Wigram TrophyMotor racing at Wigram airfield · Christchurch · 1949–2000
Knowledge base · 1916–2024

The story of Wigram

How a flying school on the Canterbury Plains became the home of New Zealand's oldest motor race meeting, who raced there, why it mattered, and what happened to it. Every fact has a source; where the sources disagree, the page says so.

Sir Henry Wigram and the airfield

Sir Henry Wigram (1857–1934) came to Christchurch from London in 1883, made his fortune in business, and was Mayor of Christchurch from 1902 to 1904.[1] He believed New Zealand needed its own pilots, and in 1916 he set up the Canterbury (NZ) Aviation Company, a private flying school with its aerodrome at Sockburn, on the western edge of the city. By February 1919 it had trained 182 pilots.[2]

In 1923 the Government took over the aerodrome, helped by a further £10,000 gift from Wigram, and it became the home of New Zealand's military flying.[3] It was named Wigram in his honour. Charles Kingsford Smith landed there on 10 September 1928 to complete the first flight across the Tasman Sea.[4] Wigram was knighted in 1926, and after the RNZAF became a separate service in 1937 the base was RNZAF Station Wigram, the air force's flying-training school for most of the next sixty years.[1][3]

Sources differ on the day in 1916 the aviation company was founded: 20 September according to Wikipedia, 22 August in the Christchurch City Libraries timeline.[3][4]

How racing came to an air base

After the war, Canterbury motorists wanted a proper road race. The Canterbury Car Club won the right to run the first New Zealand Championship Road Race, planned for a three-mile course on public roads at Harewood in February 1949. The clippings from January 1949 describe the preparations: teams from Auckland, Wellington, Nelson and Dunedin, factory-built racers coming south by chartered Dakota, and "scouts trying to break through the curtains of secrecy" around rivals' workshops (29 January 1949).

The road course fell through. The police ruled the county could not legally close the roads, and the Air Force Museum adds that a golf club threatened an injunction. Organiser Jack Brewer took the problem to Prime Minister Peter Fraser, who suggested Wigram. The Defence Minister agreed, and the station commander, Wing Commander Arthur "Hank" Greenaway, was ordered to make the base available. Cars were not allowed on until 4pm on the Thursday, and the airfield had to be cleared after racing on the Saturday.[5][6]

The race was run on Saturday 26 February 1949. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people came, many without paying, to watch 22 cars. Morrie Proctor of Wellington won in a Riley.[5][7] The second championship road race, on 25 February 1950, went to Hec Green in his Wolseley Special, with Sybil Lupp's MG second.[8]

Accounts of the 1949 distance vary: "100 laps, 105 miles" in some sources, 50 laps of a 2.1-mile circuit in others.[5][6] Fifty laps of about 2.1 miles is the figure that fits 105 miles.

The Motor Racing Club and the trophy

After the first two races the Canterbury Car Club turned to other venues, and a new club, the Motor Racing Club, was formed to keep racing at Wigram. It ran the meeting from 1951 to the end.[8] Agnes, Lady Wigram, Sir Henry's widow, agreed to be the meeting's patron, and the Lady Wigram Trophy was first presented in 1951. Les Moore won it in an Alfa Romeo Tipo B on 31 March that year.[5][6] These clippings are the club's own scrapbook, 1,112 pages of cuttings kept from 1948 to 2004. The club's history is told in Murray McFadden's book Wigram Motor Racing 1949–1994: The History of the Motor Racing Club.[9]

Some sources call the 1949 race the first Lady Wigram Trophy, and the Christchurch City Libraries page says Lady Wigram presented a trophy in 1949. Most race records date the trophy from 1951, as this site does.[6][8][10]

The circuit

Wigram was never a permanent circuit. Each summer a course was marked out on the runways, taxiways and perimeter roads, with straw bales and marker tyres. Its most famous feature was the main straight, about 1.3 km of runway, which made Wigram a "horsepower circuit" where cars reached their top speeds. Corners included Bombay Bend and Hangar Bend.[11][7] Spectators watched from the infield and the grass beside the runways, and in some years crowds crossed the track during practice.[7]

The layout changed over the years, but no source gives the dates of each change. Published lap lengths range from 2.1 to 2.3 miles (3.4–3.7 km). The Motor Sport database gives 2.116 miles for 1949–1963 and 2.3 miles from 1964, when a new loop was added at the third corner.[10][12]

  • Original layout lap record: 1:18.4, Jack Brabham, Brabham BT4-Climax, 1963.[10]
  • Outright lap record: 1:03.6, Peter Gethin, Chevron B24-Chevrolet F5000, 1974.[11]

Every lap time printed in the clippings is on the lap times page.

The Lady Wigram Trophy

For forty years the trophy race was the centrepiece of the Christchurch summer. The full list of winners shows how the race changed:

  • 1949–1953, Formula Libre. Home-built specials and pre-war Grand Prix cars: Proctor, Green, Les Moore and Ron Roycroft.
  • 1954–1963, the internationals. Peter Whitehead's Ferraris, Archie Scott Brown's Lister-Jaguar, Ron Flockhart's BRM, then the rear-engined Coopers and Lotuses of Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss and Bruce McLaren. There was no race in 1955, when the runway was resurfaced.[12]
  • 1964–1975, the Tasman Series. A round of the Tasman championship every January. Jim Clark won three times, Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt once each. From 1970 the F5000 cars took over, and Graham McRae won four times.[11]
  • 1976–1993, F5000, then Formula Pacific. New Zealand's international summer series and a stepping-stone for future Grand Prix drivers: Keke Rosberg, Roberto Moreno, Allen Berg and Davy Jones. Paul Radisich (1987) and Craig Baird (three wins) were the local stars.
  • 1990–1991, away at Ruapuna. While Wigram's runways were resealed, the meeting moved to the Canterbury Car Club's Ruapuna Park, and Craig Baird and Ken Smith won the trophy there. It returned to the airfield in 1992 (The Press, 26 January 1990). Published winners lists don't mention the move.
  • 1994, the last at Wigram. Paul Stokell won in a Reynard-Holden.[13]

Who raced there

Few circuits of any size can match Wigram's list of names. Formula One world champions who raced there: Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill, John Surtees, Denny Hulme, Phil Hill and Keke Rosberg. Other Grand Prix drivers: Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, Peter Gethin, Brian Redman, Teo Fabi, Andrea de Cesaris, Roberto Moreno, Christian Danner and David Brabham. Americans who raced there include Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Davy Jones and, in the 1993 TraNZam, Scott Lagasse and Chris Kneifel.[7][14]

Most of the field, every year, was local. The drivers page lists everyone the papers named, from the specials builders of the 1950s to the saloon-car heroes of the 1970s and 80s.

More than one race

A Wigram meeting filled a weekend: sports cars, saloons, Formula Juniors and Formula Fords, historic cars and, in the early years, motorcycles. Open-class saloons were a crowd favourite: American V8s like Mustangs and Camaros, Holden Monaros, and the rotary Mazdas that out-cornered them. They raced in the Castrol GTX and Ace-OSCA championships of the early 1970s and later in the Open Saloon Car Association's own series.[15] The results pages have every support race the clippings printed.

The end of the airfield circuit

In the early 1990s, while the Government's defence review was deciding the future of RNZAF Station Wigram, the Christchurch papers ran news, editorials and letters about the base almost every week (1992–1993 clippings). The last Lady Wigram Trophy race on the airfield was run in the rain on 23 January 1994, and Australian Paul Stokell won it in a Formula Brabham car (clipping).[13]

In April 1994 the Motor Racing Club announced that it would not apply to hold the meeting in 1995, ending the event at Wigram (15 April 1994). A Press retrospective a few days later argued that it wasn't the threatened closure of the base that ended racing there, but the new Formula Brabham cars and the track-safety inspectors who came with them. A temporary circuit on a working airfield could no longer meet their barrier requirements, and crowds had stopped growing (20 April 1994). The international round moved to Ruapuna as the Ruapuna International Trophy, and the Lady Wigram Trophy lapsed (January 1995).

RNZAF Station Wigram closed in September 1995, with a service at Christchurch Cathedral, a parade with an RNZAF flypast on 14 September, and a closing ball (9 August 1995). The closure was controversial, because Sir Henry's land had been given for flying "in perpetuity".[4][16] The Government's asking price of $16–19 million, against council valuations of $8–10 million, drew angry editorials (1995). In 1997 Ngāi Tahu Property bought most of the land.[4]

The club kept the memory alive. Wigram Glory Days Relived, a two-day classic meeting at Ruapuna on 31 October and 1 November 1998, brought back cars from Wigram's great years, led by two Auckland F5000s, Shayne Windelburn's Lola and Stuart Lush's Begg (notices, programme). The last race on the airfield was a drivers-only farewell classic meeting on the 3.87 km circuit on 9 February 2000. It was closed to the public, though about 3,000 people came anyway, fifty-one years after the first race (10 February 2000, "The Last Wigram").[11]

In March 2004, Bruce McLaren's widow, Patty McLaren-Brickett, returned the Lady Wigram Trophy he had won in 1963 to the Motor Racing Club (6 March 2004). The trophy is raced for again at Ruapuna (now Euromarque Motorsport Park): it returned there in 2003 and was awarded again in February 2024, thirty years after the last Wigram race.[13][17] The airfield closed to flying on 1 March 2009, and the suburb of Wigram Skies has been built over it since, its main street, The Runway, following the old main straight. The Air Force Museum of New Zealand, opened in 1987, still stands on the northern edge of the old aerodrome.[3][4]

Sources differ in places. The clippings date the base's closing parade 14 September 1995, and one notice gives 15 September as the closure. For when the airfield closed to flying, Wikipedia's Wigram Aerodrome article and the City Libraries timeline give 1 March 2009, while others say September 2008. One web source puts the last race in 1995, but the archive's own February 2000 reports show the farewell meeting was in 2000.[4][11][12]

Why Wigram matters

  • It was where New Zealand motor racing grew up. The 1949 championship road race was the country's first major race, and the Lady Wigram Trophy became its longest-running motor race trophy.[5]
  • It brought the world's best to Christchurch. For a generation of New Zealanders, Wigram was where they could see Clark, Stewart, Brabham and Moss up close.
  • It was a stepping-stone. Local drivers such as Bruce McLaren, Graham McRae, Paul Radisich and Craig Baird raced the best here, and young internationals used it on their way to Formula One.
  • It was a community effort. Every year club volunteers and air force staff turned a working air base into a race track and back again.
  • It lives on. The trophy, the Wigram Revival meetings at Ruapuna, and the street names of Wigram Skies all keep the memory alive.

From the clippings

Facts the newspapers recorded at the time, picked out of the archive: crowds, records, firsts, accidents and changes to the circuit. Each one links to its clipping.

1940s (21)

  • The first New Zealand road racing championship at Wigram in 1949 was won by Morrie Proctor in 1 hour 35 minutes over 105 miles, before a crowd of about 25,000. 22 Jan 1949
  • The 1949 Wigram circuit of just over two miles, formed from runways and connecting roads, was the first real course used for motor racing in New Zealand. 22 Jan 1949
  • Lady Wigram presented the Lady Wigram Trophy for the first time in 1956, a year before she died aged 96. 22 Jan 1949
  • The first New Zealand championship road race was moved to Wigram aerodrome on 17 February 1949 after police banned the planned Russley road circuit. 17 Feb 1949
  • The Canterbury Car Club said the 1949 Wigram circuit would be sealed for its whole distance. 17 Feb 1949
  • The first Wigram road race (26 February 1949) was a 105-mile event over a 2.1-mile circuit, increased from thirty to fifty laps after the move from the Russley road circuit. 17 Feb 1949
  • The 1949 Wigram circuit was just over two miles, with the start-finish line and pits on a smaller straight after a sharp bend, and a main straight on the eastern side. 22 Feb 1949
  • Mrs S. Lupp of Otago was the only woman among the 22 entries in the first Wigram 100-mile road race in February 1949. 25 Feb 1949
  • Five hundred bales of straw protected corners at the first Wigram road race in 1949. 25 Feb 1949
  • St John Ambulance men, ambulances and the Wigram fire-fighting unit stood by at the first Wigram road race in February 1949. 26 Feb 1949
  • 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
  • The first NZ road racing championship at Wigram (26 February 1949) was 105 miles over 50 laps, with speeds up to about 100 mph on the straight. 26 Feb 1949
  • Crowd for the 1949 Wigram race was estimated at 20,000 to 30,000, and many avoided the admission charge. 26 Feb 1949
  • The average age of the cars in the first Wigram race was over 10 years, some nearly 20, because of war and import restrictions. 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
  • The first NZ motor-car road racing championship at Wigram in 1949 was over 105 miles (50 laps) and was expected to become an annual fixture. 9 Mar 1949
  • Four of the first five in the 1949 Wigram handicap event were in the first six to finish the championship. Mar 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
  • Only the total times for the first four finishers were officially taken in the first Wigram road race on 26 February 1949. 26 Feb 1949
  • The 1949 Wigram race attracted an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 spectators, and the Canterbury Car Club found catering for the public easier at the air station than on the Harewood roads. 9 Mar 1949

1950s (144)

