Ron Rutherford

Results

Lap times and speeds

Raced against most often

In the clippings (55)

27 Nov 1954H. Green breaks Car Club recordHec Green cut the Rakaia track record from 32.05sec to 30.2sec at the Rakaia Car Club meeting; the track was a shade…21 Jan 1956Car racing at Wigram to-dayIn the open car handicap Barry Brown (Austin A40 Special) led six laps before A.23 Jan 1956Steady race by Wigram leadersThe 150-mile Lady Wigram Trophy at Wigram on Saturday 21 January 1956 was dominated by the two red Ferraris of Peter…27 Jan 1958Lady Wigram Trophy won by Scott-BrownOne-handed Scotsman Archie Scott-Brown dominated the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy in Brian Lister's Lister-Jaguar, setting…29 Aug 1958Dust and stones hazard at Birdling's Flat racesAbout 3000 watched saloon, sports and racing cars on a one-mile grass circuit at Birdlings Flat, organised by the…24 Jan 1959Christchurch driver wins 50-mile sports car raceFrank Cantwell of Christchurch won the 50-mile sports car race, the premier event of the morning at the Lady Wigram…26 Jan 1959Lady Wigram Trophy race to Flockhart in BRMRon Flockhart (BRM) won the fifth Lady Wigram Trophy at an average of about 89 mph, 2.7sec ahead of Jack Brabham's…26 Jan 1959R. Flockhart wins Wigram Trophy: fast time and thrilling finishFor the fifth year in five races a British driver won the Lady Wigram Trophy: Ron Flockhart's BRM beat Jack Brabham's…20 Jan 1960Home-built specials still find favourLocally built specials remain popular at Wigram, led by the new Stanton Corvette of Charles and Maurice Stanton and…23 Jan 1960Results of car races at WigramResults of the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting, January 23, 1960: Jack Brabham won the trophy from David Piper and Ian…25 Jan 1960Results: Lady Wigram Trophy meeting, 23 January 1960Full results of the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting: the 150-mile trophy, the Motor Racing Club Trophy scratch race,…20 Jan 1961Fastest Wigram lap goes to ClarkWet qualifying for the seventh Lady Wigram Trophy meeting saw Jim Clark (Team Lotus) set the fastest time, 1:39.6,…10 Dec 1960Wigram entries and motoring notesColumn of entries and news: early sports car entries for Wigram on January 21 (Austin Healey Sprite, Austin Healey…23 Jan 1961Big Wigram race: Brabham first, Moss secondJack Brabham won the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy in a works Cooper in appalling weather, after staving off three serious…23 Jan 1961Brabham wins Lady Wigram TrophyReigning world champion Jack Brabham led from the first lap to win his second successive Lady Wigram Trophy, the race…24 Feb 1961Rutherford's R.A. ZephyrProfile of Christchurch driver Rutherford's reliable home-built R.A.17 Jan 1962Racing Club Championship entriesEntry list for the Motor Racing Club Championship held during the January 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting.19 Jan 1963Stanton wins Motor Racing Club championship; Archibald first home in saloon handicapMorning events at the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting.21 Jan 1963Cottle-Stanton duel in club championshipThe 32-mile Motor Racing Club Championship at the 1963 Lady Wigram meeting was won by M.14 Jan 1964Entries for the Lady Wigram Trophy race meetingEntry lists for the 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting, covering the Trophy race heats, the Motor Racing Club…14 Jan 1964Minor eventsPreview of the saloon, sports and club championship races on the 1964 Lady Wigram programme.17 Jan 1964Motor Racing Club championship heatsResults of the two heats (about 20 miles) of the 1964 Motor Racing Club Championship.18 Jan 1964Wigram motor-racing resultsResults of the 1964 Wigram meeting: the Lady Wigram Trophy heats and final, Wigram Invitation, M.R.C.20 Jan 1964M.R.C. Championship, motor-cycles and Wigram InvitationThe Motor Racing Club championship was dominated by B.20 Jan 1965Sports, specials: Motor Racing Club championshipPreview of the 1965 Motor Racing Club championship for sports cars and specials at Wigram.20 Jan 1965Entry listsEntry lists for the 1965 Wigram meeting: the all-comers saloon car race, the Gold Leaf production saloon race, the…23 Jan 1965Clark breaks Wigram lap record in practiceJim Clark, driving his 2.5-litre Lotus-Climax, broke the Wigram lap record in practice time trials with 1:26.0 (about…23 Jan 1965McLaren, Clark win heats; new recordBruce McLaren and Jim Clark won their eleven-lap preliminary heats for the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy with ease.23 Jan 1965Saloon car race a thrillerThe second heat of the all-comers saloon race at the 1965 Lady Wigram meeting was a thriller between Aucklanders…25 Jan 1965Clark easily wins Lady Wigram Trophy raceJim Clark's 2.5 litre Lotus-Climax won the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy by more than 10 seconds from Bruce McLaren's…25 Jan 1965Clark rides his luck to win Wigram raceClark built a lead of nearly half a minute in the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy, then noticed falling oil pressure in his…19 Jan 1966Excellent racing forecastPreview of the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy, expected to be a close tussle between world champion Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax…20 Jan 1968Clark achieves 101 m.p.h. race average speedJim Clark (Lotus-Ford V8) won the second 11-lap preliminary for the 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy at an average of 101.7…22 Jan 1968Clark wins Wigram, collects side prizeAbout 30,000 people saw Jim Clark win his third Lady Wigram Trophy (after 1965 and 1967) at just under 103 mph in the…16 Jan 1971It's McRae: twin recordWellington's Graham McRae won the 17th International Lady Wigram Trophy race from start to finish in his…18 Jan 1971Fahey's day in saloon eventsManurewa's Paul Fahey won three saloon races at the 1971 Lady Wigram meeting: the Bank of New South Wales championship…17 Jan 1973Saloons should provide much excitementPreview of the saloon car events at the 1973 Lady Wigram meeting, in which Castrol GTX, Bank of New South Wales and…20 Jan 1973Francevic's Mazda hits 118mph for winRobbie Francevic's rotary Mazda RX2 won the Castrol GTX Group 2 and 3 saloon race, the first event at the 1973 Lady…22 Jan 1973McRae wins exciting race for Lady Wigram TrophyGraham McRae won his third successive Lady Wigram Trophy in a record 52min 33.8sec (114.277 mph), after a race in…18 Jan 1974McRae needs 120 mph lap for pole positionDrivers wanting pole or front row for the 1974 NZ Grand Prix at Wigram would need a flying lap of about 120 mph in…21 Jan 1974Saloon races excitingClose, exciting saloon racing at Wigram on Sunday, with honours in the top three events shared by Graham Baker (PDL…21 Jan 1974McCormack wins his second NZ Grand PrixJohn McCormack (Australia) won the 100-mile New Zealand Grand Prix at Wigram in his three-year-old Elfin MR5 Repco V8,…22 Jan 1974Wigram resultsFull results of the 1974 New Zealand Grand Prix and Lady Wigram Trophy meeting at Wigram, won by John McCormack (Elfin…23 Jul 1975Old Lady woos Europe's fast menThe Lady Wigram Trophy motor race on 18 January 1976 would have a revised layout with the pits and paddock moved to…15 Jan 1976Lap record at Wigram may go in match raceThe 99.124 mph Wigram saloon car record set in 1975 by Australian John McCormack in his Repco V8 Chrysler Charger was…23 Jul 1975Wigram date announcedThe Lady Wigram Trophy race will be held on a Sunday in January 1976, with the meeting date given as January 25, and…1 Feb 1977Official passes WigramWigram has not lost the annual Lady Wigram Trophy race: the Motor Racing Club was given permission to use the track…21 Jan 1978Wigram transformedNext Friday afternoon, 100-plus workers and Motor Racing Club officials will transform Wigram airfield into a racing…28 Jan 1978Formula 1 offers to RosbergKeke Rosberg was reported to have received tempting Formula 1 offers for the next season, though he said he would…21 Jan 1981No more 'cheapos'Formula Pacific had become expensive: a top car cost about $80,000 in 1981 compared with around $25,000 three years…20 Jan 1984Argument not exhaustedNeville Crichton, disqualified winner of the ANZ touring car championship race at Manfeild, said his team's…3 Feb 1984Motor racing's body blowThe New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board withdrew its roughly $60,000 sponsorship (under the Just Juice name) of…23 Jul 1993Ron Rutherford moves to the Gold CoastProfile of Christchurch motoring identity Ron Rutherford, who moved permanently to Australia's Gold Coast in 1993.24 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…8 Jan 2002A tale of a motorsport careerProfile of Ron Rutherford, race driver, rally driver, businessman and co-founder of Woodford Glen, who is now in…

