Frank Bennett

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Lap times and speeds

Raced against most often

In the clippings (27)

13 Nov 1948Sixteen cars enter for road raceSixteen entries had been received for the 100-mile NZ Road Racing Championship to be held on a three-mile circuit in…22 Feb 1949Official check of entriesScrutineer W. G. Thomas checked twenty of the 22 cars for the 100-mile NZ road race championship at Wigram. Notable…26 Feb 1949N.Z. championship event: motor car racingCompetitors in the New Zealand championship road race were timed over a flying lap of the 2.1-mile Wigram course the…26 Feb 1949Car road race: huge crowd at Wigram, win for Wellington driverM. Proctor of Wellington won the first NZ car road racing championship at Wigram over 105 miles and 50 laps in his…28 Feb 1949Thousands see big car race at WigramBetween 20,000 and 30,000 watched M. Proctor of Wellington win the first NZ motor road racing championship at Wigram…28 Feb 1949New Zealand road race championshipFour-photo montage of the first NZ car road racing championship over 105 miles at Wigram: the standing start with…26 Feb 1949Thrilling 105-mile car race at Wigram is won by M. ProctorM. Proctor of Wellington won the first NZ road racing championship at Wigram in his veteran 1098cc Brooklands Riley,…28 Feb 1949New Zealand road race championshipFour-photo montage of the first NZ car road racing championship over 105 miles at Wigram: the standing start with…5 Mar 1949Some of the competitorsPhoto of the cars getting away at the start of the 105-mile road racing championship at Wigram; winner Proctor's…9 Mar 1949First New Zealand motor car road racing championship held at ChristchurchPhoto spread of the first NZ road racing championship at Wigram: winner M.Mar 1949Motor racing: history made at WigramMagazine review of the first NZ 105-mile road racing championship at Wigram, won by M.26 Feb 1949N.Z. championship road race, Wigram, 26-2-49: lap chartOfficial lap-by-lap position chart for the first NZ championship road race at Wigram, with a list of placings, car…16 Feb 1952Local drivers have done well in Wigram car racesReview of the first three Wigram races (1949 to 1951) with their top finishers, noting Christchurch drivers have won…22 Feb 1952Events prove motor racing here to stayFrank Bennett, a competitor in the 1949 race, reflects that the 1952 Wigram machines and drivers are of a much higher…29 Jan 1958This English car set new traditionFeature comparing Scott-Brown's 1958 Lady Wigram win with the first Lady Wigram Trophy in 1949, won by Morrie Proctor…26 Jan 1959Lady Wigram recordsSummary of records in the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy: Flockhart won at about 89 mph in 101min 4sec, against Scott-Brown's…14 Jan 1964Costly cars racing at terrific speedsFeature on the history of the Lady Wigram Trophy ahead of the tenth race on 18 January 1964, with a table of every…18 Jan 1966Wigram fastest course: previous winnersHistory of Wigram racing: the Canterbury Car Club ran NZ's first long-distance race in 1949 before the Motor Racing…17 Jan 1967Previous Wigram event winnersList of winners of the main Wigram race from 1949 to 1966 with distances, winning times, average speeds and fastest…16 Jan 1968Today's speeds a far cry from those of first raceHistory of the Wigram main race since the Canterbury Car Club's first long-distance race in 1949, won by Wellington…14 Jan 1969The fastest circuit: Pukekohe or Wigram?Argues that a race average of 105 mph in the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy would make the 2.3-mile Wigram circuit New…29 Jan 1977The first Lady Wigram race: a driver recallsFrank Bennett, later financial editor of the Christchurch Star, recalls finishing second in the first Wigram race in…25 Jan 1979Thrilling action seen in first race at WigramRecalls the first Wigram race in 1949, a 105-mile NZ championship road race won by Morrie Proctor (Wellington) in a…19 Jan 1980Racers of yesteryearColin Bryant talks to Hec Green, winner of the 1950 Wigram race, about early Wigram racing.23 Jan 1980Big changes in motor racing over 30 yearsA feature comparing motor racing at Wigram in 1949 with 1980: early drivers wore pudding-basin crash hats and goggles,…20 Jan 1983Historic Invicta racer being restored after 27 yearsA 1933 sports-model Invicta, which stood unused in a Christchurch garage for 27 years, is being restored by an…20 Jan 1989The trophy anniversary that is notPeter Greenslade explains why the 1989 Lady Wigram Trophy was not the 40th anniversary: the first Christchurch races…

From the reports

• Timed qualifying for the first Wigram road race was a flying lap of the 2.1-mile circuit; F. B. Bennett's Invicta was quickest at 1min 53.4sec. (26 Feb 1949)
• Lap leaders in the 1949 race: Proctor 23 laps, Green 11 laps, Bennett and Roycroft the remainder (Roycroft 6 laps). (26 Feb 1949)
• Lap leaders in the 1949 Wigram race: Proctor 23 laps, Green 11, Bennett 10, Roycroft 6; each lap led earned a prize of 1 pound. (28 Feb 1949)
• Bennett took the lead on the thirtieth lap of the first Wigram road race; Proctor captured it in the last few laps. (26 Feb 1949)
• Bennett was less than a minute behind Proctor, who took the lead only in the last few laps of the first Wigram road race. (Mar 1949)
• Wigram's first race in 1949 was won by Morrie Proctor's Riley 9 at 66.17 mph; Frank Bennett's 4.5-litre Invicta had the fastest lap at 68 mph. (14 Jan 1969)
• Frank Bennett's 4.5 litre Invicta could reach about 200 km/h on the Wigram back straight in 1949. (29 Jan 1977)
• Morrie Proctor won the 1949 race at 65.67 mph, 26 seconds ahead of Frank Bennett. (25 Jan 1979)
• Frank Bennett paid about $1200 for the Invicta in the 1940s and raced it at the first Wigram event in 1949, finishing second after leading by a lap. (20 Jan 1983)

Built automatically from OCR of the clippings, so a name printed two ways may still be split across two profiles, and some results may be missing. Spotted a mistake?