  • The 1950 NZ road racing championship at Wigram was set for 25 February 1950 with prize money of 650 pounds plus challenge trophies. 25 Nov 1949
  • Over 20,000 watched the first NZ road racing championship at Wigram in February 1949, and the 1950 crowd was expected to be larger. 9 Feb 1950
  • The S-bend at the Wigram circuit slowed drivers to about 20 mph in 1950, a popular spectator spot. 25 Feb 1950
  • Coglan said at Easter racing meetings at Bathurst in Australia as many as 25,000 spectators would attend and Wigram's pits were too close to the hangar at the end of the straight. 1 Mar 1950
  • The Free Lance put attendance at the 1950 Wigram championship at over 13,000. 8 Mar 1950
  • Bathurst, with its mountain circuit built before the war, drew about 25,000 spectators to Easter meetings. 21 Mar 1951
  • In 1951 there were three Italian cars at Wigram for the first time: Sulman's Maserati and Moore's two Alfa Romeos. 21 Mar 1951
  • Les Moore won the 1951 Lady Wigram race in a record 1hr 27min 41sec, averaging 68 mph, in the Motor Racing Club's first Wigram event. 31 Mar 1951
  • Les Moore's 1951 Lady Wigram win was a record average of 68 mph under appalling weather; 18 cars started. 31 Mar 1951
  • The 1951 Wigram race drew an estimated 8000 spectators and about 50 Papanui RSA members acted as collectors and officials. 2 Apr 1951
  • In the 1951 fastest lap competition at Wigram, G. C. Smith's Ford V8 Special was quickest on 1min 51.6sec over the 2.1-mile circuit; all other times were over two minutes except those listed. 2 Apr 1951
  • Hec Green has a first and a fourth in the first three Wigram races; Les Moore won in 1951. 16 Feb 1952
  • Les Moore's 1min 48.71sec broke Tom Sulman's NZ championship hill-climb record on the Governors Bay-Sign of the Kiwi course within a month of 1951. 16 Feb 1952
  • The 1952 Wigram meeting was the first to use two 25-mile heats and a 50-mile final for the Lady Wigram Trophy, partly because tyres would not last 100 miles on the non-skid airstrip surface. 22 Feb 1952
  • Bob Gibbons set a new Wigram lap record of 1min 38sec (77.6 mph) for the 2.1-mile circuit in the 1952 Lady Wigram Trophy first heat. 23 Feb 1952
  • The 1952 Lady Wigram Trophy was the fastest, most gruelling and exciting race yet seen at Wigram, with a crowd of 14,000 to 15,000. 23 Feb 1952
  • Les Moore won the Lady Wigram Trophy in 1951 and 1952; his 1952 average lap speed beat the 1950 Coglan lap record by 2 1/3 seconds. 25 Feb 1952
  • In July 1952 the Government advised car clubs that RNZAF airstrips at Wigram and Ohakea would not be available for racing in future. 12 Apr 1952
  • In December 1952 the Minister of Defence noted an agreement to allow one day of motor racing a year at RNZAF Station Wigram. 19 Dec 1952
  • The article looked ahead to the 150-mile New Zealand road racing championship at Ardmore (Mairehau circuit) and the 50-mile Lady Wigram Trophy race in January/February 1953. 26 Dec 1952
  • Consent was given for a motor-cycle race meeting at the RNZAF Station Wigram on 24 January 1953. 19 Dec 1952
  • Four major car races had been held at Wigram before January 1953; this was the first for motor-cycles. 21 Jan 1953
  • The fastest car race at Wigram to January 1953 was in 1952, won by Les Moore at 76.79mph in a supercharged 2.9-litre Alfa Romeo. 21 Jan 1953
  • The Wigram circuit is 2.1 miles; the car course cut across the concrete parking strip in front of the hangars, which motorcycles avoided. 21 Jan 1953
  • Hec Green held the Wigram car lap record at 82.8mph (1min 32sec) in the supercharged Vanguard Special in 1952. 21 Jan 1953
  • The 1953 Wigram motor-cycle meeting was the first for motorcycles on the 2.1-mile Wigram circuit; Hec Green's car lap of 82.8mph was still the record. 24 Jan 1953
  • Heavy rain cancelled the final ten-lap handicap at the 24 January 1953 Wigram motor-cycle meeting. 24 Jan 1953
  • T. McCleary's 5min 30sec for three laps in the 350cc race was the fastest race time at the 24 January 1953 Wigram meeting. 24 Jan 1953
  • Rain forced abandonment of the Wigram motor-cycle meeting soon after 3pm on 24 January 1953; about 3,000 attended. 24 Jan 1953
  • Les Moore holds the Wigram race-average record in a 2.9-litre P3 Alfa Romeo; Hec Green holds the lap record at 82mph in the Vanguard special. 24 Jan 1953
  • The Government had earlier said there would be no more motor racing on aerodromes because of Air Force training expansion, but clubs were granted a concession for another year. 10 Dec 1952
  • Des Wild's Alta set the second fastest lap in the Mairehau race in January 1953. 14 Feb 1953
  • The first race meeting at Wigram was about five years before 1953, with only about two entries able to exceed 100mph. 25 Feb 1953
  • Christchurch club officials credited the use of the RNZAF Wigram circuit as key to racing growth in the early 1950s. 25 Feb 1953
  • The 1953 Lady Wigram meeting drew record entries: 23 for the trophy race and 22 for the handicap. 25 Feb 1953
  • About nine thousand spectators watched the 1953 Lady Wigram Trophy race. 28 Feb 1953
  • The D. W. Wild Trophy was awarded to the first car home in the up to 1500cc category in the 1953 Lady Wigram Trophy; Hec McLean's Cooper won it. 28 Feb 1953
  • Bob Gibbons set a new Wigram lap record of 1min 33sec (81.9mph) in a Cooper 1100 on 28 February 1953. 28 Feb 1953
  • Roycroft's Alfa Romeo twice equalled the Wigram lap record of 81mph in the 1953 Lady Wigram Trophy. 11 Mar 1953
  • The D. W. Wild Challenge Trophy is awarded at each Motor Racing Club circuit meeting other than Wigram for the fastest flying lap in a special solo attempt. 17 Mar 1953
  • The 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy was a 100-mile international race with a Wigram circuit similar to Silverstone, according to Peter Whitehead. 31 Dec 1953
  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy in 1949 had a winning average of 66.17mph and a fastest lap of 67.9mph. 29 Jan 1954
  • Before the war beach racing was the most popular form of motor racing in New Zealand; the first large circuit event was at Wigram in 1949. 29 Jan 1954
  • Maurice Proctor of Wellington won the first Lady Wigram Trophy in 1949 in a Brooklands Riley, 100 miles in 1hr 35min 56sec. 29 Jan 1954
  • The Wigram circuit has a long back straight and a sharp hairpin; considered faster than Ardmore by at least 10sec a lap. 29 Jan 1954
  • 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
  • The B.R.M. was flown to Christchurch Airport by a No. 41 Transport Squadron RNZAF Bristol freighter in early February 1954. 3 Feb 1954
  • The Wigram circuit in 1954 included a slow S bend that organisers considered removing for the main race. 5 Feb 1954
  • The 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy crowd was estimated at 10,000 to 15,000. 6 Feb 1954
  • The 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy was the fastest car race ever run in the South Island; Whitehead averaged a little over 85mph. 8 Feb 1954
  • First prize for the 1954 Lady Wigram Trophy was 150 pounds. 8 Feb 1954
  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy (1949) was won by Proctor of Wellington in a Brooklands Riley; Hec Green won in 1950 in his Wolseley Special. 1 Aug 1953
  • In 1951 Les Moore won the Lady Wigram Trophy in torrential rain with a 2.9-litre Grand Prix Alfa Romeo, ahead of R. J. Roycroft in an XK120 Jaguar. 1 Aug 1953
  • The Wigram circuit is 2.1 miles; lap speeds rose from about 65mph in 1949 to nearly 80mph by 1953. 1 Aug 1953
  • In August 1954 the Ministry of Works called tenders for sealing and repairing paths and taxiways at RNZAF Station Wigram. 20 Feb 1954
  • Sir Henry Wigram established the Canterbury Aviation Company to train pilots at Sockburn; first Canterbury passenger flights were on 19 June 1911. 19 Jan 1956
  • The 1956 Lady Wigram Trophy was set for 21 January 1956 over 150 miles (71 laps) of the Wigram circuit. 8 Jul 1955
  • The 1956 NZ championship fixtures included: NZ Grand Prix at Ardmore on 7 January, Levin sealed circuit on 14 January, Lady Wigram Trophy 21 January, NZ road race championship at Dunedin 28 January, South Island championship road race at Christchurch 7 February, Southland road race at Invercargill 11 February. 8 Jul 1955
  • The first prize for the 1956 Lady Wigram Trophy was 150 pounds, with fifteen other prizes. 8 Jul 1955
  • Stan Jones's Maybach was rebuilt after a crash at Southport; the engine is 3.8 litres, slanted, with six large-bore carburettors. 28 Oct 1955
  • The 1956 international New Zealand circuit comprised the Ardmore Grand Prix (7 Jan), Lady Wigram Trophy (21 Jan), Dunedin road race (28 Jan) and Southland road race (11 Feb). 28 Oct 1955
  • The Wigram circuit was believed to be unique in international racing because all classes competed in the same race. 24 Nov 1955
  • Reg Parnell's Aston Martin was the company's first Grand Prix venture since the war, a supercharged experimental car. 24 Nov 1955
  • A Christchurch booking office sold advance car and person tickets at reduced prices for the 1956 meeting; the first race was to start at 10 a.m. 24 Nov 1955
  • About 30,000 spectators saw 22 starters in the first Lady Wigram Trophy in 1949. 24 Nov 1955
  • The 1955 race was not held because the circuit was being resealed. 24 Nov 1955
  • The Royal Automobile Club advised that the Wigram circuit would hold only 33 cars for an international race. 21 Dec 1955
  • Two Ferraris, the Aston Martin and Marr's Connaught were expected to fight for first places. 14 Jan 1956
  • In January 1956 Wigram's circuit was better sealed on half its length, but the apron drains remained unchanged. 17 Jan 1956
  • A Connaught similar to Marr's won the Syracuse Grand Prix, Britain's first win there in many years. 18 Jan 1956
  • Leslie Marr's Connaught was the first of the overseas cars unloaded at Lyttelton; the Ferraris reached Christchurch at 3.30 p.m. on 18 January 1956. 19 Jan 1956
  • Parliament had only in the previous decade provided legislation to close roads for motor racing. 19 Jan 1956
  • Mathison cited record-breaking by Russell Wright and Robert Burns as examples of New Zealand speed achievements. 19 Jan 1956
  • Before the 1956 Lady Wigram meeting the club decided to seal the drains on the Wigram circuit. 19 Jan 1956
  • The Wigram circuit in 1956 was 2.1 miles long. 20 Jan 1956
  • Whitehead's practice time of 1:27.8 in 1956 was more than five seconds faster than R. Gibbons's 1953 Wigram lap record of 1:33 in a 1100cc Cooper. 21 Jan 1956
  • The Kennett challenge trophy was for the first New Zealander to finish the 1956 Lady Wigram Trophy. 21 Jan 1956
  • Gaze's fastest lap of the 1956 Lady Wigram Trophy was 1:26.7 on his 18th lap; the race was run in a strong easterly. 21 Jan 1956
  • Challenge trophy winners at the 1956 Wigram meeting: Wilde Challenge Trophy (1500cc) S. Jensen; Brooklands Challenge Trophy (Motor Racing Club member) and Motor Assemblies Challenge Cup (New Zealand-built car) F. Shuter; Kennett Challenge Trophy (first New Zealand driver) S. H. Jensen. 23 Jan 1956
  • About 21,000 spectators watched the 1956 Lady Wigram Trophy. 23 Jan 1956
  • Tony Gaze set a new Wigram lap record of 1:26.7 (88 mph) on lap 18 of the 1956 Lady Wigram Trophy. 23 Jan 1956
  • The four English drivers took the first four places in the 1956 Lady Wigram Trophy. 23 Jan 1956
  • Winners of the 1956 trophies: Wilde Challenge Trophy (to 1500cc) S. H. Jensen; Brooklands Challenge Trophy and Motor Assemblies Challenge Cup (NZ-built car) F. Shuter; Kennett Challenge Trophy (first New Zealander) S. H. Jensen. 23 Jan 1956
  • Prize money of £1500 was offered for the third international Lady Wigram Trophy meeting on 26 January 1957. 18 May 1956
  • In late 1956 the Wigram circuit was the fastest in New Zealand and the lap record was Ken Wharton's 89.37 mph in the BRM in 1954. 18 May 1956
  • Ken Wharton died in 1957 in a Monza Ferrari crash at the New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore. 19 Jan 1957
  • Roycroft had raced at Wigram every year since the first Lady Wigram race in 1949. 19 Jan 1957
  • Roycroft's fastest practice lap in 1957 of 1:27 was about 87 mph, 0.3 seconds slower than Tony Gaze's 1956 lap record. 26 Jan 1957
  • Oil spilt on the circuit early on made the 1957 Lady Wigram Trophy slippery; Parnell blamed overfilled oil tanks. 26 Jan 1957
  • Crowd for the 1957 Lady Wigram Trophy was variously estimated at 25,000 to 35,000. 26 Jan 1957
  • Peter Whitehead's 1957 win (after 1954 and 1956) made him the only driver to win the Lady Wigram Trophy three times in succession; previously he shared the two-win record with Les Moore (1951 and 1952). 28 Jan 1957
  • Winners of 1957 challenge trophies: D. W. Wild Challenge Trophy (up to 1500cc) Brabham; Brooklands Challenge Trophy F. Shuter; Motor Assemblies Challenge Cup (first New Zealand-built car) W. B. Crosbie, Sapphire Special; Kennett Challenge Trophy (first New Zealander) Roycroft. 28 Jan 1957
  • During Lady Wigram Trophy practice on 24 January 1958 an unauthorised group blocked the Vickerys and Washbourne roads intersection near RNZAF Wigram and charged motorists 2s 6d a car. 4 Feb 1958
  • The 1958 Wigram sports car race was reduced from 75 miles to 50, with prize money based on £8 per car per class. 19 Jul 1957
  • The Canterbury Car Club planned the C. W. F. Hamilton Trophy race on the Southbridge circuit in December 1957. 16 Jan 1958
  • Whitehead's three consecutive Lady Wigram Trophy wins (1954, 1956, 1957) was a record likely to stand for many years. 22 Jan 1958
  • Archie Scott-Brown's win in 1hr 47min 27.4sec in the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy was a new race record of about 85 mph; only once before had a sports car won the trophy. 25 Jan 1958
  • Scott-Brown set a new Wigram lap record of 1:23.8 (90.8 mph) early in the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy. 25 Jan 1958
  • Scott-Brown, disabled in his right hand, won in a Lister-Jaguar; Jensen was first New Zealander and Pat Hoare first Motor Racing Club member to finish. 25 Jan 1958
  • The first event of the January 1958 Wigram meeting was a seventeen-mile motor-cycle race for machines up to 350cc. 25 Jan 1958
  • A huge crowd lined vantage points around the Wigram circuit for the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. 25 Jan 1958
  • A. Scott-Brown (Lister-Jaguar, England) set both a new race record and a new lap record in the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy. 27 Jan 1958
  • Archie Scott-Brown's Lister-Jaguar won the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy, the first time a British car and driver had won an international race in New Zealand. 27 Jan 1958
  • Scott-Brown set a new Wigram lap record of 1min 23.8sec in the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy, beating Whitehead's 1956 Ferrari record of 1min 29.5sec. 27 Jan 1958
  • A crowd of more than 15,000 attended the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. 27 Jan 1958
  • Scott-Brown showed a stuffed black cat mascot given to the Lister team before their first race at Silverstone four years earlier. 27 Jan 1958
  • G. Holland finished the 1958 Wigram 500cc motor-cycle race only 0.7sec behind winner N. McCutcheon after a heavy fall in practice on a circuit slippery from overnight rain. 29 Jan 1958
  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy in 1949 was 105.8 miles and was won by Morrie Proctor of Wellington at an average of 66.17 mph in a Brooklands Riley 9. 29 Jan 1958
  • Scott-Brown's 1958 Lady Wigram win set a race average of 83.93 mph and a lap record of 90.8 mph. 29 Jan 1958
  • The first Wigram race was held on February 26, 1949, moved to Wigram aerodrome after police objections to a road circuit at Waimairi. 22 Jan 1959
  • More than 20,000 people watched the first race at Wigram in 1949. 22 Jan 1959
  • The Wigram circuit has been used every year since 1949 except 1955, when it was being resealed. 22 Jan 1959
  • Archie Scott-Brown was killed in a sports car race at Spa, Belgium, in 1958. 23 Sep 1958
  • The Lady Wigram Trophy winner normally keeps the trophy; the Motor Racing Club has a new one made each year and also awards the Motor Racing Club Challenge Trophy to the first New Zealand finisher. 23 Sep 1958
  • Russian drivers and cars were expected to make their first international appearance at Silverstone in May 1959. 23 Sep 1958
  • For four years running before 1959 the Lady Wigram Trophy's first prize went to an English driver. 13 Jan 1959
  • Flockhart owned the first and last pre-war ERAs, R1A and R4D. 15 Jan 1959
  • The BRM Flockhart raced in New Zealand in 1959 was the type 25 prototype, being raced seriously for the first time. 15 Jan 1959
  • Drivers compared the Wigram circuit to Silverstone and Goodwood in January 1959. 22 Jan 1959
  • The Wigram circuit is 2.116 miles; for the 1954 race the back-straight end bend was moved, making a lap 2.073 miles. 22 Jan 1959
  • Racing began at Wigram in 1949 and the first international event was held there in 1954. 22 Jan 1959
  • At the 1958 Prix de Paris McLaren was third in Formula 2 and set a lap record. 22 Jan 1959
  • McLaren's first race car was an old Ulster Austin 7 at age 15; he later raced an Austin-Healey 100S and a Cooper-Climax sports car. 22 Jan 1959
  • Ross Jensen became the first New Zealander to win an international event in his own country with victories at Dunedin and Invercargill in 1958. 22 Jan 1959
  • Ron Roycroft has not missed a Wigram race since the first in 1949. 22 Jan 1959
  • The 1959 Wigram circuit included named corners Bomb-Bay Bend, Hairpin and Hangar Bend, plus an artificial chicane of oil drums on the back straight to slow cars. 22 Jan 1959
  • Spectators were not permitted on the inside of the Wigram circuit in 1959. 22 Jan 1959
  • About 80,000 spectators attended the NZ Grand Prix at Ardmore on January 10, 1959. 22 Jan 1959
  • The Archie Scott-Brown Memorial Trophy, actually the Lady Wigram Trophy won by Scott-Brown in 1958 and sent back by his mother, was to be awarded to the first sports car finisher in 1959. 23 Jan 1959
  • The crowd at the January 1959 Wigram meeting approached 20,000 by midday, and the first race started over an hour late. 24 Jan 1959
  • Ron Flockhart (BRM) won the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy, 2.7sec ahead of Jack Brabham (Cooper-Climax), setting a new race record in 1hr 41min 4sec at about 89 mph. 24 Jan 1959
  • Jack Brabham was timed at 1min 22.1sec (nearly 93 mph) on lap 67 of the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy, but the official lap record later went to Flockhart at 1min 22.2sec. 24 Jan 1959
  • Ron Flockhart set a new Wigram lap record of 1min 21.6sec in practice on the evening of January 23, 1959, taking pole for the Lady Wigram Trophy. 24 Jan 1959
  • Flockhart set the official 1959 Wigram lap record of 1min 22.2sec (about 92.5 mph); Brabham had initially been credited with it. 26 Jan 1959
  • Stopwatch variations caused by the heat delayed the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy prize announcements until nearly midnight. 26 Jan 1959
  • The 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy crowd was carefully estimated at 20,000, and all 10,000 programmes printed sold out. 26 Jan 1959
  • The first international Lady Wigram Trophy race in 1954 was over 99.5 miles, won by Peter Whitehead (Ferrari) at 85.46 mph. 26 Jan 1959
  • Ron Flockhart's 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy win was the first international win for the BRM outside Europe. 26 Jan 1959
  • Flockhart's 1hr 41min 4sec in the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy was about six minutes faster than Scott-Brown's 1958 record. 26 Jan 1959
  • The 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy crowd was estimated by the promoting club at 17,000. 26 Jan 1959
  • In 1959 Flockhart held the Wigram practice lap record of 1min 21.6sec and the race's fastest lap of 1min 22.2sec. 26 Jan 1959
  • Syd Jensen's 1500cc Cooper-Climax lapped in 1min 27.8sec in the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy, 0.3sec off the 1958 record. 27 Jan 1959
  • Johnnie Mansell brought home the first Continental car, fifth, in the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy. 31 Jan 1959
  • About 15,000 people paid to attend the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting, with an estimated total crowd of 20,000 or more; it was the second largest crowd in the event's history after 1956. 31 Jan 1959

1960s (367)