From the reports

• At Waimate in early 1961 Rutherford's Zephyr-engined R.A. special took third in the race for New Zealand specials and racing cars, covering 21 miles in slightly over 21 minutes on a greasy track. (24 Feb 1961)
• In the 1968 Motor Racing Club championship only thirteen of about twenty starters finished, and Barry Keen's Begg beat Ron Rutherford's Lotus 23 by 0.4 sec. (20 Jan 1968)
• Group 1 points after the race: L. Leonard 40, K. Anderson 22, R. Coppins 17, R. Rutherford 13. (20 Jan 1973)
• Rutherford drove the Lady Wigram Trophy pace car in 1973. (22 Jan 1973)
• Six saloon car races were programmed for the January 1976 Wigram meeting with the best fields ever, according to Ron Rutherford. (15 Jan 1976)
• Jack Brewer, president of the Motor Racing Club for two-thirds of its life, stood down in 1975; Ron Rutherford became president. (23 Jul 1975)
• Ron Rutherford began racing in 1952 in a sprint at McCormacks Bay in a Ford Popular. (23 Jul 1993)
• Rutherford's 260M Zephyr was an R.A. special originally with a supercharged Vauxhall engine, later a Ford Zephyr engine with a Raymond Mays head, developed over about 10 years. (23 Jul 1993)
• Rutherford bought his Lotus 23B from Frank Williams, later Formula One team boss; Jim Clark told him all 23Bs handled that way. (23 Jul 1993)
• At the 1972 Wigram meeting Rutherford won a Castrol GTX race in his Chrysler Charger from Alan Moffat's Falcon GTHO, and finished second in the 1972 GTX series to Leo Leonard. (23 Jul 1993)
• Rutherford held the saloon lap record at Ruapuna for several years in an A40 Farina fitted with Lotus Cortina mechanicals. (23 Jul 1993)
• Woodford Glen speedway, built in 1975 by Rutherford and Errol Inwood, cost about $150,000 against an estimate of $70,000 because its straights were laid out too long. (23 Jul 1993)

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?