element from the start. At days was wrapped up in cars., the age of eight, when he re- When aged 15, he was employed ceived his birthday present, he as an apprentice at the Napler was already a confirmed addict of factory at Acton, which was unce racing cars. When he was 12, he famous for the racing cars it pro- received another car designed and duced. In the First World Warl built by father-a highly he was gassed at Valenciennes tuned Austin Seven fitted with and spent several months in hos- twin carburettors and a special pital, and on his return to Eng crankshalt, giving it a speed of about 90 hour. Cooper gave it plenty of hard work on grass tracks in different parts of England. leaving Cooper joined Hawkers, where he learned the tool trade. During the war years he worked on secret projects, Including midget submarines. It was perhaps inevitable that after the war, this remarkably son team shoud combine on a major pro- Ject. Realising that motor racing was becoming tar out of reach of the ordinary man, the Coopers set their minds to work on butldin buy a face their ccep and race. Their concept of bullding cars with motor-cycle engines was not a new one, but their originality of design paved the way for great things. In June, 1948, father and • 80n in five weeks built a car with a Flat 300 chassis. and a J.A.P speedway engine, its Arst success was at the Brighton Speed Irlals, where it recorded the best time in the 850 c.c. class. A second car was built in 1946, and then in 1947, when the two cars began notching more successes, inqutries denoted that the Cooper name had made its mark. A new company was formed, 12 cars were put into production, and Coopers of Surbiton were on the road to the pinnacle of tame which they reached last year. Stirling Moss was one of the Arst customers-then an unknown in motor racing. But it was in a Cooper that Moss Arst found his feet in the sport. Out of 16 events Cooper cars entered in 1948, they won 14. Bach year, a new 500 c.c. was brought out, and in 1952, the Formula Il Cooper appeared with the B.M.W.-based Bristol 1971 c.c. engine. Mike Hawthorn, the former world champion driver, was bought a new Cooper-Bristol by a friend of the family, and Hawthorn met such great success that he was hailed as one of the greatest "finds" of the year. The Cooper-Bristol won every race in its class at Goodwood that Easter, and was only beaten by a 42-litre terrari in the Formula 1 race. Ferrari and Maserati were at that stage dominating grand prix racing, and Coopers recognised there was not sufficient power available in the Bristol engine. So it was that in 1956, when the new Coventry-Climax engine was designed, that Coopers really hit the limelight. Lotus and • Cooper were both planning a car to take the new twin overhead camshaft Climax engine, but Coopers decided to launch a Cooper Climax with a special single overhead camshaft engine. This car met with considerable success. To concentrate on major grands prix, Coopers built three cars for the 1958 motor racing season. Moss won the Argentine Grand On Road Fame Prix, Brabham the New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore, and on May 18 of that year, Maurice Trintignant proved the giant killer when he won at Monaco. Last year, with the all-new 24- Iltre Cooper-Climax engine, the tiny cars from Surblton met the success they deserved and won the world constructors' champion. ship. They also took Jack Brabham to his world title. So it is that the cars entered in today's event-costing thousands of, pounds less than the B.R.M.'s Vanwalls, or Ferraris-have reached the top in the motor sport, and realised their designers' ambitinn for a cheaper racing car. Routes To The Circuit More than 100 members of the Papanul Returned Services' Association under the direction of Mr C. Melver will man the gates at Wigram for Saturday's race The Motor Racing Club has made full arrangements with the cooperation of the Transport Department to handle • the large volume of traffic expected. Mr Meiver, who was one of two men responsible for representations to the Government in 1948 which oulminated Wig" being made available for motor racing, will be completing his lentil year of association with motor racing on the circuit. His handling of traffic arrangements over the years has been widely applauder Motorists travelling south towards the aerodrome, along Ric- Blenheim roads, asked to turn to the left across the Sockburn railway crossing to go in through Vickerys road entrance, which will be manned by gate-keepers. This is the largest entrance to the circuit and can handle several lanes of traffic at a time. Those coming from the will enter through the main gate lo the aerodrome, on the Main South road, while motorists from the south-past (lincoln road) will use the Middle Lincoln road entrance which gives access to the back straight. People going to the races by bus or on foot will go in through tbe entrance in Symes road. To prevent people from entering other than through the official gates, strong patrols the boundary fences organised. Grandfather v. Son-In-Law A grandfather will have the experience of racing against hia own son-in-law in the Motor Racing Club's 42-mlie championship event at Wigram on Saturday. W. Darrell, who has been racing at Wigram for the last eight years and is & former winner of the prize for the first New Zealand bullt special lo finish, will be matched against Brian Briggs, his son-in-law, Darrell will he driving a speola! ponered by a Zephyr engine and Briges a car with a Mercury engine.