  • The Wigram circuit was 2.116 miles; for the 1954 race the slow sharp bend at the end of the back straight was eliminated, making a lap 2.073 miles. 19 Jan 1960
  • In 1959 Ron Flockhart set the fastest lap on the 2.116-mile circuit at 1:22.2, just under 93 mph. 19 Jan 1960
  • Nicky Thompson set the Bonneville 5-kilometre record at 345.33 mph, 5-mile at 340.70 mph, 10-kilometre at 327.59 mph and 10-mile at 286.16 mph in October 1959. 20 Oct 1959
  • The Motor Racing Club abandoned its 'come one, come all' entry policy for the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy, to reduce the speed difference between fastest and slowest cars. 20 Oct 1959
  • Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren were to go to Argentina for the first race of the 1960 world championship straight after the January 23, 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy. 28 Dec 1959
  • The Wigram circuit was first opened to motor racing in 1949. 15 Jan 1960
  • McLaren was second in the 1960 NZ Grand Prix at Ardmore and missed the Dunedin, Invercargill and Waimate meetings because of the first 1960 world championship race in Argentina. 16 Jan 1960
  • Ron Flockhart averaged about 89 mph in winning the 1959 Lady Wigram Trophy and set a lap record of 92.5 mph. 16 Jan 1960
  • Brabham and McLaren could send the Wigram lap record to 95 or 96 mph in 1960, according to the writer; a winning average of about 92 mph was expected. 16 Jan 1960
  • The Wigram circuit was 2.116 miles long in 1960. 19 Jan 1960
  • In 1958 Archie Scott-Brown won the Lady Wigram Trophy in a two-seater sports car, the first such win since the first race on the circuit in 1949. 19 Jan 1960
  • Brabham and McLaren could lift the Wigram lap record to about 97 mph, 4 mph above Flockhart's 1959 record, and average about 94 mph over the race. 19 Jan 1960
  • The Tornado driven by Ted Gray held the Australian land speed record as well as other sprint records. 19 Jan 1960
  • The Wigram circuit had an artificial chicane of oil drums to eliminate a high-speed bump. 19 Jan 1960
  • Ted Gray's Tornado, holder of the Australian land speed record, was scratched from the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy. 20 Jan 1960
  • The Stanton brothers held the Australian and New Zealand speed record at 173 mph in 1960. 20 Jan 1960
  • Forty members of the St John Ambulance Brigade attended the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy with a radio link to four first aid posts around the course. 22 Jan 1960
  • Brabham's 1:19.4 practice lap in 1960 was almost 3 seconds faster than Flockhart's 1959 BRM race lap but not an official record. 23 Jan 1960
  • Brabham's 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy win was in 100min 42sec, an average of about 90 mph, with a new Wigram lap record of 1:20.8 (about 95 mph); Flockhart's 1959 record was 1:22.2. 23 Jan 1960
  • Brabham set a Wigram lap record of 1:20.8 (about 95 mph) on lap 50 of the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy, while lapping Burgess. 23 Jan 1960
  • After the first few laps only 13 cars were left in the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy. 25 Jan 1960
  • Brabham broke Ron Flockhart's lap record of 1:22.2 with a 1:20.8 on lap 50 at the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy. 25 Jan 1960
  • Jim Palmer won the Archie Scott-Brown Memorial Trophy in 1960 for being the first sports car driver to finish in the trophy race. 25 Jan 1960
  • The first race at Wigram was held in 1949; by 1960 the Lady Wigram Trophy featured world championship calibre drivers. 2 Jun 1960
  • No Lady Wigram meeting was held in 1955 because of circuit resealing. 17 Jan 1961
  • Qualifying for the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was held in heavy rain on January 20, 1961, with pools of water on the track. 20 Jan 1961
  • Jim Clark (Team Lotus) set fastest qualifying time of 1:39.6 for the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy. 20 Jan 1961
  • A three-car crash on Bomb Bay Bend in qualifying involved Johnnie Mansell (Tec-Mec), Brian Blackburn (Maserati) and Bob Smith (Ferrari); only Mansell was hurt, with a slight shoulder injury. 20 Jan 1961
  • Official practice for the January 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was abandoned because heavy rain left several inches of water on the track. 21 Jan 1961
  • Moss's wet-practice lap of 1:26.1 was only 5.3 seconds slower than Jack Brabham's Wigram record set in 1960 on a dry track. 21 Jan 1961
  • The Motor Racing Club faced serious financial difficulty if rain hit attendance, having spent a great deal bringing seven overseas drivers to Wigram. 21 Jan 1961
  • Stirling Moss was confirmed in 1960 for the January 21, 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy, his first South Island race; he had only raced at Ardmore before. 5 Aug 1960
  • In 1961 the overseas drivers were to come to Wigram with a full range of spare parts, including engines, team managers and pit crews, a first in NZ international racing. 19 Sep 1960
  • Yeoman Credit Coopers raced in red and green colours; Moss drove one of these in the 1960 NZ Grand Prix and fought Brabham for the first 26 laps. 19 Sep 1960
  • Morrie Proctor won the first car race at Wigram in 1949 in a Brooklands Riley at slightly more than 66 mph on a sweltering day. 19 Sep 1960
  • Brabham won the 1960 Lady Wigram Trophy at a record average of 89.46 mph. 26 Nov 1960
  • Yeoman Credit's first entry was at the 1959 Oulton Park Gold Cup, where Chris Bristow finished third behind Moss and Brabham. 24 Dec 1960
  • In the 1961 NZ Grand Prix at Ardmore, patched sections of the circuit shed fine screenings into cars' intakes and drivers' faces. 14 Jan 1961
  • Positions on the Wigram starting grid are determined by speeds in practice and qualifying laps; the fastest qualifier takes pole position. 17 Jan 1961
  • One lap of the Wigram circuit equals 2.116 miles. 17 Jan 1961
  • Morrie Proctor won the first Lady Wigram race in 1949 in the Brooklands Riley. 18 Jan 1961
  • Fields for the three supporting races at the 1961 Wigram meeting were limited to 24 starters each, chosen on fastest practice laps. 18 Jan 1961
  • The saloon car entry for the January 1961 Wigram meeting was a record. 18 Jan 1961
  • The 1961 Lady Wigram International Trophy was the seventh, run over 150.236 miles (71 laps) of the 2.1-mile Wigram airfield circuit. 18 Jan 1961
  • The Motor Racing Club expected more than 25,000 spectators at the January 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. 18 Jan 1961
  • Club president Jack Brewer said there had been no major or fatal accident at Wigram since racing began in 1949. 18 Jan 1961
  • The Motor Racing Club's policy was to raise standards by constantly increasing overseas competition; its championship event for single-seaters not in the main race had by 1961 a higher standard than the first Wigram main races. 18 Jan 1961
  • Brewer described Wigram as comparing more than favourably with any other aerodrome circuit in the world, limited only by distance from factories and maintenance sources. 18 Jan 1961
  • The 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was Stirling Moss's first South Island appearance and cost the Motor Racing Club a large sum to arrange. 18 Jan 1961
  • The fastest lap at the 1961 Wigram meeting was expected to approach 100 mph. 18 Jan 1961
  • McLaren took the lap record at Monaco in May 1960, passing Stirling Moss's mark. 18 Jan 1961
  • Denis Hulme was first New Zealander and fifth overall in the 1961 New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore. 18 Jan 1961
  • Pat Hoare first raced in 1949 in a home-built car and made two trips to Italy. 19 Jan 1961
  • Motor Racing Club president Jack Brewer said in January 1961 that the club had very little time to prepare for the Lady Wigram Trophy and had to contend with an operational aerodrome circuit. 19 Jan 1961
  • Prize for the first driver to lap the 2.116-mile Wigram circuit at 100 mph in the January 1961 Lady Wigram meeting was 100 bottles of New Zealand wine. 20 Jan 1961
  • Jack Brabham's Wigram lap record stood at 1:20.8 (94.28 mph) before the January 1961 meeting. 20 Jan 1961
  • The 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was cut by 50 miles to about 100 miles because of appalling weather. 21 Jan 1961
  • Brabham's fastest lap in the 1961 race was about 1:33, an average of 81.9 mph, well short of his 1:20.8 record. 21 Jan 1961
  • The crowd at the January 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was smaller than in previous years, with many vacant places in the stands. 21 Jan 1961
  • Four serious accidents marked the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy, making it the meeting with the worst accident record in its history, though nobody was seriously injured. 23 Jan 1961
  • Frank Shuter first drove the former Hoare Ferrari at the Blenheim motor races in November 1960. 23 Jan 1961
  • Johnny Mansell's Tec-Mec, newly arrived from Italy, overturned into a ditch in its first major drive at the 1961 Lady Wigram meeting. 23 Jan 1961
  • Brabham's average speed of about 78 mph in the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was the slowest on the 2.116-mile Wigram circuit since 1952. 23 Jan 1961
  • The 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was cut from 150 to just under 100 miles (47 laps) because of weather. 23 Jan 1961
  • Len Gilbert's Maserati 250F was the first Continental car home, sixth, three laps behind. 23 Jan 1961
  • Hec Green's R.A. Special, the first New Zealand-built car, was the only Christchurch driver to finish the 1961 Lady Wigram race. 23 Jan 1961
  • Not since the first Wigram races in 1949 had the weather been so unkind to the Motor Racing Club as at the January 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy. 23 Jan 1961
  • Jack Brabham won the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy in 77 minutes 18.5 seconds, 52 seconds ahead of Stirling Moss, with a fastest lap of 1:33 (81.9 mph). 23 Jan 1961
  • Jim Clark took pole position for the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy with the fastest practice lap of 1:39.6. 23 Jan 1961
  • About 22,000 spectators attended the January 1961 Lady Wigram meeting despite heavy rain. 23 Jan 1961
  • Crowd of the order of 20,000 turned out for the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy in bad weather, assuring the Motor Racing Club that international racing in Canterbury has a future. 27 Jan 1961
  • Peter Greenslade wrote that Brabham probably won the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy within the first minute of the race. 27 Jan 1961
  • The Archie Scott-Brown Memorial Trophy was awarded from 1961 to the winner of a 36-mile sports car race at Wigram rather than the first sports car in the Lady Wigram Trophy. 24 Feb 1961
  • Archie Scott-Brown won the 1958 Lady Wigram Trophy in a Lister-Jaguar sports car and was later killed at Spa-Francorchamps. 24 Feb 1961
  • Bruce McLaren was unofficially timed at 97.66 mph (1:18) in the first training session for the 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy. 19 Jan 1962
  • A 100 mph lap of Wigram's 2.116-mile circuit required a time of 1:16.176. 19 Jan 1962
  • The 1962 meeting followed wet international meetings at Ardmore and Levin; overseas teams brought rain tyres to Wigram just in case. 19 Jan 1962
  • Brabham's Wigram lap record stood at 94.28 mph in December 1961. 12 Dec 1961
  • Ron Flockhart said in 1959 that top drivers could lap Wigram at 100 mph; Brabham's 94.28 mph record in 1960 came with a 2.2-litre Cooper. 12 Dec 1961
  • Wigram was described as a power circuit much faster than Ardmore. 12 Dec 1961
  • The 1962 Lady Wigram meeting was the 8th international Lady Wigram Trophy race, held at the RNZAF Station, Wigram. 16 Jan 1962
  • Brewer said the 1961 weather was among the worst the club could have had and no meeting had ever been free from trouble. 16 Jan 1962
  • Hoare's 3-litre Ferrari was front-engined with a power output believed to match the Climax engines of the fastest overseas cars. 16 Jan 1962
  • The 1962 Wigram circuit included an artificial chicane of spaced oil drums to limit high speeds, and no spectators were permitted inside the circuit. 16 Jan 1962
  • The maximum field that could start on the 2.116-mile Wigram circuit was 24 cars; the January 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy attracted 25 entrants. 16 Jan 1962
  • Entrants eliminated after the Friday time trials were to be offered a start in the first event, the 32-mile Motor Racing Club Championship. 16 Jan 1962
  • The 1962 Wigram meeting had record entries for all events: the Lady Wigram Trophy plus four other car races and two motor-cycle races. 16 Jan 1962
  • K. Wharton's 1954 fastest lap of 89.37 mph in a supercharged B.R.M. stood as the Wigram record until Jack Brabham's 94.28 mph in 1960. 16 Jan 1962
  • Ron Flockhart put in the first 90 mph lap at Wigram in 1959. 17 Jan 1962
  • Heavy trucks were banned from the Wigram course for the January 1962 meeting. 17 Jan 1962
  • Brabham was bidding in January 1962 to be the first to win the Lady Wigram Trophy three years in a row (Whitehead won in 1954, 1956 and 1957, with no race in 1955). 17 Jan 1962
  • A batch of BMC mini cars gave plenty of thrills in the first saloon car race at the January 1962 Wigram meeting. 20 Jan 1962
  • Stirling Moss won the eighth Lady Wigram Trophy in 1962 in 96min 38.7sec, a new race record, leading every lap. 20 Jan 1962
  • The 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy lap record became 1:20.1, 0.7sec inside Brabham's 1960 record of 1:20.8, equalled by Moss, Brabham and Surtees. 20 Jan 1962
  • Moss used high-hysteresis (rain-type) tyres on the dry circuit in the 1962 race; they were bald at the finish and an oil drop may have saved his race. 20 Jan 1962
  • Moss, second in the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy, won in 1962 in a 2.5-litre Lotus at record speed on 71 laps. 20 Jan 1962
  • Moss used rain tyres in the dry 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy; they gave extra adhesion but wore quickly so he had to conserve them over 150 miles. 20 Jan 1962
  • Brabham set the new 1:20.1 lap record on lap 43 and Moss equalled it about five laps later. 20 Jan 1962
  • Officials believed the 1962 Lady Wigram crowd was the largest ever for a Wigram meeting. 20 Jan 1962
  • A prize of 100 bottles of New Zealand wine and 100 pounds for the first 100 mph lap went unclaimed in 1962. 22 Jan 1962
  • Moss's 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy winning time of 96min 38.7sec was 4min 3.3sec inside Brabham's 1960 race record and averaged just over 93 mph. 22 Jan 1962
  • The lap record at Wigram was shared for the first time in the race's history in 1962: Moss, Brabham and Surtees all did 1:20.1. 22 Jan 1962
  • Only the first five finishers completed all 71 laps of the 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy; there were eighteen starters and fourteen finishers. 22 Jan 1962
  • Angus Hyslop was the first New Zealander to finish the 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy, sixth, since McLaren is regarded as an international driver. 22 Jan 1962
  • A Dunedin Festival road race was to be held on a 1.68-mile street circuit the following Saturday, with Mansel, Hoare and Shelly expected to be prominent; Angus Hyslop was a notable absentee. 27 Jan 1962
  • Bruce McLaren's Mini-Cooper was eliminated from the first saloon car race at the January 1962 Wigram meeting after a protest; Ron Flockhart withdrew his car in sympathy. 27 Jan 1962
  • The ninth international Lady Wigram Trophy was set for January 19, 1963, with the NZ Grand Prix to follow the first race of the series on January 5 at Pukekohe. 9 Oct 1962
  • Under the Motor Racing Club's 1963 rules for saloon car races at Wigram, tubeless tyres were banned and exterior bodywork modification was forbidden except for louvres and power bulges. 9 Oct 1962
  • The Wigram lap record entering the 1963 meeting was 1:20.1 (95.1 mph), shared by Moss (2.5-litre Lotus-Climax) and Surtees (2.7-litre Cooper-Climax) from the 1962 race. 13 Dec 1962
  • Moss's 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy race record average was 93.27 mph. 13 Dec 1962
  • A 200 pound prize, offered by Christchurch businessman Bernie Blogg, was available for the first 100 mph lap at Wigram in 1963. 13 Dec 1962
  • Moss's 95.1 mph lap record from the 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy was shared with John Surtees. 15 Jan 1963
  • Moss won the 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy at an average of 93.27 mph in a Rob Walker 2.7-litre Lotus-Climax, using fast-wearing rain tyres that were worn almost to the canvas by the finish. 15 Jan 1963
  • Geoffrey Richardson's Ferrari Berlinetta was the first of its type in New Zealand (1963). 15 Jan 1963
  • Programme times for the 1963 meeting: Motor Racing Club championship 10.00am, first motor-cycle race 10.50, saloon race 11.30, sports car race 12.10, second motor-cycle race 1.0, Lady Wigram Trophy 2.20, all-comers' saloon race 4.35. 15 Jan 1963
  • A traffic departure plan for the 1963 meeting was prepared by the Motor Racing Club, the Transport Department and RNZAF Station Wigram. 15 Jan 1963
  • Racing flags explained for spectators: red means stop immediately, yellow means take care/danger, blue means another competitor is trying to overtake, black with the competitor's number means stop on the next lap, and chequered signals the winner. 17 Jan 1963
  • The 1963 Wigram circuit plan showed a chicane made artificially with spaced oil drums and a high-speed bump. 17 Jan 1963
  • No spectators were permitted inside the circuit at the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. 17 Jan 1963
  • Jack Brabham set the fastest practice lap at Wigram on the morning of 17 January 1963, ahead of the Lady Wigram Trophy. 17 Jan 1963
  • The Wigram circuit measured 2.116 miles in 1963. 18 Jan 1963
  • John Surtees and Jack Brabham both recorded 1min 16.6sec in practice for the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy, a new Wigram lap record; the previous record was Bruce McLaren's 1min 17sec. 19 Jan 1963
  • Stirling Moss used rain tyres in the 1962 Lady Wigram Trophy and finished with minimum tyre wear left. 19 Jan 1963
