Ken Wharton

Results

Lap times and speeds

Raced against most often

In the clippings (41)

31 Dec 1953Grand Prix at Ardmore: Maybach confirmed as winnerThe official placings of the 1954 Ardmore International Grand Prix confirmed Stan Jones (Maybach Special) as winner…31 Dec 1953Motor race at Wigram: world's leading cars enteredKen Wharton (B.R.M.), Tony Gaze (H.W.M.) and Peter Whitehead (Ferrari) will race in the 100-mile Lady Wigram Trophy at…31 Dec 1953B.R.M. to start at WigramKen Wharton confirmed the B.R.M. will start in the Lady Wigram Trophy on 6 February 1954 despite protests over the…29 Jan 1954Overseas drivers should do best in trophy raceKen Wharton (B.R.M.), Peter Whitehead (supercharged 2.4-litre Ferrari) and Tony Gaze (H.W.M.) are expected to lead the…1 Feb 1954Driver of B.R.M. arrives: Ken Wharton in ChristchurchKen Wharton, driver of the 200mph B.R.M., arrived in Christchurch on 30 January 1954 for the Lady Wigram Trophy.3 Feb 1954International Lady Wigram Trophy race, 100 milesAdvertisement for the International Lady Wigram Trophy, 100 miles, at Wigram on Saturday 6 February 1954, featuring…3 Feb 1954B.R.M. will do 150 m.p.h. on SaturdayInterview with Ken Wharton: he expects 48 laps of Wigram in the 100-mile race with speeds around 150mph on the…3 Feb 1954B.R.M. arrives in Christchurch: test drive along runwayThe B.R.M. arrived at Christchurch Airport on an RNZAF Bristol Freighter from Paraparaumu and 37-year-old Ken Wharton…3 Feb 1954English car in Wigram motor raceThe 200mph B.R.M., displayed in a Christchurch shop after arriving by air from Wellington, with Ken Wharton at the…5 Feb 1954Decision on S bend in car race may affect resultThe Motor Racing Club would decide after practice whether to eliminate the slow S bend from the 2.1-mile Wigram…5 Feb 1954Spares arrive for the B.R.M.Advertisement/photo: delivery of one of ten cases of B.R.M.6 Feb 1954Ken Wharton looked happy after one-lap try-outKen Wharton, driver of Britain's B.R.M., with his pit crew after taking the car for a one-lap try-out of the Wigram…6 Feb 1954P. Whitehead wins Lady Wigram car race in FerrariPeter Whitehead (Ferrari) won the 100-mile Lady Wigram Trophy at Wigram from Tony Gaze (H.W.M.), while Ken Wharton's…8 Feb 1954Wharton guides B.R.M. round a turnKen Wharton cornering at speed in Britain's 200,000 pound B.R.M.8 Feb 1954Wigram car race to P. WhiteheadPeter Whitehead, English woolbroker and farmer, won the fastest car race ever run in the South Island, the 48-lap,…8 Feb 1954The winners and the man who pushed his car homePhoto montage of the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy: Peter Whitehead's Ferrari winning, Tony Gaze's H.W.M.8 Feb 1954Whitehead wins Wigram Trophy: B.R.M. breaks down near finishAt least 15,000 saw the fastest car race ever run in the South Island.13 Feb 1954Overseas drivers prove: racing drivers provide many thrills at WigramStar-Sun sports commentary on the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy: the overseas drivers (Whitehead, Gaze, Wharton) gave the…20 Feb 1954Look - 100 miles an hour and no hands!Ken Wharton, driving the B.R.M. at 100mph on the back straight at Wigram, takes both hands off the wheel to adjust his…1 Aug 1953B.R.M. may compete in Wigram raceBritain's 200,000 pound B.R.M., to be driven by Ken Wharton, may start in the Lady Wigram Trophy at Wigram if the…24 Nov 1955First international race for Lady Wigram TrophyA history of the Lady Wigram Trophy from its first running in 1949 to 1954, noting the 1956 race would be the first…19 Jan 1956Racing cars arrive: bodywork damaged in transitThe Ferraris of Tony Gaze and Peter Whitehead were dented in transit from Auckland and sent to city panelbeaters…5 Jan 1957Racing driver's death: 400 at funeral serviceAbout 400 people attended the funeral service for British racing driver Ken Wharton at the Church of the Holy…18 May 1956N.Z. car-racing titles: choice of overseas driversPromoters of the five international races in New Zealand in early 1957 had to choose which overseas drivers to…18 May 1956£1500 in prizes for Wigram Trophy meetingThe Motor Racing Club's prospectus for the third international Lady Wigram Trophy on 26 January 1957 offered £1500…18 Dec 1956Four English drivers in Lady Wigram Trophy raceThe Motor Racing Club announced the 1957 Lady Wigram Trophy on 26 January would have Peter Whitehead, Ken Wharton,…5 Jan 1957Wigram Trophy car race: entries for event on January 26Entries for the third international Lady Wigram Trophy, Redex sports race, open car race and saloon race on 26 January…25 Jan 1958Fourth international race at Wigram todayA race-day preview noting the three-year overseas monopoly of the Lady Wigram Trophy could end, with Lewis-Evans…19 Dec 1958Sporting notebook: BRM for WigramAfter the Teretonga Park Gold Star meeting, BRM said it would bring its Formula 1 car for Ron Flockhart to the Lady…22 Jan 1959English drivers have won fourSummary of the nine Lady Wigram Trophy races since 1949 (none in 1955 while the track was resealed): four won by…22 Jan 1959Wigram has seen famous overseas driversR. M. Carr notes that four overseas drivers who raced in the Wigram internationals were later killed: Ken Wharton…22 Jan 1959Lady Wigram Trophy: anyone's guessPreview of the fifth international Lady Wigram Trophy: unlike recent years, the winner cannot dictate terms, and the…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…19 Jan 1960Ten years of trophy winners at WigramA list of every Lady Wigram Trophy winner from 1949 to 1959 with distances, times and average speeds, plus the…17 Jan 1961These men won in past yearsList of Lady Wigram Trophy winners 1949-1960 and circuit and lap record details: lap record 1:20.8 (94.28 mph) by Jack…16 Jan 1962Fast times have been set at Wigram by past winnersTable of past Lady Wigram Trophy winners with race times, average speeds and fastest laps from 1949 to 1961.19 Jan 1963Attendance dwindles: crowd fewer than 1962Attendance at the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting disappointed the Motor Racing Club; no official figure was available…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…24 Aug 1993Kelford Kams founder departs but special business continuesKelford Kams, the camshaft business founded over 24 years earlier by Ron Rutherford and Norm Kelly, continues under…22 Apr 1994End of an era evokes fond motor racing memoriesHistory of motor racing at Wigram, prompted by the Motor Racing Club's decision not to apply for a 1995 international…

