25-1-65 Clark Easily Wins Lady Wigram Trophy Race Scotland's Jim Clark, driving a 2.5 litre Lotus Climax, won the Lady Wigram Trophy Race on Saturday by more than 10 seconds from Bruce McLaren in a 2.5 litre Cooper Climax. Clark shot away into the lead when the flag fell, quickly increased his lead from 2.9sec on the second lap to about 25seo on the twenty-ninth, and then eased off to cruise home an easy winner. fourth, Clark mas Third place went to New Zealand's čhampion driver, J. Palmer, of Hamilton, in a Repco- Meant Gardetes cord. Brabham-Climax 2.5 litre, and fourth to F. Gardner in third. Gardner, of Australia, in a 20 litre Brabham. Nest came Palmer, Grant and wao was Wellington's Kerry Grant was fifth with a 2.5 through litre Brabham which was not running well. seventh. After him Ciark gave a hint of things Levis, in the first of the 1.5 In overcast and slightly Buchanan,. windy conditions, together to come when he won • Flowers, cars Lawrence, with a few drops of rain in second beat from Grant by neths. who was also moving the last laps, Clark put on a good margin, sering a ew, up, Thomasen, Sager, Riley a magnificent displar of neatflap record in the process. In and Gillumn. and unflurried driving. The practice on Friday he had! On the fifth Flowers retired United States driver new lap pith broken piston rings and Hill. McLaren's team-mate in 1:26sec: and in the heat he Hill took Grant to move into another Cooper Climax, fol- improved this to 1:25.9sec, al fifth. Gillum was lapped by Clara. On the next Paimer was bad luck in practice with bad luck in the race, equalled by Bruce McLaren closing on Gardner, being less i during the main event final. than three seconds away, and and after moring up to fifth Clarke bad lapped Riley. position was forced to retire The grid for the main race on lap 25 with a broken half- put Mclaren in pole position. Battle For Third shaft universal. Gardner. Interest was now centering fluctuating to- Grant beside him on the front the battle for third be- Ine second TOW tween Gardner and Palmer. wards the end, but it made no Buchanan, Dawson, and by the eighth Clark was difference to the resuit. 10 seconds away from McLaren McLaren never Thomasen, looked like catching Clark Palmer, Riley, Lawrence, and and Gardner was five seconds and there were few battles Abernethy, and the fourth behind him, with Palmer further down the field. Clark was Gillum, Hill and Levis. pushing hard. At the tenth row comprised Hill was 15 seconds back on lapped the last car, P. Gillum,! : Flowers and Sager. but gaining slightly. in the 1500 c.c. Cooper, on Palmer, Clark Takes Lead and Clark was still increasing the fifth lap, and set off after his lead. the rest of the field. By the As soon as the flag fell for end of the race Clark, Me the main race By the twelfth Abernethy were the only ones to have looked ike fosing. He opened hind levi, wile Grant was hind Levis, while Grant was 17 seconds back on Hill. Palbeing lapped by. out 20 lengths on licLaren mer continued to push Gard- Clark, and many of the tail on the first lap, and did the ner while Clark steadily inenders had been lapped twice. second lap in 1:26.3sec, creased his lead on the field. Before the main race of open a gap of three seconds. By the seventeenth Grant's 100 miles. two preliminary • On this same lap Dawson re- car had started to sound heats of 25 miles each were tired his Cooper woolly out of the corners. held. The first heat comprised broken crown wheel, and it! At the twentieth there was McLaren. Gardner, B. Aber- Ras noticeable that little change, Palmer still (Wellington), Cooper! Clark was taking many cor- being hard after Gardner and 2.5: R. A. Levis (Putaruru), ners with a smooth sweep of less than a second back, while Brabham 1.5; R. J. Flowers the steering wheel both Me- the first four cars had opened (Lorer Hutt), Lola 2.5; I. W. Laren and fill were having a gap back to Hill in fifth. (Auckland), Cooper to work hard at the steering By the twenty-second Pal- 2.5; A. A. Buchanan (Master- of their Coopers. mer and Gardner were almost wheel to wheel, and by the ton), Brabham 1.5; J. ;twenty-fourth McLaren and (Auckland), 2.5; and Lawrence (Wanganui), i ;Clark had both passed Grant, Brabham 1.5. This beat was 'who was in sixth. Hill retired with a broken universal won by MeLaren. the twenty-fifth. On the twenty-ninth Sager: R. J. Coppins (Auckland), in took Riley to place ninth, and Clark, having opened a lead led the second heat of tile comers' saloon race for the first ! Brabiam Cimas. 3. Time: Gardner 4. 5. Grant 5. Time: 64: 9.5. of nearly 26 seconds, laps until he had front |16:13. started to ease up fraction- Tain Race 1300 c.c. Class.—R. Gold Leaf Production Saioon A. Levis «Putaruru), Brabham, aliy. Palmer was still pushing Remarkabiy. Rave : 30mIn duration).