  • By midday the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy crowd was well below the size of 1962's, disappointing officials; traffic was lighter than the previous year. 19 Jan 1963
  • Bruce McLaren won the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy in 1hr 36min 4.7sec, bettering Stirling Moss's 1962 race record of 1hr 36min 38.7sec. 19 Jan 1963
  • The previous Wigram lap record of 1min 20.1sec, set by Moss and Surtees in 1962, was lowered at least three times in the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy. 19 Jan 1963
  • All leading drivers used fast-wearing rain tyres in the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy; Brabham's right rear tyre was completely worn out at the finish. 19 Jan 1963
  • The 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy was McLaren's first major international race win in New Zealand. 19 Jan 1963
  • McLaren's lap record of 1:19.2 on lap 10 of the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy was bettered by Brabham with 1:18.4 on lap 18 and finally 1:18.3. 19 Jan 1963
  • After the 1963 meeting some cars took over half an hour to travel about a mile from the circuit. 19 Jan 1963
  • McLaren lowered the Lady Wigram Trophy race time record from 96min 38.7sec (Moss, 1962) to 96min 4.7sec in 1963. 19 Jan 1963
  • Hyslop was the first New Zealander home in the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy and just failed to catch Maggs for third. 19 Jan 1963
  • The 1962 Lady Wigram meeting drew 15,000 paid admissions; the 1963 crowd was smaller. 19 Jan 1963
  • The largest crowd at Wigram racing was about 35,000 in 1954, when Ken Wharton raced the supercharged 16-cylinder BRM. 19 Jan 1963
  • The second largest Wigram crowd was an estimated 30,000 in 1960, and in 1961, in heavy rain, 22,000. 19 Jan 1963
  • Cottle's 1:28.5 fastest lap in the 1963 club championship was faster than Stanton's 1:29.5 of 1962. 21 Jan 1963
  • In the first motor-cycle race at the 1963 Lady Wigram meeting a crash at the chicane injured M. Daniel (broken ribs) and M. Cleverly (abrasions). 21 Jan 1963
  • Geoffrey Richardson's Ferrari 250 GT set a new saloon lap record of 1:34.6 (previous 1:42) in the 1963 all-comers' saloon race at Wigram. 21 Jan 1963
  • The 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy was won in 96min 4.7sec, 34 seconds faster than Stirling Moss's record set in 1962. 21 Jan 1963
  • Bruce McLaren won his first long-distance motor race in his home country at the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy. 21 Jan 1963
  • McLaren, Brabham, Maggs, Surtees raced closely for the first 28 laps of the 1963 Lady Wigram Trophy; Brabham pitted on lap 44 to take on oil. 21 Jan 1963
  • Lady Wigram Trophy 1963: Brabham's 1:18.3 lap was about 97 mph and broke the 1:20.1 record set by Moss and Surtees in 1962. 23 Jan 1963
  • In January 1963 the Magistrate's Court dismissed a 253 pounds 18 shillings claim against the Motor Racing Club arising from that crash. 30 Jan 1963
  • The 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was announced for 18 January 1964 with 600 pounds prize money on the main race. 11 Jul 1963
  • In the 1964 Motor Racing Club Championship each 20-mile heat carried 125 pounds prize money; the final carried 15 pounds prize money and 60 pounds starting money. 11 Jul 1963
  • 1964 saloon classes at Wigram: up to 1300cc, 1300 to 2000cc and over 2000cc; the six fastest from the heats and six invited cars contested the 15-mile final. 11 Jul 1963
  • The 1964 programme included an invitation race for the ten fastest cars, about 12.5 miles, and a motor-cycle race of about 25 miles. 11 Jul 1963
  • The 1964 invitation race was for up to the ten fastest cars at the meeting, over about 12.5 miles. 11 Jul 1963
  • Before 1964 no American driver had ever contested the Lady Wigram Trophy; Tim Mayer was the first. 11 Jul 1963
  • Lap record at Wigram before the 1964 meeting: 97.63 mph (1:18.3), set by Jack Brabham in 1963. 14 Jan 1964
  • For the 1964 meeting the circuit was lengthened to 2.3 miles by adding a loop beyond the Control Tower Bend, so lap speeds were expected to be slightly slower. 14 Jan 1964
  • Manchester Car Sales Ltd offered a 200 pound prize for the first driver to lap Wigram at 100 mph in a race (1964). 14 Jan 1964
  • The Wigram circuit was lengthened slightly for 1964 by the inclusion of a loop. 14 Jan 1964
  • The Wigram circuit was extended from 2.116 miles to 2.3 miles for 1964 by realigning the Hangar Bend, eliminating the chicane and adding a loop beyond Control Tower Bend, turning it from a power course into a drivers' course. 14 Jan 1964
  • The 1964 Wigram meeting had eleven events, with the Trophy race, MRC championship and saloon races each run as heats and a final, plus a 13-mile invitation race for the ten fastest cars. 14 Jan 1964
  • Wigram patrons in 1964 saw a circuit plan marking the Hairpin, Bomb-Bay Bend, Hangar Bend, Back Straight and Vickerys Road. 14 Jan 1964
  • Wigram was described in 1964 as the first road-racing type circuit in the country and the scene of New Zealand's first long-distance motor race. 14 Jan 1964
  • New in 1964: the Wigram Invitation, a six-lap, 13-mile race for the 10 fastest cars of the day. 14 Jan 1964
  • The 1964 Wigram circuit changes (a larger-radius Hangar Bend and a loop replacing the chicane) lengthened the circuit from 2.116 to 2.3 miles, made one corner much faster and added three slow corners. 14 Jan 1964
  • In the Lady Wigram Trophy: 1963 McLaren first, Brabham second; 1962 Brabham second, McLaren fourth; 1961 Brabham first, McLaren fourth. 14 Jan 1964
  • The new loop at Wigram in 1964 gave spectators a spot to see the cars twice each lap. 14 Jan 1964
  • Tim Mayer set a new lap record at each circuit while winning seven national Formula Junior races in a row in 1962. 14 Jan 1964
  • Jimmy Boyd's Valour (Cosworth-Ford powered Formula Junior) was described in 1964 as New Zealand's first production racing car. 14 Jan 1964
  • Denis Hulme won the Vic Hudson Memorial Trophy at Levin on 4 January 1964 by a big margin and set a new lap record. 16 Jan 1964
  • At the 1964 NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe Brabham crashed, Hulme finished second and shared a new lap record with Frank Matich. 16 Jan 1964
  • The 1964 Wigram circuit with its new loop beyond the control tower bend was 2.3 miles long. 17 Jan 1964
  • In 1963 practice McLaren lapped the old circuit at fractionally less than 100 mph; the fastest 1964 lap was expected to be a few mph slower. 17 Jan 1964
  • In 1964 McLaren and Mayer raced as the official Cooper works team; Brabham's car had been repaired after his crash in the NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe the previous Saturday. 17 Jan 1964
  • Denis Hulme won heat one of the 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy in 16min 22.6sec with fastest lap 1:26.7; the heats were 25.3 miles each. 17 Jan 1964
  • Kerry Grant spun out on the first lap of the 1964 I.G.A. saloon second heat after starting from pole position. 17 Jan 1964
  • McLaren's fastest lap in the 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy was 1:26.9; a record crowd of more than 20,000 attended. 18 Jan 1964
  • Brabham led the 1964 Trophy for the first 39 laps; McLaren took second on lap 23 and passed him on the fortieth when Brabham was hampered by a slower car in the loop. 18 Jan 1964
  • The 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy fastest lap by McLaren, 1:26.9, equalled about 95 mph. 18 Jan 1964
  • The 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy was run over 101.2 miles (44 laps) of the 2.3-mile circuit; McLaren won in 65min 0.8sec. 20 Jan 1964
  • McLaren's winning average in the 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy was about 93.1 mph, with a new race record fastest lap of 1:26.9, about 96 mph. 20 Jan 1964
  • The 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy crowd was estimated at about 19,000, slightly bigger than the year before. 20 Jan 1964
  • Ken Sager's Lotus-Ford ran the 1964 main race with only first, second and top gears after he dismantled a stuck throttle. 20 Jan 1964
  • Only the first four finishers completed the full 44 laps in the 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy. 20 Jan 1964
  • Only five cars started the 1964 Wigram Invitation race, which was open to the 10 fastest cars of the meeting. 20 Jan 1964
  • The 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy duel saw the first three cars separated by no more than about 3 seconds for roughly half the distance. 23 Jan 1964
  • Circuit preparation for the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was done voluntarily by Motor Racing Club members (1964). 23 Jan 1964
  • The new loop at Wigram was very popular with spectators in 1964 and drivers increasingly liked it. 23 Jan 1964
  • In 1965 a Christchurch businessman offered a 300 pound side prize for the first driver to average 100 mph in the Lady Wigram Trophy race itself. 16 Jan 1965
  • In the 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy Bruce McLaren's fastest lap of 1:26.9 (95.28 mph) was the race record. 16 Jan 1965
  • The Wigram circuit was described as 2.25 miles in 1965. 19 Jan 1965
  • In 1965 the Motor Racing Club ran two invitation-only 25-mile motor-cycle races (500cc maximum, then open capacity) as Christchurch now had the permanent Ruapuna Park circuit for clubmen. 19 Jan 1965
  • Hulme's 1:26.7 in his 1964 heat was the fastest lap of the day, better than 95.5 mph. 19 Jan 1965
  • The Canterbury Car Club ran the first Wigram race meeting in 1949; the Motor Racing Club later took over international meetings. 19 Jan 1965
  • The 100 mph lap prize at Wigram in 1965 was 300 pounds, requiring 1:22.8, 4.1 seconds faster than McLaren's 1964 race lap. 19 Jan 1965
  • The first Wigram race meeting was held in 1949 under the Canterbury Car Club, then taken over by the Motor Racing Club formed specifically for international motor racing at Wigram. 19 Jan 1965
  • The 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting had a programme of ten events; the first was at 10.00am, the Trophy race at 2.00pm and the final event at 4.30pm. 19 Jan 1965
  • The 1965 Wigram circuit plan marked the Hairpin, Bomb-Bay Bend, Main Straight, Back Straight, Control Tower Bend and Vickerys Road. 19 Jan 1965
  • In 1965 about eight Brabhams, four 2.5-litre and four 1.5-litre cars, were expected to start at Wigram, and Brabhams took the first three places at Pukekohe. 20 Jan 1965
  • Manchester Car Sales Ltd's prize of 300 pounds for the first driver to average 100 mph for a lap in the Wigram Trophy race stood in 1965. 20 Jan 1965
  • The 1964 Lady Wigram Trophy was the first run in two 25-mile heats and a final of about 100 miles; the 1965 format was the same on a 2.3 mile circuit. 20 Jan 1965
  • Lap record 1:26.9 (96 mph) and race average record 93.1 mph, both set by Bruce McLaren in 1964, stood going into the 1965 meeting. 20 Jan 1965
  • A 1:22.8 lap during the race would win the 300-pound prize for a 100 mph lap in 1965. 20 Jan 1965
  • Jim Palmer won the 1964 New Zealand Gold Star and NZ Racing Drivers Club championship in a Cooper-Climax and won the first Gold Star event of 1965 at Renwick. 20 Jan 1965
  • Grant set a new lap record and won at Levin, his home course, in 1964. 20 Jan 1965
  • Mr B. D. Blogg offered 300 pounds to the first driver to record a 100 mph lap in the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy race. 21 Jan 1965
  • McLaren's 1964 Lady Wigram fastest lap of 1:26.9 averaged 95.28 mph, 4.1 seconds outside the 100 mph lap time. 21 Jan 1965
  • Practice for the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy opened on a wet, drying track; saloon cars were sent out first to splash water off the circuit. 22 Jan 1965
  • The Wigram circuit was 2.25 miles long in 1965. 22 Jan 1965
  • The Wigram circuit was 2.25 miles around, marked with straw bales laid out by club members. 22 Jan 1965
  • There had been no wet Wigram meeting since 1961, when Jim Clark last raced at the circuit. 22 Jan 1965
  • Jim Clark broke the Wigram lap record in practice for the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy with 1:26.0, a 96.28 mph average, beating Bruce McLaren's 1964 record. 23 Jan 1965
  • Jim Clark set a new Wigram lap record of 1:25.9 in his heat of the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy; the previous record 1:26.7 was set by Denis Hulme in 1964. 23 Jan 1965
  • The Motor Racing Club's attendance at the 1965 Lady Wigram meeting was estimated at 18,000 in the morning, about the same as the year before. 23 Jan 1965
  • A crash in the loop in the saloon race put Mataura driver M. J. McLean into Christchurch Hospital for observation; neither driver was seriously injured. 23 Jan 1965
  • Tom McCleary won the first motor-cycle race at the 1965 Wigram meeting on a 500cc Norton. 23 Jan 1965
  • Clark had raced at Wigram once before, in the rain in 1961, when he was forced to retire. 23 Jan 1965
  • The race was held in overcast, windy conditions with a few drops of rain but a dry track. 25 Jan 1965
  • Crowd at the 1965 Lady Wigram meeting was conservatively estimated by officials at 18,000. 25 Jan 1965
  • Clark won the 1965 Lady Wigram Trophy at a race-record average of 94.22 mph. 27 Sep 1965
  • Touring car championship points for the NZRDC were 10, 7, 5, 3 and 1 for the first five. 27 Sep 1965
  • The Wigram circuit was 2.25 miles around. 27 Sep 1965
  • A 250LM Ferrari entered by Scuderia Veloce for Spencer Martin was expected to add spice to the 1966 Wigram sports and saloon races and might be the fastest car there. 17 Dec 1965
  • The Wigram lap record in December 1965 stood at 1:25.9, shared by Clark and McLaren. 17 Dec 1965
  • Richard Attwood won the Levin Gold Leaf International in January 1966 in his first drive in the series, scoring the maximum 9 points. 17 Jan 1966
  • Frank Gardner set a new Levin lap record of 47.8 seconds in January 1966 before a half-shaft failure three laps from the finish. 17 Jan 1966
  • The 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting began at 10 am with the first trophy heat; the trophy race started at 2.30 pm and the final all-comers saloon at 4.30 pm. 18 Jan 1966
  • BRM used Dunlop all-weather tyres in the 1966 Tasman series, making Wigram part of a Britain-versus-USA tyre battle. 18 Jan 1966
  • Denis Marwood finished fourth in the 1966 NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe in his first international race. 18 Jan 1966
  • Scuderia Veloce, led by David McKay, made its first appearance at Wigram in 1966. 18 Jan 1966
  • The Canterbury Car Club established motor racing at Wigram in 1949 with NZ's first long-distance race; the Motor Racing Club was formed specifically to promote international racing there. 18 Jan 1966
  • The Loop was added to the Wigram circuit for the 1961 race, slightly lengthening it; in 1964 the circuit was slightly altered to 2.3 miles a lap. 18 Jan 1966
  • The Wigram lap record for the lengthened circuit before 1966 was 1:25.9 (96.39 mph), shared by Jim Clark and Bruce McLaren in 1965. 18 Jan 1966
  • The 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy was shortened to 99.452 miles because of rain. 18 Jan 1966
  • Hugh Anderson recovered from twentieth place after a first-lap spill in the wet at the hairpin to finish close to Neville Landreth in the Senior TT at Pukekohe in January 1966. 18 Jan 1966
  • Group 2 or Touring Car championship races were established for the first time in the 1965-66 season. 18 Jan 1966
  • Manchester Car Sales Ltd donated a 300 pound prize to the Motor Racing Club for the first 100 mph lap in the Lady Wigram Trophy race. 19 Jan 1966
  • A 100 mph lap on the 1966 circuit required 1:22.8, an improvement of 3.1 seconds on the 1965 record of 1:25.9. 19 Jan 1966
  • At Levin in January 1966 Gardner cut 2.1 seconds off Clark's lap record, and the six main place-getters all beat Clark's 1965 race record. 19 Jan 1966
  • The 1966 Lady Wigram meeting had a record entry in its two motor-cycle events. 19 Jan 1966
  • Jim Clark finished sixth in the 1961 NZ Grand Prix at Ardmore in his first visit to New Zealand. 19 Jan 1966
  • Clark won his first world championship Grand Prix at Spa in 1962. 19 Jan 1966
  • Richard Attwood first raced in 1959 in a Standard Eight and was apprenticed with Jaguar for four years. 19 Jan 1966
  • Anderson's 125cc Suzuki set the Isle of Man 125cc lap record at 96 mph and produced about 35 bhp, weighing only 190 lb. 19 Jan 1966
  • Wigram's back straight allowed speeds of more than 150 mph in 1966 and the circuit was 2.3 miles long. 20 Jan 1966
  • Starting grid positions for the trophy race were determined by qualifying trials with the fastest laps taking front row places. 20 Jan 1966
  • Jackie Stewart set an unofficial Wigram lap record of 1:25.1 in his first practice session in January 1966, beating the 1:25.9 record. 21 Jan 1966
  • All the bearings failed in Jim Clark's Lotus-Climax engine during the first practice for the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy. 21 Jan 1966
  • Conditions for the first practice were warm and calm with overcast skies. 21 Jan 1966
  • Jackie Stewart won the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy in a record 1:03:44.1 and set a new lap record averaging 97.11 mph. 22 Jan 1966
  • Jackie Stewart won the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy in a race record 1:03:44.1 and set the lap record at 1:25 (about 97 mph); his Friday practice time was 1:23.8 (about 99 mph). 24 Jan 1966
  • The Wigram preliminaries were run on a wet track; the 1966 race crowd exceeded 20,000. 24 Jan 1966
  • Levis rebuilt his Brabham after a practice crash in which the rear suspension broke. 24 Jan 1966
  • Landreth's winning time in the first motor-cycle race was 19:16.6, an average speed of almost 80 mph. 24 Jan 1966
  • Spencer Martin set a new Wigram saloon lap record of 1:36.8 in the 250LM Ferrari in the all-comers final in January 1966. 24 Jan 1966
  • Jackie Stewart won the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy in 63:44.1, 35.2 seconds inside Clark's 1965 race record, at an average of about 94 mph. 24 Jan 1966
  • Stewart set a Wigram circuit speed record of just over 98 mph in the early practice (previous lap). 24 Jan 1966
  • Jackie Stewart was fastest qualifier for the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy with 1:23.9 (98.8 mph). Jan 1966
