27-9-65 2-12-65 Best Lad Entry Wi THE best line-up of of the world w Tasman championship at Christchurch. next. Official factory entries. with leading team drivers. have been received from B.R.NI.. Lotus and Ferrari. Among the "independents" will be drivers with the latest Brabham cars. fitted with Coventry Climax and Italian Maserati engines. This was announced by the president of Christchurch's Motor Racing Club 'Nir d. A. Brewer' this morning. He said that arrangements, in the main. had been completed over the week-end. "We have never had a better entry for the Lady Wigram Trophy. Overseas interest has exceeded our wildest expectations." he said. "B.R.M. is sending out a full team of the current Grand Prix Formula I cars, fitted with 260 brake horsepower 2litre V8 engines specially built for the Tasman series of races Graham Hill "There will be three carsone of which will be a reserve-five engines. atleast Yet for gram racing cars and drivers vill contest the New Ze • races, including the L January to February. four works mechanics. Mr Tim Parnell, son of the late Reg Parnell. will act as manager. he said. B.R.M. will have a pool of three drivers. the 1963 world champion Graham Hill. his Grand Prix team-mate Jackie Stewart. and the up-and-coming Richard Attwood At the moment the driving engagements for the four New Zealand meetings are not settled, but it is probable that Hill and Stewart will drive in Race to appear in this part ealand and Australia ady Wigram Trophy the New Zealand Grand Pris and Lady Wigram Trophy. while Attwood and Stewart will race at the Levin and Teretonga Park, Invercargill meetings. Team Lotus. winner of this • year's Racing Car Constructors" Championship. will be fielding a brand-new car developed specialls for the Tasman series. Lotus, with the world champion Jim Clark, won the Tasman title last season and is anxious to retain it. 2... Here again. according to Mr Brewer, there will probably be two drivers-Clark and Mike Spence. although it could well be that Clark will contest all the New Zealand events. "A final decision regarding Clark's appearance has yet to be made," said Mr Brewer. John Surtees As a result of John Surtees's accident while practising for the Canadian Grand Prix at Nosport last Friday. the arrangements regarding the Ferrall entry may have to be changed. Surtees. leader of the Ferrari team, was to have driven a special 260 brake horsepower monocoque V6 Ferrari here. Much will now depend upon the time it takes for him to recover from his injury and whether Enzo Ferrari is prepared to send another driver. probably Lorenzo Bandini. if Surtees is still unfit. In addition to the works reams, some very competitive "independent" entries will be contesting the series. These may include two strong contenders from Australia in Frank Gardner. fourth in last year's Lady Wigram race, and Spencer Martin. V12 Engine Gardner will probably drive a Brabham fitted with a special V12 Italian Maserati engine for his sponsor. Alex Mildren. Martin will probably handle the Australian Scuderia Veloce Brabham-Climax. A similar car entered by this equipe and driven hy Graham Hill won this year's New Zealand Grand Prix. It is also likely that Scuderia Veloce will send over its 250- LIM Ferrari Grand Touring car for Martin to drive in sports and G.T. races. This is similar to the Le Mans - winning Ferrari this year and has a top speed of about 200 miles an hour. Best Yet "With a number of New Zealand drivers. such as the national champion. Jim Palmer. with new cars for the coming season. and the galaxy overseas talent. I feel certain that our race, as well as the other international fixtures. will be the most keenly contested since the inception of international racing in this country." said Mr Brewer. TEN EVENTS ON WIGRAM PROGRAMME TEN events, two of which will be for motor. cycles, are planned by the Christehurch Motor Racing Club for its annual Lady Wigram Trophy meeting which will be held in the 2.3mile airfield circuit at the R.N.Z.A.F. station, Wigram, on January 22. This meeting will be the instituted New Zealand Racing seventeenth to be held at Wig- Drivers' Club Touring Car ram and the twelfth inter- Championship and points national fixture. The trophy will be awarded on the basis race itself will constitute thejof 10, T, 5, 3 and 1 for the third round in the annual Tas-first five placed drivers. man Championship series, Open cars which do not start which comprises four Newlin the Lady Wigram Trophy Zealand and four Australian will, as usual, be eligible to races for 2.5 litre single-seater start in the 11-lap Motor Racing Club Trophy. This year's 44 lap Lady Wig ram Trophy was won by Clark Saloon Cars -the current world champion racing motorist-in a 2,5-itre The fifth and sixth raceS Lotus-Climax at an average will be each of nine laps for speed of 94.22 miles an hour, cars up to 1500 c.c. and cars a race record. over that capacity, respec- Clark shares the Wigram lap tively. These races will, record with New Zealander effect, be qualifying heats for Bruce McLaren (2.5-litre Coo-the final event per-Climax) with an average gramme, the Gold Leat All. speed of 96.39 miles an comers' Saloon Car Race which ihour. will be of seven laps and the Wigram pro-result of which count gramme closely follows that towards the N.Z.R.D.C.'s of previous years. saloon car championship. The day will open with For this final event the club two preliminary races, reserves the right to invite up each of 11 laps, for the to six starters and the remaintrophy race entrants. Grid ¡der of the field will be decided positions for the feature by qualifying times in the two event will be alletted upon jearlier events. the basis of the actual Both motor - cycle races races times of the contest- will be of Il laps and will ants in the preliminaries. be open to machines up to Third event on the pro-! 500 c.c. However, the first race will count towards gramme will be a 30-minute race for Group 1 and 2 pro- the 250 c.c. and 350 c.c. airduction saloons. This event willi field championships. count towards the recentlyi the second towards the 500 c.c. title. Cash awards amounting to £535 are being offered for the Lady Wigram Trophy which is timed to start at 2,30 p.m. This event counts towards the Tasman Championship, the Gold Star series and the N.Z.R.D.C. racing car championship. The Tasman title is open to al contestants, but the buner two are restricted to drivers racing with New Zealandissued competition licences.