-a В. • (Napier), Austin 1. Gardner, and took him or the second Heat for Allcomers'' the back straight. only slightly! Langie? so sorris choper s.. Cooper Innes • Vor-i 19 laps).~? Fahes thirty third, opening out a more than eight miles an nour rinsville), 2; Saloons Lotus Cortina, I: alcomers' p Tock (Christchurch), Jorris (Auckland), Franicevic (Auckland),: i Cooper S 16 laps. Anglla, 2: J. Nazer (Auckland).: 27 Seconds Ahead saloon final from start to finish. Motor Racing Club Champion- Time: 16:15.6. At this stage Clark starting fourth miles, 11 laps) -B. Lotus Anglia, 3. Motor crce Race. Open (11 nearly 27 seconds ahead of and nishing porier (si. Andrews), Lotus 13. taps).—B. J. Scobie (te Ата- McLaren, who in turn was 1. Bord (Auckland), Lycom-i Norton, I: J. A. waies spin at the loop Rutherford (Christ-i muru). 16 seconds ahead of Palmer. the A.J.S., 2: D. J. Morti- B.S.A. On the thirty-ffth Riley took elerenth behind Mofait. tenth from Sager, and Clark's latter two had a tussie during Allcomers' Saloon face. First laps).-P Fahey 1. R. Coppins lap times had again dropped (Auckland), Zephyr Corvette, %, Time: 12:22.6. First Trophy (christchurch), Anglia, 3. J. Nazer 3. On the fourtieth Thomasen Time: 16:49.7. went out with no of pressure miles. 11 laps).—B. Biclaren Up to 500 c.c. Motorcycles (11/ Second trophy laps).—T. R. McLaren, 1: 26.8. and Clara's lead had dropped (Auckland). Cooper Climas, 1; church) I, N. J. Landrebe (Dun- race heat: J. Clark, 1:25.9 (reto about 20 seconds. On the F. Gardner (Australia), edin). Matchless, 2; R. B. Clarke forty-second Lawrence retired ham Climax, 2: A. A. Buchanan •Christchurch). Norton, Burns Christchurch. Club championship: B. Porter, out fe and the places lasterton 16:112. remained unchanged to the 3. Brabham climas, Corton. Innes, 1:50.2. allcomers saloon Trophy Race Heat (25! Time: 13:24.3. Lady Wigram Trophy Race (44|race: B. McLaren, 1:25.9 (equal flag, when Clark was 10 see-! miles, 11 laps).—J. Clark onds ahead. Abernethy, whose land), Lotus Clima, 1; K. Grant laps, 100 miles).—J. (Hamil! saloon Cooper was overheating, had! (Wellington). started a series of visits to the pits on the twenty-seventh lap, and finished last. Features of the main race included Palmer's neat and unfurried driving to a welldeserved third, and the good performance put up by some. of the 1.5 litre cars, in particular the winner this class, Levis, and second in the class Buchanan. Clark was presented with the usual wreath and taken around the circuit, together with McLaren and Palmer. : The meather remained overcast and slightly windy for WICRAM the race, with a few drops of rain, but not enough to wet the track, in the closing laps. Other Events There was a good programme of supporting events to inter• est the large crowd, and some of them were more interesting than the main race. The Gold Leai production saloon race ran for half an hout. the winner being the car which covered the greatest distance in this time. The winner was R. B. Langley (Napier) with an Austin Cooper S, innes (Morrinsville) being second with Morris Cooper S, and P. ToCE (Christchurch). with a similar car. third The first heat for the all- • comers* race one of the best râces of the dav. and was WOR by Langler after strong chalienge from J. HuI- THE PLACED DRIVERS in the Lady Wigram Trophy Race. From left are B. lins Vanished OTI the fifth lap: and when toying Mullins, in fourth up, retired place with Melaren (New Zealand), who finished second; F. Gardner (Australia), fourth, cooling troubles. J. Clark (Seotland), the winner; and J. Palmer (New Zealand) third. W. Collins (Christchurch) led his fast Ford Anglia 1OT the first four laps until his clutch started slipping and he ¡ dropped steadily back to finish third. JIM PALMER LIKELY TO WIN TITLE With 40 points to his credit already in both the Association New Zealand Car Clubs' Gold Star series and the New Zealand Racing Drivers' Club championship, the 1964 champion. Jim Palmer of Hamilton, according to an unoit- ¡cial count, must finish this season as motor racing's champion again. Palmer has scored the pos- ¡sible points to date from the I four meetings already held. In second place. and a long war behind is the Masterton farmer Andrew Buchanan with 14 poit in line are Roir Levis (12), Waurice Stanton D'and herry Grant and Kerry (7 ¡each), Red Dawson (6). Rex Flowers (5). Graeme Lawrence i(3) and Bill Thomasen (1). Wrong Licence For the first time in many' vears, Bruce New Zealand's reading international driver does not appear on the ladders. The reason is that both ¡tese competitions are open ¡onlv to drivers competing competition licences issued by the Association of New Zea- ¡land Car Clubs. Until this year McLaren has held a New Zealand licence. through no fault of his i own. he races with a licence ¡issuer by the Roval Automoibile Club of Great Britain.