  • Grid positions at Wigram in 1966 were determined by race times in two 25-mile preliminary heats, with pools of water on the track after overnight rain. Jan 1966
  • Jackie Stewart led the 1966 Lady Wigram Trophy from start to finish, getting his first NZ victory and giving BRM a hat-trick. Jan 1966
  • In 1954 the hairpin at the end of the back straight was not used, making the lap 2.073 miles; later the circuit was about 2.25 to 2.3 miles. 17 Jan 1967
  • A 400 pound side prize was offered at the 1967 Lady Wigram meeting for the first driver to lap Wigram at 100 mph in a preliminary heat or trophy race. 20 Jan 1967
  • The Motor Racing Club placed the 1967 paddock outside the circuit so spectators could view drivers and cars. 20 Jan 1967
  • Fastest practice lap in 1966 was 98.8 mph by Jackie Stewart in the afternoon qualifying trials. 20 Jan 1967
  • The Lady Wigram 100 mph lap side prize reached 400 pounds in August 1966; it was originally offered by Manchester Car Sales Ltd. 15 Aug 1966
  • The Wigram lap record after the 1966 meeting stood at 1:25 set by Stewart; 1:22.8 was needed for the prize. 15 Aug 1966
  • Jim Clark won the 1967 Levin international and set the fastest lap in the 1967 NZ Grand Prix at 104.1 mph, narrowly beaten by Stewart. 9 Jan 1967
  • A side prize of 400 pounds was offered for the first 100 mph lap in the 1967 Lady Wigram Trophy race. 9 Jan 1967
  • Stewart was offered a 1967 side prize of 400 pounds donated by Manchester Car Sales Ltd for a 100 mph lap in the Lady Wigram Trophy. 17 Jan 1967
  • Wigram was described as New Zealand's fastest circuit, the 1966 New Zealand Grand Prix fastest lap being 104.1 mph by Jim Clark. 17 Jan 1967
  • The Tasman Championship was introduced in 1964 so that drivers from both hemispheres were matched more evenly; the formula demanded open-wheeled single-seaters of up to 2.5 litres, superchargers banned and fuel limited to 130 octane. 17 Jan 1967
  • Points after the first Tasman round, the 1967 New Zealand Grand Prix: Stewart 9, Clark 6, Attwood 4, Palmer 3, Lawrence 2, Hollier 1. 17 Jan 1967
  • The Motor Racing Club was founded solely to stage an annual international meeting in Christchurch, with all work done by club members and volunteer helpers including the Commanding Officer of RNZAF Station Wigram. 17 Jan 1967
  • The Wigram circuit had corners named the Bomb-Bay Bend, the Hairpin, Hangar Bend and the Vickerys corner, with a main straight and a back straight. 17 Jan 1967
  • The 1967 Lady Wigram Trophy paid 100 pounds to the winner and 50 pounds to the first New Zealander home; a 400 pound side prize from a local car firm was offered for the first 100 mph lap. 17 Jan 1967
  • Until the 1967 New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe, Wigram was the fastest circuit in New Zealand. 17 Jan 1967
  • A Christchurch car firm offered 400 pounds to the first driver to lap Wigram at 100 mph in the 1967 Lady Wigram Trophy. 19 Jan 1967
  • The Wigram lap record in January 1967 was just over 98 mph, set by Jackie Stewart in 1966. 19 Jan 1967
  • Jackie Stewart's fastest qualifying lap in 1966 was 1min 23.9sec, 1.1 seconds quicker than his race fastest lap which was a new Wigram lap record. 19 Jan 1967
  • To win the 400 pound side prize in 1967 a driver had to lap Wigram in 1min 22.8sec for 100 mph. 19 Jan 1967
  • Wigram was an operational RNZAF aerodrome and club members and volunteers cleared the site after the meeting so flying could restart at 6 am on Sunday. 19 Jan 1967
  • The 400 pound side prize for a 100 mph lap went unclaimed in 1967; Stewart's heat lap of 1:23.8 was one second outside the 1:22.8 needed. 21 Jan 1967
  • The 1967 Lady Wigram Trophy crowd was unofficially estimated at more than 20,000. 21 Jan 1967
  • Jack Brabham's 1967 fastest lap of 97.41 mph equalled the lap record set by Jackie Stewart in 1966. 21 Jan 1967
  • The 1967 Wigram production saloon race ran for 30 minutes, 17 laps of the 2.3-mile circuit with 13 starters. 21 Jan 1967
  • The 1967 Lady Wigram Trophy was run over 44 laps, 101.2 miles; the circuit was 2.3 miles. 21 Jan 1967
  • Jim Clark lapped Wigram in 1min 21.8sec (101.2 mph) in Friday training before the 1967 Lady Wigram Trophy, but the 100 mph prize was for race laps only. 21 Jan 1967
  • BRM had used American Goodyear tyres in the 1967 Tasman series but sought permission from Sir Alfred Owen to switch to Firestones after Clark, on Firestones, set the fastest practice lap. 21 Jan 1967
  • RNZAF Station Wigram had to be ready for operations by 6 am Sunday after the 1967 Lady Wigram meeting; the clear-up was finished by 8.30 pm Saturday. 21 Jan 1967
  • On the Friday before the 1967 Lady Wigram Trophy, Jackie Stewart lapped at 100.24 mph and Jim Clark at 101.2 mph in training, but the 400 pound prize for a race lap at 100 mph remained unclaimed. 28 Jan 1967
  • The 400 pound side prize, donated by Manchester Car Sales Ltd, was built up over several years and might reach 500 pounds by Wigram 1968. 28 Jan 1967
  • The Wigram lap record stood at 104.02 mph (1min 19.6sec for the 2.3-mile lap), in the names of Amon and Clark. 16 Jan 1968
  • The Wigram circuit measured 2.3 miles in length. 16 Jan 1968
  • Hulme's new Brabham FVA, built in the days before the 1968 meeting, ran for the first time in Friday practice, his first drive since his NZ Grand Prix crash almost a fortnight earlier. 19 Jan 1968
  • Grid positions for the two 25-mile 1968 trophy preliminaries were allocated, not based on practice times; the trophy race grid was set from preliminary race times, with the club reserving the right to put the fastest cars on the front two rows. 19 Jan 1968
  • Hulme and Amon were the first international drivers to confirm with the Motor Association of New Zealand for the 1968 Tasman series. 18 Sep 1967
  • The Canterbury Car Club banned alcohol on its race grounds. 18 Sep 1967
  • Amon's 1968 NZ Grand Prix win earned $400 first prize plus starting money. 13 Jan 1968
  • The 14th International Lady Wigram Trophy was set over 44 laps of the aerodrome circuit on 20 January 1968. 16 Jan 1968
  • The Motor Racing Club offered an $800 prize for the first lap over 100 mph at Wigram. 16 Jan 1968
  • The Wigram lap record was 98.8 mph at the time of writing; corners included Bomb Bay Bend, Hangar Bend, Vickerys, Club Curve, the Hairpin and Control Tower Bend. 16 Jan 1968
  • In 1968 the first Lady Wigram Trophy heat was for Tasman cars and the second for New Zealand 1.5-litre cars, an 11-lap points-scoring heat in the National Formula series. 16 Jan 1968
  • The first motor-racing meeting at Wigram was in 1949, and the first truly international meeting was in 1954. 16 Jan 1968
  • A side prize of $1000 from Manchester Car Sales Ltd was offered in 1968 for the first lap of 1min 22.8sec or better, equal to 100 mph. 16 Jan 1968
  • Clark's 1967 winning speed of about 96 mph (95.522 mph) was a record, and the 1968 Lotus had about 100 bhp more than the 1967 car. 16 Jan 1968
  • Wigram's first motor race, the New Zealand's first long-distance race, was run by the Canterbury Car Club in 1949 over 105.8 miles, won by Morrie Proctor at about 66 mph. 16 Jan 1968
  • In 1967 Jackie Stewart's BRM recorded 1min 23.8sec (98.807 mph), a track record, in his Lady Wigram Trophy preliminary heat. 16 Jan 1968
  • There was no Wigram meeting in 1955 because of aerodrome sealing; the 1961 race distance was reduced to 99.452 miles because of rain. 16 Jan 1968
  • The $1000 side prize for the first 100 mph race lap at the 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy was donated by Manchester Car Sales; 100 mph needed a lap of 1min 22.8sec. 18 Jan 1968
  • In the Tasman Championship drivers counted their best three results in each country, with 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points for first to sixth. 18 Jan 1968
  • The Motor Racing Club expected a much larger crowd for the 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy than in many years, attributing it to Hulme, McLaren and Amon. 19 Jan 1968
  • On 20 January 1968 Jim Clark averaged 101.7 mph winning a Lady Wigram Trophy preliminary, the first 100 mph race average in the 14-year history of the international Lady Wigram meetings. 20 Jan 1968
  • The first six finishers of the second 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy preliminary all broke the 100 mph lap barrier of 1min 22.8sec. 20 Jan 1968
  • Andrew Buchanan set a sports car lap record of 1min 30sec in his Elfin 400 at Wigram on 20 January 1968, and Angus Hyslop a saloon lap record of 1min 41sec. 20 Jan 1968
  • The 1968 Wigram meeting had an eleven-race programme starting at 10 am with perfect weather after wintry conditions the day before. 20 Jan 1968
  • Clark and Amon both set 1min 19.6sec laps (104.02 mph) in the 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy; the 1967 fastest lap and record had been 98.8 mph by Jackie Stewart in a BRM. 20 Jan 1968
  • Clark won the $1000 side prize from Manchester Car Sales for the first 100 mph race lap, with a lap of about 1min 21.8sec in the preliminary. 20 Jan 1968
  • The 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy was the first race the BRMs of McLaren and Rodriguez finished in New Zealand that season. 20 Jan 1968
  • The Motor Racing Club president estimated the 1968 Lady Wigram crowd at 30,000, the largest in five or six years. 20 Jan 1968
  • Jim Clark won the 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy at a record 102.6 mph average and recorded the first 100 mph average lap to win a $1000 jackpot. 21 Jan 1968
  • Jim Clark's 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy win at 102.6 mph beat the previous race record average (95.522 mph in 1967 by Clark himself) by about 7 mph. 22 Jan 1968
  • Clark won the $1000 side prize for the first lap at 100 mph or better, recording 1:21.8 in a preliminary heat. 22 Jan 1968
  • The Lady Wigram Trophy 1968 was the first time in New Zealand that the BRMs finished a race that season, McLaren fifth and Rodriguez sixth. 22 Jan 1968
  • Jim Clark won his third Lady Wigram Trophy (1965, 1967, 1968) on 20 January 1968, in 59min 10.8sec at a record average of 102.6 mph. 22 Jan 1968
  • Chris Amon was the first to set the absolute Wigram lap record in the 1968 race, 1min 19.6sec (104.02 mph), which Clark equalled; the previous record was Jackie Stewart's from 1967. 22 Jan 1968
  • The $1000 side prize from Manchester Car Sales was won on Clark's second lap, at 101.22 mph, before the race had run three minutes. 22 Jan 1968
  • At the 1968 Lady Wigram meeting a Motor Racing Club station wagon and many spectators crossed the track before the last motor-cycle race had finished, with officials warning riders to throttle back at the Bomb Bay bend. 22 Jan 1968
  • In the 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy no resident New Zealand driver finished in the first six, the first time this had happened since the Tasman Championship began in 1964. 27 Jan 1968
  • Clark's average of nearly 103 mph put Wigram virtually on a par with Pukekohe as a power-driving circuit; Clark's standing-start lap took 1:25.2. 27 Jan 1968
  • The Pukekohe circuit was about three car-widths wide, making it hard to pass backmarkers, unlike Wigram. 11 Jan 1969
  • Jim Clark died in a crash at Hockenheim, West Germany, at the start of the 1968 European season. 12 Oct 1968
  • The 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy programme: first heat for trophy cars up to 1500cc at 10.00, second heat over 1500cc at 10.30, sports and GT over 1500cc 11.00, Motor Racing Club championship 11.45, Rothmans saloon heats at 12.30 and 1.30, motor-cycles at 1.00, Lady Wigram Trophy 2.30, free formula saloons 4.00, motor-cycles 4.30. 14 Jan 1969
  • The 15th Lady Wigram Trophy on 18 January 1969 marked 20 years of motor racing at Wigram, since New Zealand's first long-distance car race there in 1949. 14 Jan 1969
  • Chris Amon was 8.5 seconds behind Jim Clark in the 1968 Wigram race; he and Clark shared the 104.02 mph lap record. 14 Jan 1969
  • Four of the seven overseas drivers in the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy raced at Wigram for the first time. 14 Jan 1969
  • This was the first occasion in the Tasman series that Ferrari fielded only one car, Amon's, possibly adding a second later in the season. 14 Jan 1969
  • Aerofoil wings first appeared on Grand Prix cars in practice for the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and were fitted to every works Grand Prix team by 1969. 14 Jan 1969
  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy heat in 1969 counted as a round of the 1.5-litre National Formula Championship. 14 Jan 1969
  • Clark and Amon set the Wigram lap record of 104.02 mph (1min 19.6sec) in 1968; drivers usually lap faster in qualifying than in the race because of oil and rubber on the track. 14 Jan 1969
  • 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
  • In 1968 Amon won the first two Tasman rounds but failed to win another race after Levin. 14 Jan 1969
  • Flag marshals were stationed at nine points around the Wigram circuit for the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting, all in sight of each other. 14 Jan 1969
  • The 1949 New Zealand Road Racing Championship at RNZAF Wigram was over 105 miles and won by M. Proctor of Wellington in a Brooklands Riley. 15 Jan 1969
  • The 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting programme began at 10.00 a.m. with the first heat of the Lady Wigram Trophy and the main final at 2.30 p.m. 15 Jan 1969
  • Spectators arriving from the city via Sockburn or Blenheim Road were directed to enter via Vickerys Road. 15 Jan 1969
  • Tasman championship points: 9 for first, 6 second, 4 third, 3 fourth, 2 fifth, 1 sixth; Amon led with 18, Courage 10, Rindt 6, Geoghegan 5, Gardner 4, Bell and Lawrence 3, McRae 1 before Wigram 1969. 15 Jan 1969
  • Goodyear tyres were first used at Indianapolis in 1964 and won their first Formula 1 championship race in the 1965 Mexican GP with Richie Ginther. 15 Jan 1969
  • The Can-Am successes of 1967 and 1968 earned McLaren Racing a total of $337,000 in prize money. 15 Jan 1969
  • McLaren Racing was formed in 1963 to race two Cooper cars in the Tasman series, and built its first Formula 1 car in 1966 with a destroked Ford V8. 15 Jan 1969
  • Hill joined BRM in 1960 and helped BRM win its first world championship in 1962, narrowly ahead of Jim Clark in South Africa. 15 Jan 1969
  • The 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy record race average was 102.6 mph, and Jim Clark was the first to lap Wigram in under 1:22 (100 mph average); Clark and Amon shared the fastest lap of 1:19.6. 15 Jan 1969
  • The Wigram circuit in 1969 was 2.3 miles long. 15 Jan 1969
  • In 1955 a Connaught with an Alta engine driven by Tony Brooks won the Syracuse Grand Prix, a first for a British car. 15 Jan 1969
  • Vanwall won six of eleven Grand Prix events in 1958, and Tony Vandervell won the first World Constructors' Championship. 15 Jan 1969
  • In 1966 Jack Brabham became the first man to win the Constructors' Award driving his own make of car; Denis Hulme won in 1967. 15 Jan 1969
  • The Wigram circuit in 1969 was 2.3 miles; volunteers erected a timekeepers' stand, spectator stands and thousands of straw bales. 17 Jan 1969
  • A record attendance was expected for the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting at RNZAF Station Wigram. 17 Jan 1969
  • The meeting was held with the co-operation of the Air Department and the commanding officer and staff of RNZAF Station Wigram. 17 Jan 1969
  • In practice for the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy, Jochen Rindt's Lotus-Ford 2.5 unofficially lowered the Wigram lap record to 1:18.5 (about 105 mph), beating 1:19.6 set in 1968 by Jim Clark and Chris Amon. 17 Jan 1969
  • Front row of the first 1969 Wigram heat: McRae, D. Oxton (Brabham) and K. J. Smith (Lotus); second heat front row: Rindt, Amon and Hill, with Courage and Bell on row two and Gardner, Geoghegan and Lawrence on row three. 17 Jan 1969
  • Jochen Rindt set a new Wigram lap record of 1:18.8 (105.08 mph) in the 11-lap preliminary heat for the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy, an improvement on Jim Clark's 104.02 mph race average of 1968. 18 Jan 1969
  • In the first Rothmans Group V saloon heat at Wigram in 1969, R. Dawson and S. Black crashed; the Camaro caught fire but both drivers were unhurt and fire crews quickly brought the blaze under control. 18 Jan 1969
  • Christchurch motor-cyclist John Stuart (Yamaha) was taken to hospital after a crash in a Wigram motorcycle preliminary on 18 January 1969. 18 Jan 1969
  • More than 20,000 spectators watched the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy in brilliant sunshine. 18 Jan 1969
  • In the first 1969 Wigram Group 5 saloon heat, S. Black's Camaro spun backwards through the straw bales and I. W. Dawson's Mustang hit it; a small fire in the bales was quickly put out and both cars were extensively damaged. 20 Jan 1969
  • Jochen Rindt's winning 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy time of 58min 53.6sec for 44 laps (101 miles) averaged 103.11 mph, a record against the 102.6 mph set by Jim Clark in 1968. 20 Jan 1969
  • Rindt and Chris Amon both recorded a new race lap record of 1:18.8 (105.08 mph) at Wigram in 1969; the 1968 record was 1:19.6. 20 Jan 1969
  • A crowd of about 21,000 watched the 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy in hot weather; 12 of 23 starters finished. 20 Jan 1969
  • Graham McRae won the first 1969 Lady Wigram preliminary heat in his self-designed and built McRae-Ford 1500 despite clutch trouble; a failed gearbox oil seal was repaired before the main race. 20 Jan 1969
  • Jochen Rindt's 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy win was his first with Gold Leaf Team Lotus, in only his third race with the team. 20 Jan 1969
  • The 1969 Lady Wigram Trophy race lap record of 105.08 mph was 1.06 mph better than the 1968 record shared by Clark and Amon. 20 Jan 1969
  • The Motor Racing Club, usually only responsible for the annual Lady Wigram Trophy race, organised the 1969 record attempt, and permission was obtained for two cars to make runs. 22 May 1969
  • The first Lady Wigram Trek on 1 November 1969 used the Wigram circuit, with the Air Force providing No. 1 hangar and Pegasus Press donating fifty copies of the Shell Book of New Zealand Motor Racing as prizes. 25 Oct 1969

