22nd International Lady Wigram Trophy Race Meeting
Preview of the 22nd Lady Wigram Trophy meeting on 18 January 1976. The 2.2-mile aerodrome circuit, first raced on in 1949, is the fastest in Australia or New Zealand, with single-seaters reaching about 180 mph on the back straight. Graeme Lawrence (Lola T332), the 1970 Tasman champion, has been fastest in the opening races but beset by mechanical troubles; Brian Redman in the 2-litre Chevron B29 BMW is an unknown quantity. Bruce Allison leads the series on 10 points, with Smith, Stewart and Redman on nine each.
Facts
- The 1976 Lady Wigram Trophy was the 22nd running and the third round of the four-race Peter Stuyvesant international series; 14 starters.
- Graham McRae set the Wigram race lap record of 117.073 mph in the 1975 trophy race.
- The Chevron B29 driven by Brian Redman was a development of the B25, built in Lancashire, with a 2-litre German BMW engine and monocoque construction.
- F5000 cars were powered by stock-block 5-litre Chevrolet V8s, mostly fuel-injected, with five-speed Hewland gearboxes and four-wheel disc brakes.
- Wigram saloons lapped at fractionally under 100 mph in 1976.