From the reports

• Ken Wharton's B.R.M. was sold to Mr A. G. B. Owen of England; it was flown from Wellington to Christchurch on 3 February 1954. (31 Dec 1953)
• Ken Wharton said the Wigram circuit resembled Goodwood and expected to lap at 92 to 95mph in the B.R.M. in the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy. (1 Feb 1954)
• Wharton crashed and wrote off a B.R.M. at Albi in France in 1953. (1 Feb 1954)
• Wharton changed gear 1500 times in the 210-mile Ardmore race in January 1954. (1 Feb 1954)
• Ken Wharton drove the B.R.M. along the Christchurch Airport runway at about 150mph on 2 February 1954. (3 Feb 1954)
• Ken Wharton's B.R.M. led for 41 of 48 laps of the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy before its engine failed and he pushed it over the line for third. (6 Feb 1954)
• Wharton took pole for the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy with a practice lap of about 1min 23sec (about 90mph). (6 Feb 1954)
• Wharton's B.R.M. reached 150mph down the mile-long Wigram back straight in 1954. (8 Feb 1954)
• Practice laps at Wigram in 1954: Wharton 1min 23.5sec, Whitehead 1min 26sec, Gaze 1min 26.5sec, Zambucka 1min 33.3sec, Archibald 1min 33.8sec. (8 Feb 1954)
• Ken Wharton's B.R.M. needed a gallon of oil at its pit stop after lap 42 of the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy. (13 Feb 1954)
• On 8 February 1954 Ken Wharton's BRM reached up to 180 mph on the straights but broke down within yards of the finish. (24 Nov 1955)
• Ken Wharton's funeral service was held in Auckland on 16 January 1957, attended by about 400 people. (5 Jan 1957)

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?