1970s (261)

  • The 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy prize fund was $14,000, with prizes of $3500, $2500, $1500, $1000, $800 and $700 for first to sixth places. 12 Jul 1969
  • The sixteen fastest qualifiers in pre-race trials would form the Lady Wigram Trophy race field. 12 Jul 1969
  • Eight NZ and Australian international promoters put up $114,000 in prize money; seven of the eight races count for the Tasman Championship, the opener being at Bay Park, Mount Maunganui on 29 December. 12 Jul 1969
  • Frank Matich won the 1970 NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe from start to finish at about 104.5 mph, in front of a crowd of more than 30,000, the biggest there since the first Grand Prix in 1963. 27 Nov 1969
  • At Wigram, Bomb Bay Bend leading onto the main straight is a 120 mph curve; the circuit is 2.3 miles compared with Pukekohe's 1.75 miles. 27 Nov 1969
  • Wigram is an operational RNZAF airfield; after each meeting the Motor Racing Club cleans up so aircraft can fly on Monday morning. 13 Jan 1970
  • American rider Ron Grant was entered in the 500cc motor-cycle race at the 1970 Wigram Airfield Championships on a Suzuki Cobra twin, almost certainly the fastest racing machine in the country. 13 Jan 1970
  • The 1970 Tasman Championship was a seven-race series with the Lady Wigram Trophy as its third round; points were 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for the first six places. 13 Jan 1970
  • The Tasman series was introduced in 1964 and won first by Bruce McLaren; Chris Amon in 1969 was the only other New Zealand champion up to 1970. 13 Jan 1970
  • The 1970 Wigram race was to use a rolling start for the first time. 13 Jan 1970
  • Grid positions for the 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy rolling start, the first used at Wigram, were determined by the preliminary race placings. 13 Jan 1970
  • Australian drag record holder Graham Withers covered the standing quarter-mile in 7.77 sec (over 190 mph) in his supercharged nitro-methane Ampol GT dragster and gave a demonstration at the 1970 Wigram meeting. 13 Jan 1970
  • The 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy was expected to draw a very large crowd, attracted by the new Tasman Formula which included 5-litre American V8 engines. 16 Jan 1970
  • In the first 1970 Wigram practice, four drivers topped 100 mph: McRae 103.89, Matich 102.48, Bell 102.35 and Grable 100.85. 16 Jan 1970
  • The Wigram lap record of 105.08 mph was shared by Jochen Rindt and Chris Amon in the 1969 trophy race. 16 Jan 1970
  • Motor Racing Club volunteers turned the taxiways of the operational RNZAF aerodrome into a racing circuit overnight, with practice starting at 11 a.m. 16 Jan 1970
  • The NZ Hot Rod Association quarter-mile record in January 1970 was 11.4 seconds, set by Brian Trigg in his dragster Andromeda. 17 Jan 1970
  • A capacity crowd attended the 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting; about 25 traffic officers directed cars, and St John Ambulance reported only two or three casualties, mostly from broken glass. 17 Jan 1970
  • Graham McRae set a new Wigram lap record of 1:18.6 (105.34 mph) in the 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy preliminary race; the 1969 record was 1:18.8, shared by Rindt and Amon. 17 Jan 1970
  • The preliminary race was the first rolling start at Wigram and decided the grid for the main race; the front row stayed Matich, McRae (Matich fastest qualifier on 1:18.2, 105.88 mph). 17 Jan 1970
  • Paul Fahey's Ford Escort FVA equalled the Wigram saloon lap record of 86.5 mph with a 1:35.4 lap in the first Mercury $1000 heat. 17 Jan 1970
  • A crowd estimated at 21,000 attended the 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy. 17 Jan 1970
  • The sixteenth Lady Wigram Trophy was the first Wigram race for Formula A-5000 cars; Derek Bell's 2.5 litre car, half the size, impressed despite poor handling. 17 Jan 1970
  • Frank Matich won the 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy at 101.35 mph, 61 seconds slower than Rindt's 1969 record time of 58min 53.6sec, and took a nine-point lead in the Tasman Championship (22 points to Lawrence's 13). 19 Jan 1970
  • Matich passed Grable on lap 6; the first four were Matich, Grable, Bell and Stewart. 19 Jan 1970
  • Prize money for the 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy totalled $16,000 with no starting money: Matich $3000, Grable $2000, Stewart $1500, Simpson $1200, Goth $1000, Campbell $900, Falloon $750, Phillips $600, other finishers $400. 19 Jan 1970
  • Paul Fahey won all three saloon car races at the 1970 Lady Wigram meeting in his Twin Cam Ford Escort; a crowd of 21,000 watched. 19 Jan 1970
  • Ron Grant (Suzuki 500, USA) was timed at 125 mph through the speed trap on the back straight at Wigram in January 1970, the fastest motor-cycle speed recorded at the circuit; the previous best was 120 mph in 1966. 19 Jan 1970
  • Matich's 1970 Lady Wigram win left Rindt's 1969 race record (102.68 mph) intact. 19 Jan 1970
  • Derek Bell held third place from the end of the first lap until he passed Grable on lap 27, then retired seven laps later with a blown engine. 19 Jan 1970
  • Crowd at the 1970 Lady Wigram Trophy was estimated at 21,000. 19 Jan 1970
  • Matich's average lap time in the 44-lap 1970 Wigram race was 81.7 seconds; Jochen Rindt's 1969 race record average was 102.68 mph. 24 Jan 1970
  • Graham McRae set a new Wigram lap record of 105.35 mph in the 1970 preliminary, 0.26 mph better than Rindt and Amon's 1969 record. 24 Jan 1970
  • The 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy attracted a record field of 23, 15 of them overseas entries: seven Australians, five Americans, an Englishman, a Belgian and nineteen New Zealanders were among the entry list. 16 Nov 1970
  • The 1971 New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe was won by Niel Allen at 107.895 mph from Matich by 0.4sec; the first four finishers beat Amon's 1969 record race time. 6 Jan 1971
  • The existing Wigram lap record of 105.34 mph, set by McRae in 1970, and Rindt's 1969 race record of 103.11 mph in a Lotus 49B were expected to fall in 1971. 6 Jan 1971
  • Matich set a Pukekohe track record of 111 mph (56.7sec) on lap 50 of the 1971 Grand Prix. 6 Jan 1971
  • Frank Matich's 1970 Lady Wigram win at 101.4 mph in 59min 54.2sec was 1min 0.4sec slower than Jochen Rindt's 1969 record in a Lotus 49BT Cosworth-Ford. 12 Jan 1971
  • The Wigram circuit at 2.3 miles was the longest used for international racing in New Zealand in 1971. 12 Jan 1971
  • Graeme Lawrence of Hamilton won the 1970 Tasman title, the first resident driver to do so, despite winning only one round (Levin). 12 Jan 1971
  • Tasman points are awarded 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for first to sixth places, and all performances count. 12 Jan 1971
  • The PDL Falcon driven by Clyde Collins was one of the fastest racing saloons in New Zealand in 1971. 12 Jan 1971
  • McLaren cars took the first three places, plus another place and eighth, in the 1971 New Zealand Grand Prix. 13 Jan 1971
  • CHTV3 planned the South Island's first direct telecast of motor racing at the 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy, with about 1200ft maximum camera cable runs and a race start timed to fit in just after the evening news. 13 Jan 1971
  • Four major saloon events were scheduled at Wigram in 1971 including the Bank of New South Wales national saloon championship, the first heat of the Mercury $1000 series and the Rothmans 30-minute saloon race. 13 Jan 1971
  • Graham McRae's Wigram lap record of 103.76 mph was set in the preliminary event of the 1970 meeting and was expected to be broken in 1971 qualifying, though the official figure stays until beaten on race day. 13 Jan 1971
  • The Motor Racing Club's 1971 Wigram spectator map showed new parking areas, with heavy vehicles banned from the usual spectator areas. 14 Jan 1971
  • A bumper crowd was expected at the 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy because the Tasman rounds at Levin and Pukekohe were exceptionally well patronised. 14 Jan 1971
  • On 15 January 1971 Graham McRae lapped the 2.3-mile Wigram circuit at 107.11 mph (1min 17.3sec) in practice, 1.1 seconds slower than his record of the previous year. 15 Jan 1971
  • The Wigram circuit for the 1971 meeting was ready by 10.30am after the Motor Racing Club began setting it up at the airfield at 5pm the previous day, with straw bales for protection. 15 Jan 1971
  • Amon's March 701 Cosworth Ford 2.5-litre had been third in the first Tasman round at Levin a fortnight earlier. 15 Jan 1971
  • McRae's pole lap for the 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy was 1:17.0 (107.53 mph), a Wigram circuit record for practice; the 1970 pole was set by Frank Matich. 16 Jan 1971
  • The fastest back-straight speed recorded in 1971 practice was 158.5 mph, with Cannon and Allen at 157.4 mph into a strong head wind. 16 Jan 1971
  • The Wigram race lap record stood at 1:18.8, set by Chris Amon and Jochen Rindt in the 1969 event. 16 Jan 1971
  • The 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy was the third of seven Tasman rounds, 101.2 miles, with $2600 first-place prize money; Allen led the series 15 points to McRae's 13. 16 Jan 1971
  • The Motor Racing Club president estimated the 1971 Lady Wigram crowd at about normal, around 20,000 people, by the lunch interval. 16 Jan 1971
  • Dale Wylie's Suzuki won the 1971 Wigram 500cc race despite showing signs of his crash at Tauranga a week earlier. 16 Jan 1971
  • Graham McRae won the 17th International Lady Wigram Trophy race (1971) from start to finish in a McLaren M10B and set a new lap record of 107.12 mph. 16 Jan 1971
  • McRae's lap record was about 1.8 seconds better than the 1969 record set by Jochen Rindt in a Lotus 49B. 16 Jan 1971
  • The 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy field of 20 cars had a high mortality rate; a crowd of more than 20,000 watched in a strong cool north-easterly. 16 Jan 1971
  • Graham McRae's winning time in the 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy was 57:51.8, beating the 1969 record race time of 58:53.6 (102.68 mph) set by Jochen Rindt. 18 Jan 1971
  • McRae's race lap record of 1:17.3 (107.12 mph) replaced the 1969 mark of 1:18.8 (105.08 mph). 18 Jan 1971
  • Graeme Lawrence finished third at Wigram for the first time in his eight attempts at the race. 18 Jan 1971
  • Suzuki took the first three places in the 1971 Wigram main motor-cycle race. 18 Jan 1971
  • The 1971 Bank of New South Wales saloon championship race at Wigram featured five separate two-car battles, regarded as one of the best saloon races seen on the 2.3-mile circuit. 18 Jan 1971
  • McRae's Chevrolet engine, which won at Levin, dropped a valve in the first practice session at Pukekohe, so he borrowed an engine from the Belgian VDS Racing Team before using his own rebuilt engine at Wigram. 18 Jan 1971
  • McRae won at Teretonga in 1970 at 95.426 mph, short of Piers Courage's 1969 race record. 18 Jan 1971
  • For 1972 the Wigram circuit was to be modified by eliminating the hairpin at the end of the main straight and altering the loop, shortening it from 2.3 to about 2.1 miles. 31 Dec 1971
  • The 1972 revised Wigram circuit had fewer slow corners and top speeds were expected to reach about 190 mph on the main straight. 15 Jan 1972
  • Graham McRae won the 1971 Lady Wigram Trophy at a record average of 104.94 mph and set a 107.12 mph lap record; those figures stay permanently in the Wigram record book because the circuit was modified for 1972. 18 Jan 1972
  • The modified 1972 Wigram circuit measured 2.13 miles; the hairpin at the end of the back straight became a sharpish left-hand curve and the loop needed only one turn. 18 Jan 1972
  • Friday practice was to give the first indication of the best chances for the 1972 trophy race. 19 Jan 1972
  • A 50 per cent increase in prize money in 1972 provided $12,000 for each of the eight Tasman races ($96,000 in total) plus $30,000 conditional awards from STP Corporation. 19 Jan 1972
  • Lady Wigram Trophy prize money in 1972: $2000 to the winner, $1500 second, $1200 third, $1000 fourth, descending to $200 each for 17th and 18th places. 19 Jan 1972
  • Two changes were made to the Wigram circuit for the 1972 meeting: the hairpin at the end of the main straight became a fast curve and the loop became a shorter, faster hairpin; main-race cars were expected to average well over 100 mph. 19 Jan 1972
  • Graham McRae set a 44-second lap record the first time out in the new Leda GM1 at Levin on 3 January 1972. 19 Jan 1972
  • Frank Matich became Australia's first full-time professional driver in 1964 and was the only Australian resident member of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. 19 Jan 1972
  • Two 25-mile motor-cycle races were scheduled at the 1972 Wigram meeting, with 60 riders starting in each: the first for the NZ 250 and 350cc road and airfield championships, the second for the NZ 500cc road championship and the 500cc and open airfield titles. 19 Jan 1972
  • Frank Matich lost two engines in the 1972 New Zealand Tasman rounds: the first through gasket trouble, the second destroyed by a split pin at Levin. 20 Jan 1972
  • Practice for the 1972 Lady Wigram Trophy began around 11.30am on Friday 21 January 1972 after the Motor Racing Club prepared the circuit and timekeepers' stands the night before. 21 Jan 1972
  • At the 1972 Lady Wigram meeting city-bound cars exited via two eastern exits onto Middle Lincoln Road, south-bound traffic via the station main entrance, and the racing circuit could not be used by departing cars. 22 Jan 1972
  • Graham McRae's 1:05.9 (116.35 mph) in qualifying for the 1972 Lady Wigram Trophy was the fastest average speed on a New Zealand circuit to that date; the five fastest cars were within 1.1 seconds. 22 Jan 1972
  • The 1972 Wigram circuit was 2.13 miles; track changes plus car and tyre improvements added nearly 10 mph to the lap speed compared with McRae's 107.12 mph record of 1971. 22 Jan 1972
  • On race day, 22 January 1972, a first-race rider crash and a motor-cycle practice incident sent three motor-cyclists to Christchurch Hospital's casualty department. 22 Jan 1972
  • Four cars ended up against a barrier in the loop on the first lap of the open saloon championship round one at Wigram in 1972. 22 Jan 1972
  • In the first 500cc race at Wigram in 1972, Ginger Molloy retired with an injured ankle after colliding with Geoff Perry while leading. 22 Jan 1972
  • Rob Walker said at Wigram in 1972 that crowd safety was bad, with only a hundred yards of bare grass between 150 mph cars and spectators. 22 Jan 1972
  • Graham McRae won the 1972 Lady Wigram Trophy at an average of 112.93 mph, the fastest race run in New Zealand or Australia to that time. 22 Jan 1972
  • McRae's fastest lap of 115.135 mph at Wigram in 1972 was shared with Frank Matich. 22 Jan 1972
  • Frank Radisich, from Henderson, scored his first Tasman championship point after many years of contesting the series by finishing sixth at Wigram in 1972. 22 Jan 1972
  • Four cars ended up against a course barrier in the loop in the first round of the 1972 open saloon car championship. 22 Jan 1972
  • Ginger Molloy led the first 1972 Wigram motor-cycle race for five laps before Perry, a lap down, dived under him at the back of the circuit and collided with him. 23 Jan 1972
  • Perry's 88.95 mph fastest lap time of 1:26.2 at Wigram in 1972 could not be compared with earlier years because of circuit alterations. 23 Jan 1972
  • The highest speed recorded down the back straight of the 1972 Wigram motor-cycle meeting was 119.4 mph, in the first race. 23 Jan 1972
  • McRae's 112.93 mph average in the 1972 Lady Wigram Trophy made it the fastest race run in New Zealand and probably the Southern Hemisphere. 24 Jan 1972
  • The 1972 Lady Wigram Trophy was McRae's second successive Wigram victory; first prize was $2000. 24 Jan 1972
  • Crowd was about 24,000 according to this report, about 20 per cent better than the year before. 24 Jan 1972
  • A four-car crash at the loop on the first lap of a 1972 Wigram saloon race injured no one. 24 Jan 1972
  • After a practice crash, the NZ Auto Cycle Union insisted on hay bales behind the artificial kerbing at Wigram in January 1972. 24 Jan 1972
  • A 14-year-old non-competitor suffered a ruptured spleen at Wigram when his motor-cycle hit a rope across a circuit exit. 24 Jan 1972
  • Wigram was the fastest circuit in the 1973 eight-race New Zealand-Australia Tasman series. 28 Oct 1972
  • The Lady Wigram 1973 meeting was to be the first time GTX production saloons raced at Wigram. 28 Oct 1972
  • Wigram was the fastest circuit of the 1973 Tasman series, with lap speeds up to around 115 mph. 19 Jan 1973
  • A crowd of several thousand watched the Friday practice at Wigram in January 1973. 19 Jan 1973
  • McRae's 117.969 mph qualifying lap at Wigram in January 1973 was on the 2.13-mile aerodrome circuit. 20 Jan 1973
  • Stewart burst the engine sump in familiarisation runs but repaired it in time to be second fastest. 20 Jan 1973
  • Moffat, in the Falcon GTHO he used to win the 1971 Bathurst 500 production race, said New Zealanders had the fastest Chrysler Chargers in the world after Leonard beat him. 20 Jan 1973
  • The hairpin at the end of the back straight had been eliminated before the 1972 meeting, making the circuit faster. 20 Jan 1973
  • Wigram was the fastest circuit used in the Tasman series; the 1972 winner averaged 112.92 mph in a Leda GM1. 28 Oct 1972
  • The first Wigram race was held in 1949. 16 Jan 1973
  • The 1973 meeting was the first time GTX production saloons raced at Wigram, with two motor-cycle races on the programme. 16 Jan 1973
  • The Wigram circuit measured 2.13 miles in 1973. 16 Jan 1973
  • The Wigram meeting is held on Air Force property; spectators were asked to respect it. 16 Jan 1973
  • Alan Rollinson won the fastest Formula A-5000 race at Monza in 1971 at an average 145 mph. 16 Jan 1973
  • Takahara became the first Japanese to race at Wigram in 1973. 16 Jan 1973
  • Molloy's first 750 Kawasaki burnt in a practice session at Bay Park, Tauranga, when no working fire extinguisher could be found. 17 Jan 1973
  • Prize money for the Wigram motor-cycle races was put up by the Suzuki Centre. 17 Jan 1973
  • Matich's Repco-powered Matich A50 took pole in the 1973 NZ Grand Prix and fastest lap at Levin. 17 Jan 1973
  • Lawrence was hoping to make his single-seater return at Wigram in 1973 after the 1972 Grand Prix crash that killed Bryan Faloon. 17 Jan 1973
  • A J-type MG that raced at the first Wigram meeting in 1949 would lead the old MGs round the circuit before the 1973 trophy race. 17 Jan 1973
  • The Wigram motor-cycle programme in January 1973 had a racing class in four categories and a production race in four classes, sponsored by the Suzuki Centre with more than $750 prize money. 17 Jan 1973
  • Grant won the inaugural Pan Pacific Motor Cycle Cup in Perth before the 1973 New Zealand circuit. 17 Jan 1973
  • Drivers expressed dissatisfaction with circuit conditions at Pukekohe's 1973 NZ Grand Prix. 18 Jan 1973
  • Wigram is an operational military base and the home of many Air Force families, so some areas are out of bounds to spectators. 18 Jan 1973
