13-1-68 Page 8-The Christchurch Star Sports, Wig ram Jan. 13, 1968 Wi nner lara to Predict Don't look too hard at the New Zealand Grand Prix result when assessing form for the international Lady. Wigram Trophy next Saturday. Why? Well, simply this: since the introduction of the Y PETER GREENSLADE 2.5- litre Tasman Formula only in the one driver has completed the Mammoth Kiwi look ting his motor when it drop- Grand Prix-Lady Wigram small. ped a valve. "double. Take the B.R.M. equipe, for The sort of money tied up He is New Zealander Bruce example. in those eight cylinders nest- MeLaren and he took both Manager Tim Parnell has ning up. against the Flyraces in 1964 the year the brought out two specially-jing Scot's backbone would formula was introduced. built V12s, as well as a pair provide the average New Zea- MeLaren, one of the shrewd-lot the older, but still mighty land family with a more than Championship that quick, V8s for his drivers Mc. modest Tasman bungalow, station year. Laren and Mexican Pedro Rod- wagon and, perhaps, a cara- I would be the last one to riguez. van for week-ends away from deprecate that fine effort. But Team Lotus, aided and it all abetted by ford England and Grand FIx winner Amon! est Metaren, one of racine-car Ford New Zealand, have out-and his enigmatic Italian boss constructors in the business, itted the top world cham-Enzo Ferrari are not in tbe would be the first to admit pionship race winner Jim Tasman series for laughs, that he stole a march on his Clark with one of the highly either. adversaries by producing prized Grand Prix Type 49 cars fitted with Ibe V6-engined car-it's car that was tailored for the Shrunken really version of the Ford V8 engine Ferrari's only son who died called a Dino, after job. that has already given Clark some years ago, and not a Costly five world championship race Ferrari-is a little beauty. wins since its debut less than a year ago. exceptionally small, it is The others took the whole Ford almost as quick as Clark's affair commissioned Cos- Lotus-Ford V8 and outhandles a bit too lightly and worth Engineering, one of Briended up eating humble pie, tain's foremost racing engine and outbrakes it. That sort of thing just does manufacturers, to produce the This car was built by Roger not happen these days. Bailey at Ferrari's Modena fac- Overseas tears mean busi-000 long before Prime Win tory then fown in compont ness when they come to this Harold Wilson and his!form to Woodville where it was part of the world and one men dreamt about devalua-! re-assembled by ace New Zeahas only to look at this year's tion) to get the project off ¡land racing mechanic Bruce Wigram line-up to realise the ground. Wilson. this. Amon's Grand Prix win net- All their cars are specially ted him a meagre $400, but built for amount of money ine JoD, • tied up in and the No Surprise /he also collected a larger and undisclosed much sumn them would make first prize On the face of it, there in starting money. was no surprise when Clark, All the same, it is a safe My about see in the Grand be other b picked up so far will not have met Prix at Pukekohe last Satur his expenses. day, wasted no time in cut- Wealthy Sydney racing pat- has rided his favourite driver, Frank Gardner, with a very special car. Mildren is Australia's Italian Alfa Romeo agent and has had a V8 engine specially built for Gardner to use in a light-weight Brabham chassis. This engine is the only one of its type in the world. It is extremely reliable and took the lanky Australian to a well-earned second spot in the Grand Prix. Then, of course, there is world champion Denis Hulme, now fully recovered from his 140-miles-an-hour barrel-roll crash that robbed him of a certain Grand Prix third place -and probably a second spot Hullme, nOW in the big money in international racing, told me straight: "I'm no millionaire and I'm a private entrant in the Tasman series. 'The car I have is the best I can afford and, I believe, the best for the job out here where the circuits, generally speaking, are not fast and tend to favour a really good power-to-weight ratio." His Brabham FVA. powered by a Formula 2 1600c.c. Cosworth-Ford engine, certamiy proved his point in the Grand Prix. drives 1.5 Brabham-Ford similar to that of Lawrence, is another up-and-coming driver Identical who could figure in the minor placings. With 100-miles-an-hour Wig- Hulme has a brand-new and ¡ram_ laps almost a certainty, identical chassis for Wigram and, although the circuit is a the Motor Racing Club, which: sponsors the Wigram meeting, fast one, what the man from is going to be highly selective! Puke will lose on the certainly as far. as the field is con. straights, ¡cerned. pick up under braking into Slow drivers will be auto the hairpin and through the matically eliminated in the Loop which, for my money, qualifying trials. should be the best vantage point for spectators next Sat- The way things look at the urday. moment, the field will not be one but it will cer- On the twisty bits at Puke- a big kohe, Hulme the most tainly be the best to date and exciting driver to watch. lap and race records should More often than not, be blown sky-nigh. other drivers looked as though foolhardy to try and pick the At this stage it would be they were running round rails with a trailing_throttle, winner. Amon, of course, will be out Hulme had his littie Brabhant to emulate McLaren and com- sideways on and his foot flat! on the floor. plete the "double, This was press-on driving of Clark's mission will be to see that he doesn't. the sort that the fans hope to Don't write off those V12 see but so frequently don't. B.R.M.s. The personable young English private entrant, Piers Courage, like Hulme, is a Seething "charger" too. His Formula 2 McLaren- Ford is an exceptionally good McLaren was seething when. car and rewarded him with a his did not come up to expectations at Pukekohe and will Grand Prix third place. be tackling. Wigram with a There, then is the overseas record-breaking glint in his line-up. It's undoubtedly the best to date with certainly the Hulme and Gardner will be fastest cars to appear in the year history of inter- watehing the pack like a pair national racing at Wigram. of vicious pint-sized vultures, ever ready to swoop in for al Killing it the taster men maxe! Promising the slightest mistake or their cars start to wilt. Local men likely to keep Of the locals, Palmer and with them are undoubtedly Lawrence, in particular, will Jim Palmer, with a McLaren- be racing in the sure know- Ford like Courage's, and pre-ledge that they have better sent leader in the national than runners' chances. championship Series, and It all adds up to the pros- Graeme Lawrence, leader in pect of the best Lady the 1.5 litre series who has Wigram Trophy race to date just been hooked by McLaren land no one should go home to drive his Formula 2 cars disappointed -that is, at least among the patrons, if not the a Europe this coming season. Young David Oxton, who, drivers!