THE THR 16-1-62 ILL OF SPEED: LADY WIGRAM TROPHY RACE Fast, Close Contest Cer In 150-mile Classic on Sat WITH the exception of last year when heavy rain put paid t ances, record speeds have been the feature of the Lady inception and it is safe to say that on Saturday the lap speed overseas racing drivers fights out what will surely be the contested 150-mile motor race ever seen in this country. to any exceptional perform- Wigram Trophy since its Is will soar as the galaxy of fastest and most closely Last year there was ercitement aplenty as fortunes changed in the trophy race, but it was obvious once the field had settled down that Australian Jack Brabham was going to complete a trophy race double with the works Cooper-Climax. previous years the race occasions high speed procession with one or two cars and drivers SO much superior to the remainder of the field. Leaders On previous performances it seems ikely • that Nioss. Brabham, McLaren and Surtees will be the drivers most likely to fight out the lead. i But there are others whose chances cannot be dismissed. Roy Salvadori is a driver who is excep-. tionally fast on a dry circuit, although he sureveryone writh his magnincent met weather drive for fourth place in the New : Zealand Grand Prix. The Italian Lorenzo Bandini turned out to be a very acceptable surprise from the motor racing fan's point of view in the Grand and his car, a 2.8-litre Mas-! erati could give the others something to think about on: the faster Wigram course. Possibility But from the point of view of the supporters of New Zealand drivers one of the most heartening fea tures is likely to be the strong possibility of Christ- church's Pat Hoare, the Hastings farmer Angus Hys lop, and the Aucklander Johnnie Mansel "getting in amongst" the overseas drivers. On their Grand Prix show- Glass ings they look capable of seeing off such drivers i as Scotsman Ron Flockhart, Australian Arnold Glass and maybe, even Salvadori. This year, for the first time the cars of the orerseas drivers are most evenly matched. What is nore thes are not race-weary has-beens, but some of the finest and tastest Intercontinental Formula racing cars racing in the world to-day. Although there is no doubt that Stirling Moss is the finest of them all, he is going to have the hardest of tasks to better Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren and John Surtees, particularly if the 2.116 mile Wig. ram circuit is dry and it is a typical trophy race day. Fast Pace One thing is absolutely certain! The pace will be a cracker and it would not be at all surprising to see the official timekeepers' stopwatches click on the magic Imin 16sec happens it will! that mean that some one has bro- ken the 100-mile-an-hour barner. As long ago • as 1959 after he won the trophy race Plockhart said ne was quite convinced that a driver of the calibre of Moss was quite capable of lapping Wigram in 1min 16sec, if not better. Racing • car development has taken immense strides forward since those days and so the Motor Racing sponsor of the meethe past the lap timespeed conversion table contained in the programme has stopped at 1min 15seca speed of 101.57 miles an nour. Inis year it stops at Imin 12sec—a speed 105.80 miles an hour! Skill Needed Witn its fast open bends, long back straight and bir Liards-table-smooth surface, Wigram is a real power-driving cireuit. It demands a Salvadori fair degree of skill in fine weather-exceptional skill in wet-and it calls for real The cars of the overseas rivers have the power. A most heartening featare is that New Zea. land's own Bruce McLaren probably has the fastest car. It is an Intercontinental Formula Cooper owned by the British patron Tommy Atkins and it is fitted with the specially developed Surtees 2.7-litre Coventry Climax engine Jack Brabham used in his Cooper to tnish nintn in the 1961 Indianapolis 500 nace. Rivals It could be that McLaren, who on a number of occasions has set lap records ahead of Moss on European circuits. will pull off this vear's race. - But Mclaren is facea with a tremendous task. Moss. who will be driving ior the Rob Walker stabie. has ai his disposal the 2.5 litre Lotus-the latest mode-with which he won the New Zealand Grand Prix hands down, and the more powertul 3.7-Litre Cooper. Then there is John Surtees who will be driving one of the beautitully prepared Bowmaker-leoman Racing Stable 2.7-litre Coopers. Some observers believe Surtees to be absolutely unbeatable on his day and he certainly showed himself to be a top-drawer driver in the wet at Ardmore. Moreover, Surtees is fortunate in that he has a fine team-mate in Roy Salva- dori who will be driving a similar car. It is always a help to have a team-mate, especially when the going is really hard Hat Trick? Brabham. world champion oi 1909 and 1960, will ne out for a Wigram hattrick and he has the equipment at his disposal to make that a rea! possibility. The Australian is not only a fine driver but also a fine engineer and he is bringing to Wigram ownl two i cars. One of them also has a 12.7-litre engine and. course, they are both Climaxengined Coopers. Ron Flockhart's Lotus was nOt too impressive in the Grand Prix, but it should prove good enough to give a number of the overseas drivers and some of the top local men a lot to think about. Flockhart is a fine driver and, like Salvadori, inclined to be rather under-rated. Lorenzo Bandini's Cooper diaserati with its 2.8-litre engine is not as Bandini they say in motor ing bag тасnails, Parlance, It a finely engineered car with good road-holding and loads of power. tainty JACK BRABHAM WON THE 1961 RACE IN A COOPER-CLIMAX urday Among the new zeaiana. ers Pat Hoare with his maz nificent 3 litre Ferrari Angus Hyslop with his new 2.5-iitre Cooper and Johnnie Mansel with his 27- he best prospects. The Australian Arnol Glass Is ret another Tih cannot he entirely discoun fo Glass has a 25-litre B.R.I., a car not noted for its reliahility: but certainly an extreme. ly fast and roadworthy one when it is going properls. rest of the comtened meen di chance. but there should he some real tussles withir the race itself because there are some ver! eveni matcheri hut slower car: entered. But from the point view of the real racing fans the magic lmin 16sec wil be the ining and the amaz of this ire are a rumher n nahie of making it- Brahham, McLaren. and. maybe. Salva A Message In presenting its eighth international Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. the Motor Racing Club is deeply conscious of the debt it owes to a great number of people and organisations for help and cooperation. and to the thousands of people who. over the years, nave supported our meetings. hout inis heip and = it would be quite sible for smal Christchurch the nel of stars in nal motor rac 8,11 uey 4... Club's Aim from the Motor Racin hat 15, stage will ly a truly interna- slimr meeting of the bes: cess- spil This is no easy task and and there have been occasions. are suen as last rear wher moto che weather could be c: onssibl: nave been worse. terr when it has appeared tha: In rhe effort involved migh: are r tell ne in rain. and But alwars the cine on ha: been able in tene earr. tude of the competitors anri ine encouragemen: given br voluntary her In ers and the public. sucr ternai Deserve Reward ed bi fine I have always felt tha: the be is a matter for some ing ca regret that every com Fin none parrot tin a prize to all at our meeting. for in ma Ern recollection, there has erc never heen a meating Thi gram wrici even" 1() Saturdat-and mar: are. Preside g Club *HUA ...e test chances of SUC comzend ine of comrade dip soortsmanship that "helles ted ca an ar rofessional le: to: fact. the irriers Amateurs fessionals mosT ériendle Best Prize troub ed wer. spirit in an lal sport undita g and is by far prize motor racoffer. . I would apneal mes ing 3.1 the and hat racine. it canne ent of the Mr J. A. Brewer ever so much more hazardous if those who patticipated dia not meticulously obey the stringent rules which are laid down for its proper conduct. On behalf of the ciub I appeal to the public to obey in the same manner the rules of the public highways and. at the same time, wish all who participate in and axend our Wigram meeting grand day of motor rac-