  • At the 1973 NZ Grand Prix prize money was paid only down to seventh place; Wigram planned to pay down to fourteenth. 19 Jan 1973
  • Officials estimated the 1973 Lady Wigram Trophy crowd was slightly better than the year before; Brewer thought it could be the best for five years. 20 Jan 1973
  • McRae's 1973 Lady Wigram Trophy win was at a record race average of 114.277 mph; only three cars finished all 47 laps. 20 Jan 1973
  • McRae was fastest qualifier on the Friday for the 1973 trophy race. 20 Jan 1973
  • About 20,000 spectators watched the 1973 Lady Wigram Trophy; McRae was on pole in a field of 18 cars. 20 Jan 1973
  • Warwick Brown set a Wigram lap record of 116.89 mph in the 1973 trophy race. 20 Jan 1973
  • Unofficial crowd estimates for the 1973 meeting ranged from 15,000 to 20,000, one of the best crowds for many years. 22 Jan 1973
  • A 1932 MG J3, one of 18 timber-framed MGs supplied by the Christchurch MG Car Club, first raced at Wigram in 1949 at an average just over 60 mph; McRae's 1973 race average was over 114 mph. 22 Jan 1973
  • To hold a Grand Prix at the 2.13-mile Wigram circuit, the RNZAF base would be needed for three days. 27 Jan 1973
  • Traditionally the Motor Racing Club laid out the Wigram circuit on the Thursday night before the meeting and cleared up by Monday morning for flying operations. 27 Jan 1973
  • The NZ Grand Prix was then promoted by an Auckland organisation set up for the purpose, at the modified Pukekohe circuit. 27 Jan 1973
  • Prize money for the Wigram motor-cycle race was $900 with $120 for the outright winner. 17 Jan 1974
  • Jon White was the first production machine home, sixth overall, in the 1974 NZ Open Airfield championship. 19 Jan 1974
  • Fiat 124 coupes took the first five places in the Group 2 Castrol GTX race at Wigram in January 1974. 19 Jan 1974
  • At the 1974 Wigram airfield championships J. A. Boote's Yamaha TZ750 was electronically timed at 150.9 mph on the back straight, more than 20 mph faster than any previous speed recorded on the circuit. 21 Jan 1974
  • Boote's unofficial 1:22.6 lap equalled 92.83 mph on the 2.13-mile Wigram circuit. 21 Jan 1974
  • The 1974 NZ Grand Prix at Wigram was the first time the Grand Prix was held in Christchurch. 17 Jan 1974
  • McCormack won the Australian Gold Star series for the first time in November 1973 by three points from Johnnie Walker. 17 Jan 1974
  • Allan Moffat was to race a Chevrolet Monza flown from the US at Wigram, the first Monza raced in New Zealand. 18 Jan 1974
  • The Wigram circuit was resurfaced after the 1973 meeting. 19 Jan 1974
  • McRae won the 1973 Lady Wigram Trophy at 114.277 mph and Brown set the 116.89 mph lap record. 19 Jan 1974
  • McCormack won the 1974 NZ Grand Prix at Wigram, his second successive Grand Prix win, at a record average of more than 115 mph. 21 Jan 1974
  • Peter Gethin set a 120.566 mph record for the 2.13-mile Wigram aerodrome circuit in the 1974 Grand Prix. 21 Jan 1974
  • About 20,000 spectators ringed the Wigram circuit for the 1974 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. 21 Jan 1974
  • McCormack's 1974 Grand Prix time of 52min 29.8sec was a new race record. 22 Jan 1974
  • The main 1975 Lady Wigram Trophy race was set for 44 laps with prize money of $14,500; the richest support race, the final saloon race, carried $2100. 7 Nov 1974
  • The 1975 Wigram track was to include the hairpin bend that had been deleted two years earlier in favour of a fast corner, because spectators wanted it back. 7 Nov 1974
  • Graham McRae won the Tasman series in 1971, 1972 and 1973 but failed to finish in the first two 1975 rounds at Pukekohe and Levin. 14 Jan 1975
  • McRae said the 1974 Stuyvesant series cost him about $34,000 against $24,000 in prize and starting money, and he had already spent $15,000 on the 1975 series. 14 Jan 1975
  • Chris Amon set the fastest lap in the 1975 NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe, nearly 2 seconds faster than Warwick Brown, despite a slow pit stop for tyres. 16 Jan 1975
  • Wigram is described in 1975 as a wide, fast, flat circuit with some nasty bumps, where the early leader often sets too fast a pace. 16 Jan 1975
  • Allan Moffat broke the 100 mph saloon lap mark at Wigram in January 1974 on the circuit without a hairpin; the hairpin at the end of the main straight was reinstated for 1975. 16 Jan 1975
  • Radio Avon put up $50 for the first driver to lap a saloon at more than 100 mph at the January 1975 Wigram meeting. 16 Jan 1975
  • Lawrence was severely injured in a 160 mph crash on the back straight in the 1972 NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe driving a new Lola T300, spending six months in hospital. 16 Jan 1975
  • Lawrence won the first round of the 1975 Stuyvesant series at Levin; fuel problems may have cost him second at Pukekohe. 16 Jan 1975
  • Graham McRae won the Tasman/Stuyvesant series in 1971, 1972 and 1973; a split nut at Levin and inappropriate tyres at Pukekohe cost him points in the first two 1975 rounds. 16 Jan 1975
  • Johnnie Walker won the first round of the 1974 Stuyvesant series at Levin and finished fourth equal on points overall. 16 Jan 1975
  • Brown's crash at Surfers Paradise in early 1973 happened at 145 mph when a tyre went flat; his car cartwheeled into a drainage ditch and both his legs were smashed. 16 Jan 1975
  • John Boote recorded the fastest motorcycle speed in the history of road racing at Wigram in 1974, 150 mph down the back straight; he hoped to better it, aiming for 157 mph, in January 1975. 16 Jan 1975
  • The January 1975 Wigram motorcycle races were cut from 11 to eight laps, with no warm-up lap; the first race was for 250, 350 and 500cc airfield championships, also counting towards NZ road racing titles. 16 Jan 1975
  • The main motorcycle race at the 1975 Lady Wigram meeting was sponsored by McCleary Motors with a $500 first prize and more than $2000 in total prizes. 16 Jan 1975
  • The 1975 Lady Wigram Trophy was the twenty-first and the third round of the eight-race Stuyvesant series. 16 Jan 1975
  • Graeme Lawrence was the first New Zealand resident driver to win the Tasman Cup, in 1970; Graham McRae won in 1971, 1972 and 1973 and Peter Gethin in 1974. 16 Jan 1975
  • Stuyvesant series points were awarded 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for first to sixth place. 16 Jan 1975
  • The Motor Racing Club added a $4000 side prize for a New Zealander who won the 1975 Radio Avon feature saloon race at Wigram. 16 Jan 1975
  • The trophy donated by Mrs Patty McLaren in January 1975 goes to the driver with the fastest lap in the race; the club keeps the trophy and gives a memento. 17 Jan 1975
  • The 1974 trophy race was won at 114.277 mph by John McCormack; Peter Gethin set the then record lap at 120.566 mph. 17 Jan 1975
  • In 1971, the last time the hairpin was part of the circuit, Graham McRae won at 104.93 mph; a fast left-hand curve replaced the hairpin from 1972 and the hairpin was reintroduced in 1975. 17 Jan 1975
  • Allan Moffat's 1:21.7 (96.94 mph) was fastest saloon qualifying time for the 1975 Wigram meeting. 18 Jan 1975
  • Five of the first six finishers in the 1975 Wigram motorcycle races were riding Yamahas. 20 Jan 1975
  • The 1975 Lady Wigram Trophy was a 44-lap race over the 2.2-mile aerodrome circuit with a 14-car field and a rolling start. 20 Jan 1975
  • Murdoch's Begg 018 lacked power on the fast Wigram circuit in 1975, finishing seventh. 20 Jan 1975
  • For the January 1976 Lady Wigram meeting the pit and paddock area was to move from the infield to the outside of the circuit just beyond the exit from the hairpin. 23 Jul 1975
  • The eight 1976 Wigram races: Shellsport saloon, Motorcraft Formula Ford, super saloons, Lady Wigram Trophy, Radio Avon saloon race (OSCA or Shellsport), go-kart exhibition, vintage and historic cars, fastest saloons. 15 Jan 1976
  • Stuyvesant points were 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 for first to sixth. 15 Jan 1976
  • Graeme Lawrence set a new lap record at Pukekohe in the 1976 Grand Prix and led at Manfeild until a valve rocker broke. 27 Jan 1976
  • Ken Smith started on the front row at Manfeild with Lawrence (same practice time) but finished ninth; a tread came off a rain tyre on lap 31 and he lost about four minutes in the pits. 27 Jan 1976
  • Graham McRae set the Wigram race lap record of 117.073 mph in the 1975 trophy race. 15 Jan 1976
  • John McCormack's saloon lap record set in 1975 in the Ansett Charger seemed almost certain to fall. 16 Jan 1976
  • The Wigram Formula 5000 lap record was 1min 7.65sec (117.073 mph) set in 1975 by Graham McRae; the saloon record was 99.124 mph set by John McCormack. 16 Jan 1976
  • The 1976 Lady Wigram meeting used rolling starts for all races, with pits moved to outside the circuit near the end of the back straight; spectator entrances cut to four by closing the main entrance to the air force base. 17 Jan 1976
  • Weather for the first 1976 qualifying session at Wigram was very warm with a strong north-west wind. 17 Jan 1976
  • Ken Smith's 67.5sec (117.333 mph) lap in qualifying on 17 January 1976 broke Graham McRae's 1975 Wigram record of 67.65sec (117.073 mph). 17 Jan 1976
  • Ken Smith won the third round of the 1976 Peter Stuyvesant series at Wigram in 51min 53.9sec and set the fastest lap. 19 Jan 1976
  • Brian Redman suffered a crash in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix that left steel rods in his arm. 19 Jan 1976
  • Redman owns a Porsche 917 which Mrs Redman described as the fastest road racing car in the world. 19 Jan 1976
  • The 1976 Lady Wigram Trophy was described as probably the dullest meeting at Wigram since the first in 1949. 19 Jan 1976
  • The Wigram circuit in 1976 was 2.2 miles around the aerodrome. 19 Jan 1976
  • Crowd at the 1976 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was estimated at 12,000 to 14,000, a bit down on 1975; admission was $3. 19 Jan 1976
  • The Wigram airfield circuit was described in 1976 as the fastest in Australia and New Zealand. 19 Jan 1976
  • The second round of the 1976 Peter Stuyvesant series at Manfeild was hit by bad weather. 24 Jan 1976
  • The first Wigram race in 1949 had a 20-car field including Bentleys, Lagondas, Coopers, MGs and Rileys; races were about 50 laps. 29 Jan 1977
  • Total prize money for the 1977 Stuyvesant series was $60,000, $12,000 per meeting. 8 Dec 1976
  • Prize money of $20,450 was offered at the 1977 Wigram meeting. 8 Dec 1976
  • In January 1977 it was announced that the world governing body would not issue a permit for racing at Wigram after 1977, because a once-a-year circuit could not be inspected. 8 Dec 1976
  • Wigram had no injured spectators and only one driver taken to hospital in almost 30 years, according to Gordon Sheppard in 1977. 8 Dec 1976
  • Bill Leckie was horrifically burned in a Manfeild crash in October 1976. 12 Jan 1977
  • The first race meeting at Wigram was held on 26 February 1949. 27 Jan 1977
  • Ken Smith won the 1976 Lady Wigram Trophy at an average of 180 km/h in his Lola T332 with a fastest lap of 68 sec (184.44 km/h). 27 Jan 1977
  • In 1975 Graham McRae lapped the 3.54 km Wigram circuit in 62.65 sec. 27 Jan 1977
  • The 1977 Lady Wigram Trophy was run over 44 laps; prize money was $3000 for first, $2000 for second and $1500 for third. 27 Jan 1977
  • After the Manfeild qualifying, Rosberg had won two Citizen watches and Kozarowitzky one for fastest qualifying in the 1977 series. 27 Jan 1977
  • The Motor Racing Club expected 18,000 to 20,000 spectators at the 1977 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. 28 Jan 1977
  • Millen finished third in the 1972 Bank of New South Wales saloon series and first competed in the Stuyvesant series in 1974 with a Chevron B20. 28 Jan 1977
  • Wigram practice on Saturday 29 January 1977 gave the overseas drivers their first look at the airfield circuit. 29 Jan 1977
  • Keke Rosberg took pole at Teretonga in 1977 with a 56.4 sec lap of the 3.575 km circuit; the Teretonga race was 62 laps. 29 Jan 1977
  • At Manfeild 1977 Rosberg was 11th in the first session and 10th in the second before taking pole in the third. 29 Jan 1977
  • Leo Leonard's Mustang II lapped Wigram at 161.342 km/h (100.253 mph) in 1977 qualifying, the fastest lap yet by a saloon car at the circuit. 29 Jan 1977
  • Steve Emson, just turned 20, made his first single-seater drive in the 1977 Lady Wigram Trophy practice. 29 Jan 1977
  • Mikko Kozarowitzky was the first Finn to appear on a New Zealand starting grid since international motor racing began more than 20 years earlier (1977). 29 Jan 1977
  • Wigram was described in 1977 as the last operational airfield motor racing circuit in the world. 29 Jan 1977
  • For the 1977 meeting large tyres set back from the track replaced the 1976 water-filled drums used as crash barriers. 29 Jan 1977
  • Rosberg's fastest lap of the 1977 Lady Wigram Trophy was about 1:11 (111.549 mph); race average 109.44 mph. 31 Jan 1977
  • Leo Leonard's P.D.L. Mustang set a new Wigram saloon lap record of about 1:17.2 on 30 January 1977, beating Allan Moffat's 1:17.6 from 1976. 31 Jan 1977
  • Steve Emson made his first Formula Pacific drive at the 1977 Lady Wigram Trophy, finishing ninth. 31 Jan 1977
  • David Oxton was the first resident New Zealand driver to finish the 1977 Lady Wigram Trophy, in eighth place. 31 Jan 1977
  • Leo Leonard won three of three starts at the 1977 Wigram meeting, setting a Wigram saloon lap record of 1:17.38. 31 Jan 1977
  • Corners on the 1978 Wigram circuit were renamed with advertisers' names. 21 Jan 1978
  • The 1978 Peter Stuyvesant series was the first time March entered a works car in the New Zealand Formula Pacific series. 21 Jan 1978
  • At Teretonga in January 1978 the series ran in two heats per round; Rosberg won two heats but was penalised one minute for an alleged start jump in the first. 24 Jan 1978
  • Ken Smith was the first resident New Zealander to win the New Zealand Grand Prix, in 1976. 24 Jan 1978
  • 1978 Stuyvesant prizemoney per round: first $2125, second $1250, third $1000, fourth $700, fifth $550, sixth $425, seventh $350, eighth $250, ninth $200, tenth to twentieth $150. 24 Jan 1978
  • Steve Millen's Chevron B42 for the 1978 series was the world's first (chassis 01), bought by the Schollum brothers from the factory, with three Brian Hart BDA Ford engines. 26 Jan 1978
  • In 1976 Ken Smith won the NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe, the first resident New Zealander to do so, and also won at Wigram. 26 Jan 1978
  • The lap records at Teretonga, Pukekohe, Manfeild and Bay Park had already been broken in the 1978 series, the first two by Rosberg. 27 Jan 1978
  • Preparing the Wigram circuit for racing took about four hours, and after the meeting it was converted back to an airfield. 28 Jan 1978
  • Grandstands were built for about 500 spectators at Wigram in 1978. 28 Jan 1978
  • St John Ambulance had 50 officers and four first-aid posts at the 1978 Wigram meeting; about 20 people needed minor treatment. 30 Jan 1978
  • Larry Perkins took pole position for the 1978 Wigram final round and led the first race until he hit oil or water on the eighth lap and slid wide. 30 Jan 1978
  • A multiple shunt at the first corner of the second Wigram race in January 1978 involved Rosberg, Rahal, Millen and Miedecke; Rosberg had a front wheel broken and was out of the race. 30 Jan 1978
  • Fastest lap of the 1978 Wigram OSCA saloon race was 1:17.8 by Ryan. 30 Jan 1978
  • Admission prices rose from $3 to $5 in the 1978 series; officials blamed higher prices, hot weather and Rosberg's domination for lower crowds. 30 Jan 1978
  • The Motor Racing Club said there had been no fatality at Wigram since it was first used for racing in 1949. 30 Jan 1978
  • Keke Rosberg said in 1978 that Wigram was the second most dangerous circuit in New Zealand and that Formula One drivers would not race there. 30 Jan 1978
  • The first Wigram race in 1949 was 105 miles (50 laps), the first NZ championship road race, with a field of 22 or 24 starters and a crowd estimated at 20,000 to 30,000. 25 Jan 1979
  • McMillan's Ralt was rebuilt after a front cross-member broke in a crash at Teretonga, and had extra streamlining for the fast Wigram circuit. 27 Jan 1979
  • Riley damaged both left-side wheels hitting concrete at the hairpin during first practice at Wigram in January 1979. 27 Jan 1979
  • Organisers needed at least 6000 paying spectators at the 1979 Wigram meeting to make it pay without major sponsorship; the 1978 meeting had cost them $37,000. 24 Jan 1979
  • The 1979 Shellsport Saloon Championship drew 18 entries (cars up to 2000cc) with $1800 prize money; Formula Ford drew 15 entries with $700 prize money; the classic motor-cycle race drew 15 entries. 24 Jan 1979
  • Formula One cars were to appear at Wigram in 1979 in a demonstration race for the first time in many years. 24 Jan 1979
  • The first Lady Wigram race in 1949 was won by Morrie Proctor in a Brooklands Riley. 24 Jan 1979
  • Escortsport, a new race series for standard Ford Escort Sports, debuted at Wigram in 1979 with $500 prize money. 24 Jan 1979
  • Allan Moffat's 1:17.6 in a Chev Monza was the outright saloon lap record for the 3.5km Wigram airfield circuit before the 1979 meeting. 25 Jan 1979
  • Mike Hailwood won 10 world road-racing championships and a record 13 Isle of Man TT victories; he made a comeback win at the Isle of Man in 1978 at age 38. 25 Jan 1979
  • The Surtees TS9B Hailwood was to drive first raced in the 1972 Argentine Grand Prix with Tim Schenken, finishing fifth after qualifying eleventh. 25 Jan 1979
  • James Hunt drove the Surtees TS9B in his first Formula One race in 1973, qualifying thirteenth and finishing second. 25 Jan 1979
  • Up to 20 traffic officers handled traffic at the 1979 Wigram meeting; the Wigram straight is probably the fastest in NZ racing. 27 Jan 1979
  • The winning Brooklands Riley of the first 1949 race was at the 1979 parade without its driver Morrie Proctor, who was too ill to attend. 27 Jan 1979
  • Dave McMillan won both heats of the 1979 Lady Wigram Trophy in a Citizen Nashua Ralt and broke Keke Rosberg's Wigram lap record, 1:10.7 on the 3.5km circuit. 29 Jan 1979
  • The 1979 Wigram crowd was estimated at between 6000 and 7000. 29 Jan 1979
  • The 1979 Lady Wigram Trophy, the thirtieth, drew fewer than 6000 spectators; in the past the event drew more than 20,000. 29 Jan 1979
  • The Wigram circuit had to be set up after 4.30pm Friday for racing at 10am Saturday, and the airfield restored by midday Monday-ish after the Sunday meeting. 29 Jan 1979
  • Sybil Lupp was the only woman in the first Wigram race in 1949 and finished fifth; she finished second the following year and seventh in 1951. 29 Jan 1979
  • Dave McMillan set the Wigram lap record at 1:10.7 in 1979, beating Keke Rosberg's 1:10.8 from 1978; his pit crew timed 1:10.55. 29 Jan 1979
  • Cars in the 1979 Wigram parade of nostalgia ranged from the 1931 Brooklands Riley, winner of the first Wigram race in 1949, to the Surtees TS9B Formula One car. 29 Jan 1979
  • Dave McMillan finished equal first New Zealander and sixth overall in the 1976-77 Stuyvesant series and won the NZ Gold Star. 3 Feb 1979
  • The 1979 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting took George Begg five weeks of full-time work to organise, and attendance fell short of target. 3 Mar 1979

