15-8-66 Lady Wigram Contest A COSIN the programe for the Christchurch Motor Racing Club's international Lady Wigram Trophy meeting on January 20 will remain substantially the same as in previous years, a new feature will be a special race for the big Group 7-type sports racing cars so popular in the United States. This race will replace the 30-minute event which has been run in the past for slightlymodified production saloon.. Group 2-a category that is no longer in vogue. The programme change reflects the changing pattern in New Zealand racing. A number of drivers are evincing interest in the big sports-racers and probably a dozen will appear on the circuits this season. The other change will be the replacement of the Allcomers saloon category by Group 5 saloons, the new class which will have national championship status this season. As usual, the club will open its meeting with the prelimin aries for the trophy race, The first will be for cars with engine capacities up to 1500c.c. while the second will be for the 2.5 litre Tasman Formula cars. The popular Motor Racing Club Championship race has been retained, but it will bel divided into two classes. There will be three races for Group 5 saloons. The 100-mile tropny lace, which will be the thira round in the New Zealand section of the Tasman Championship, will! be the feature event. Ine balance of the -event programme will comprise two motor-cycle races. 25-8-66 100 m.p.h. Lap Worth £400 D trees race will cente thor at tady wea side prize next January. This is the amount now held by the Motor Racing Club which runs the South Island's classic motor race. The side prize was offered some years ago by Manchester Car Sales, Ltd., for the first driver to lap the 2.3 mile Wigram circuit at 100 miles an hour in the race itself. • It has been added to by the firm over the years and a cheque received by the club the other day brought it up to £ 400. The prize would probably have been awarded in 1964 1f the circuit had not been altered. However, the inclusion of the loop, which slightly extended the length of the circuit and introduced a new and comparatively slow section, made the task more difficult. This year Jackie Stewart, who wen the race in a 2-litte V8 B.R.M., lapped the course at about 99 miles an bour during the training session and said afterwards that he was quite confident that the 100 miles-an-hour lap would come up' in the race itself within the next year or so. To win the £400 a driver will have to lap the circuit in Imin 22.8sec. Stewart this year set a lap record of 1min: 25sec. Given comparable conditions, an improvement of 2 to 3sec per lap can be expected from year to year so the prize should be well within the grasp of the faster Wigram contestants next January. ANGELINEI TOMORIA Top 20-8-66 European Drivers To Contest Lady Wigram Tro phy im of the world's leading constructors, driven by an allstar line-up will contest the thirteenth international Lady Wigram Trophy race at Christchurch on January 21, next year. Brabham-Repeos, Lap Records B.R.M.sR will have more Climax V8 cannot be discoun driven by Jack Brabham and powerful 2-litre V8 engines ted. Denis Hulme, two B.R.M.s, New Lea land will be considerably ligh Clark, who swept all before! His team-mate, ter than the cars raced last him in the 1965 Tasman series, i driven by Jackie Stewart and lander Denis Huime, cur- had a poor run last season, Richard Attwood, and a Lotus, rently holds more lap records season. by Jim Clark, will finishing second at Levin and tain and is tuning Brab am Colin Chapman, chief of the being eliminated in all the comprise the European Lotus concern, is constructing other New Zealand races. tingent in the South Island's a close second in the Formula a new light-weight Lotus for motor race, 2 European series and doing Clark, but a decision has yet will also be the second round well in Formula 1. to be made regarding the! Broke Run the 1967 Tasman cham- Jackie Stewart, this year's power unit... pionship series Tasman champion, set new He did, however, succeed in! This was announced this For the 1967 Grand Prix breaking the succession of morning by the president of race and lap records at Wig- ram last January and his series, the Lotus team will the Warwick Farm internal B.R.M. victories by winning the Motor Racing Club Attwood, finished have a brand-new three- Brewer), who said that team-mate, litre Cosworth-Ford engine, tional race at Sydney. pegotiations for the European second, having a week previ- which is at present being As entries from Australian teams to appear at_Wigram ously won the Levin interna- and New Zealand drivers will tional race. developed at a cost of not close until mid - Decemsuccessfully com Tasman € 100,000. pleted by Mr B W. A. Frost, ber, it is not yet known who the manager on the New Zea champion, Indianapolis Chapman was hoping to will make up the rest of the land International Grand Prix winner and world cham- have a 2.5 litre version ready feld However, it IS known Organisation, who has just pion last year, also won for Clark to use, but this is that a number of leading New! returned from Britain. the world title in 1963 and "I believe we have ob- is so stranger to Wig- that the ram patrons. He won the will use either a B.R.M. or 78 series and it is confidently tained the best possible 1965 race, setting race and although the anticipated that there will be line-up of European ant- Repco engine, ers and cars available to lap records. possibility of a 2-litre Coventryla full muster for Wigram. day and, on tris basis Brabham is building special aione, I am confident we Tasman Formula cars fitted can look forward to a very with 2.5 litre versions contest with the successful Grand Prix V8 prospect of spectacular engines in an all-out bid to lap re- win the Tasman championship cords," said Mr Brewer. next year, for this title is an in a and to and ram old alone for the 4year. Brabham, The B.R.M. team won seven winner in 1961 and 190% at present holds a seemingly un lof the eight races in the New assalable lead in this year's Zealand and Australian series Last season and is once again championship having last four! bringing a complete team in in his all-Australian! , an effort to retain the title The new Tasman Formula V8 Brabham-Repco.