1980s (187)

  • Hec Green won the 1950 Wigram race, worth about $400 in prize money, and was seventh in the 1961 race. 19 Jan 1980
  • The first Wigram race in 1949 was held on a circuit just over two miles long made from runways and connecting roads, with 500 bales of hay on hazardous bends. 22 Jan 1980
  • 22 cars started the first Wigram race in late February 1949; Morrie Proctor won the 105-mile race in about 1 hour 35 minutes before about 25,000 spectators. 22 Jan 1980
  • Lady Wigram presented the trophy for the first time in 1956. 22 Jan 1980
  • The Lady Wigram Trophy was run in two heats, the first at 1.00 and the second at 3.25 on the programme. 23 Jan 1980
  • The meeting closed with a Flying Farewell for the fastest saloon cars, sponsored by Radio Avon. 23 Jan 1980
  • The Brooklands Riley, to be driven by Bruce Winder, won the first Wigram race more than 30 years before 1980. 23 Jan 1980
  • The first motor race at Wigram was held in 1949. 23 Jan 1980
  • In 1949 drivers wore rudimentary crash hats and goggles, with no seat belts or fireproof suits. 23 Jan 1980
  • In 1949 Wigram racing drivers wore only basic crash hats and goggles without seat belts or fireproof suits. 26 Jan 1980
  • Desiree Wilson of South Africa became the first woman to drive in the NZ international series, at Wigram on 27 January 1980. 17 Nov 1979
  • The 1980 Wigram programme: Ford Escort saloon race, motor-cycle classic, first heat Lady Wigram Trophy, OSCA race, classic car race, Formula Ford, Shellsport saloons, motor-cycle classic, second heat and flying farewell for the fastest saloons. 23 Jan 1980
  • The 1980 Lady Wigram Trophy offered $11,000 in prize money on the 3.5km Wigram circuit; the Wigram family originally required an annual motor race be held on the runways as a condition of donating the land. 23 Jan 1980
  • Heat points in 1980: 20 for first, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1. 23 Jan 1980
  • Keke Rosberg finished third in the 1980 Argentine Grand Prix, the first round of the 1980 championship, in a Fittipaldi. 23 Jan 1980
  • The works March 792B was designed around side-skirts, which were banned for 1980, so the team had to run more rear wing in NZ, and the cars weighed about 50kg more than the Ralts. 23 Jan 1980
  • For the 1980 Wigram meeting a grandstand was planned on the infield at the hairpin; infield spectators entered off Wigram Road and the start-finish line was moved past the pits. 23 Jan 1980
  • Dave McMillan's 1:10.7 lap record from the first heat of the 1979 Lady Wigram Trophy was helped by a tailwind on the main straight. 23 Jan 1980
  • The 1980 OSCA classic at Wigram carried $1000 in prize money; the final was seven laps. 23 Jan 1980
  • A crowd of about 10,000 watched the Escort Sport race at the NZ Grand Prix meeting at Pukekohe in January 1980. 23 Jan 1980
  • The first Wigram race (1949) was won by Maurice Proctor in a Brooklands Riley; speeds in 1980 were nearly three times those of the first race 31 years earlier. 23 Jan 1980
  • Only about 2000 people watched racing at Teretonga in 1979, and organisers were unable to run the 1980 event after the attendance flop. 23 Jan 1980
  • Speeds were expected to reach about 220 km/h along the Wigram back straight, nearly three times the speed reached in the first race 31 years earlier. 26 Jan 1980
  • The first Wigram race was won by Maurice Proctor in a Brooklands Riley. 26 Jan 1980
  • John Woodley crashed in the first motor-cycle race at the 1980 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting, breaking bones in his foot and suffering burns; he was to leave to race in South-east Asia. 26 Jan 1980
  • About 6000 paying spectators attended the 1979 Wigram meeting. 26 Jan 1980
  • Dave McMillan won both heats of the 1980 Lady Wigram Trophy at Wigram, each 80 km, before about 7000 spectators. 26 Jan 1980
  • Andrea de Cesaris said the works March was overwhelmingly outclassed by the lighter Ralts on the circuit in 1980. 26 Jan 1980
  • At the 1980 Lady Wigram meeting the Formula Ford race offered $600 in prize money and had 15 starters. 28 Jan 1980
  • Paul McLachlan took the $175 top motor-cycle prize twice at the 1980 Lady Wigram meeting. 28 Jan 1980
  • The Lady Wigram Trophy was first run in 1949 and had been run every year until the 1981 cancellation. 14 Sep 1980
  • Wigram was the only international licensed circuit in the South Island and one of the few airfield venues in the world (1980). 20 Nov 1980
  • The Wigram circuit was 3.4 km long in 1981. 20 Jan 1981
  • Each heat of the 1981 Lady Wigram Trophy carried A$5000 prize money, A$2000 for the winner down to A$125 for sixth. 20 Jan 1981
  • Organisers expected about 6000 spectators on the Sunday of the 1981 Lady Wigram meeting. 20 Jan 1981
  • The main Air Force gate was closed to spectators and competitors in 1981; alternative entrances were used. 20 Jan 1981
  • The 1981 Wigram meeting programme: Shellsport saloons, motor-cycle race, 1st heat Lady Wigram Trophy, South Island production saloons, Formula Ford, OSCA saloons, motor-cycle race, 2nd heat Lady Wigram Trophy and all-comers saloons, with the first race at 12.15pm. 21 Jan 1981
  • Prize money for each heat of the 1981 Lady Wigram Trophy: $2000 first, $1250 second, $750 third, down to $125 for sixth, plus champagne for the winner. 21 Jan 1981
  • Wigram was described in 1981 as the fastest circuit in New Zealand and Australia, with wide run-offs. 21 Jan 1981
  • A gentleman's agreement from the sale of the Wigram airfield land ensured at least one race a year, kept with only one break since 1949 when the circuit was re-sealed. 21 Jan 1981
  • Freeth's Mark VI made its winning debut at Wanganui's Cemetery Circuit on Boxing Day 1980. 21 Jan 1981
  • Wigram lived up to its reputation as a car-breaking circuit in 1981 first practice, with a strong crosswind. 24 Jan 1981
  • The 1981 Pacific series had six rounds plus a meeting in Australia on February 8; the first round was at Bay Park on December 28, 1980. 24 Jan 1981
  • Dave McMillan was believed to be the first competitor outside Japan to obtain a four-valve Nissan engine for Formula Pacific (1981). 24 Jan 1981
  • The 1981 Lady Wigram Trophy races were 24 laps each, watched by about 6000 spectators. 26 Jan 1981
  • Prize money of $10,000 was paid for each event in the 1981 Aurora AFX Formula Pacific series. 26 Jan 1981
  • From 1974 the series became the Peter Stuyvesant Series; Peter Gethin won the first in a Chevron and Warwick Brown the 1975 series in a Lola. 16 Jan 1982
  • Twenty-one drivers were entered for the 1982 Aurora AFX Formula Pacific races at Wigram for prize money of $5000. 16 Jan 1982
  • David Oxton's 1:10.6 in practice for the 1982 Lady Wigram Trophy was a tenth of a second under the Pacific lap record, but as it was set in practice it could not be claimed as a record. 23 Jan 1982
  • Less than 1.5 seconds separated the first seven Shellsport saloons in qualifying at Wigram in January 1982. 23 Jan 1982
  • Dave McMillan said he first raced a Formula Ford in 1971, when he was 25. 30 Jan 1982
  • McMillan said his near-fatal 1980 accident in the USA left him unable to remember five days; he hoped to drive a Dan Gurney Eagle at Indianapolis and later run his own team. 30 Jan 1982
  • The 1982 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was the final round of the Aurora AFX series for Formula Pacific cars, held at RNZAF Station Wigram on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 January 1982. 16 Jan 1982
  • Practice day was Saturday, with the first race at 12 noon on Sunday. 16 Jan 1982
  • There was no entry to the circuit through the main gate of the Wigram air base. 16 Jan 1982
  • First race of the 1982 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was at 12.15pm on Sunday 24 January. 20 Jan 1982
  • For the 1982 Lady Wigram meeting between 60 and 70 people converted Wigram air base into a circuit in about six hours on 22 January, using 400 scraper tyres from Twizel and other earthworks sites owned by the Motor Racing Club. 21 Jan 1982
  • Sports saloon races at the 1982 Lady Wigram meeting carried prize money of $1500 per race. 21 Jan 1982
  • Dave McMillan won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe in January 1981, becoming the first driver to simultaneously hold the Grand Prix, international and national titles. 21 Jan 1982
  • In 1980 McMillan became the first New Zealander to win the international Formula Pacific series and the first to win the international and national series double. 21 Jan 1982
  • McMillan was leading the 1980 USA Super Vee championship by more than 20 points until a near-fatal accident at Minnesota. 21 Jan 1982
  • At the 1982 Wigram meeting, spectators were not allowed entry at the main gate and infield access closed at 10am on Saturday. 23 Jan 1982
  • Bomb Bay Bend on the Wigram circuit was described as a frightening 220 km/h corner. 23 Jan 1982
  • First race of the 1982 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was at 12.15pm. 23 Jan 1982
  • Moreno's lap times were around the 1 minute 12 second mark in the first heat; at the finish he was 14 seconds ahead of McMillan. 25 Jan 1982
  • The first New Zealand car road racing championship was held on the sealed runways at RNZAF Station Wigram on Saturday 26 February 1949 over 105 miles on a 2.1-mile circuit; 22 cars started and between 20,000 and 30,000 spectators attended. 23 Jan 1982
  • In 1961 rain was so heavy that the main race was shortened by 50 miles, and Jim Clark's Lotus Eighteen spun off the back straight and bogged down in the grass. 23 Jan 1982
  • 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
  • In first practice for the 1983 Lady Wigram Trophy less than half a second separated the first five Formula Pacific cars, all Ralt RT4s. 22 Jan 1983
  • Allan Berg of Calgary was to be the first Canadian to contest a New Zealand Formula Pacific series. 28 Dec 1982
  • Dave McMillan started 185 races between 1972 and 1982, winning 78, second 24 times and third 22 times, and was fastest qualifier 75 times. 15 Jan 1983
  • David Oxton's fastest race lap in the 1982 Lady Wigram Trophy was marginally slower than Roberto Moreno's fastest qualifying time. 15 Jan 1983
  • Trevor Crowe won three of the first four races in the 1983 sports sedan series, run in conjunction with the international Formula Pacific series, before blowing his Toyota Starlet's motor at Manfeild. 19 Jan 1983
  • The 1983 Just Juice Lady Wigram Trophy, final round of the Just Juice international Formula Pacific series, was the first occasion on which a Tiga raced in a New Zealand Formula Pacific race. 20 Jan 1983
  • Wigram was described as the longest international racing circuit in New Zealand. 20 Jan 1983
  • The 1983 Just Juice Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was held on Saturday 22 (practice) and Sunday 23 January 1983, with the first race at 11.30am and two heats of the Lady Wigram Trophy. 20 Jan 1983
  • Only 1.18 seconds separated the fastest from the slowest qualifier at Manfeild for the penultimate round of the Just Juice Formula Pacific series in January 1983. 20 Jan 1983
  • Norm Hunter won the first Manfeild heat from start to finish and Charlie O'Brien won the second in January 1983. 20 Jan 1983
  • The fastest sports sedans were expected to reach up to 290 km/h on Wigram's main straight in January 1983. 21 Jan 1983
  • Laser Sports made their first appearance at Wigram in January 1983; Clive Williams of Auckland led the championship with 28 points. 21 Jan 1983
  • The 1983 Lady Wigram Trophy was the 34th running of the race, first run in 1949; the only gap was 1955 when the airfield perimeter strip was being resealed. 21 Jan 1983
  • The Lady Wigram Trophy was first won by Morrie Proctor of Wellington in a Riley 9 Brooklands. 21 Jan 1983
  • Oxton set the fastest lap of the 1982 Wigram races at 70.4 seconds, an average speed of 174.29 km/h. 22 Jan 1983
  • Ken Smith set a new Wigram Formula Pacific race lap record of 1:10.01 (176.324 km/h) in the second 1983 Lady Wigram Trophy race; the previous record of 1:10.70 was set by McMillan in 1980. 24 Jan 1983
  • The Wigram circuit was 3.43km long in 1983. 24 Jan 1983
  • Norm Hunter, the fastest qualifier, crashed heavily on lap 5 of the first 1983 Lady Wigram Trophy race; debris from his car caused handling problems for Ken Smith and a spin for Oxton, who retired in race one with carburation trouble in his first race retirement in six years. 24 Jan 1983
  • Inky Tulloch (Capri V8) won the first sports sedan race at the 1983 Wigram meeting and Trevor Crowe (Starlet V8) won the second. 24 Jan 1983
  • Inky Tulloch twice lowered Alan Moffat's big-saloon lap record at Wigram on 23 January 1983, from 1:17.6 to 1:16.97 and then 1:16.86. 24 Jan 1983
  • Huxford's Capri broke its rear axle in the first sports sedan race at Wigram in January 1983. 24 Jan 1983
  • Allen Berg won the first heat and was third in the second heat to take the 1983 Lady Wigram Trophy and the Just Juice international series with 58 points. 24 Jan 1983
  • In the first 1983 Lady Wigram heat, Hunter and Oxton touched on lap 5 at the sweeper onto the back straight, putting both out; Oxton returned briefly then retired. 24 Jan 1983
  • In heat 2, McMillan and Oxton raced nose-to-tail for the first 12 laps; Oxton passed McMillan on lap 13 and McMillan retired with two laps remaining. 24 Jan 1983
  • The Lady Wigram Trophy was first run in 1949 and was held every year except 1955, when the airfield perimeter strip was being resealed. 20 Jan 1984
  • Keke Rosberg won the trophy in 1977, the first year Formula Pacific cars ran at Wigram. 20 Jan 1984
  • David Oxton's 68.95 second practice lap at Wigram in January 1984 was faster than Ken Smith's 70.01 lap record, but times only count officially if set under race conditions. 21 Jan 1984
  • Ken Smith's best time in the first practice session was fifth fastest. 21 Jan 1984
  • Davy Jones said Wigram was an enjoyable circuit but that some bumps were disconcerting. 21 Jan 1984
  • The 1984 Just Juice Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 January with the first race at 11.30am. 20 Jan 1984
  • The 1983 Lady Wigram Trophy heats were remembered as the best single-seater racing seen on the Wigram circuit for years, fought out by New Zealanders Ken Smith, David Oxton and Dave McMillan. 20 Jan 1984
  • Ken Smith set the Wigram lap record of 70.01 sec in 1983 while chasing Oxton. 20 Jan 1984
  • The ANZ Bank touring car championship, a new class featuring a Holden versus Ford battle, made its first South Island appearance at Wigram on 22 January 1984; a Falcon won at Bay Park and a Commodore won at Pukekohe and Manfeild. 20 Jan 1984
  • The first national Formula Ford championship was run in New Zealand in 1972 and was won by David Oxton; Dave McMillan won in 1973 and 1976, Eric Morgan in 1977 and Grant Campbell in 1978. 20 Jan 1984
  • Neville Crichton's Commodore SS was disqualified after winning the ANZ touring car race at Manfeild in January 1984, apparently for a slip-joint exhaust connection, and the prize money of $5000 was withheld. 20 Jan 1984
  • Ken Smith's 1983 Wigram lap record was 70.01 seconds. 20 Jan 1984
  • The Wigram meeting on 22 January 1984 was not to be televised live because of difficulties covering the long airfield circuit, while the other three Just Juice meetings were. 20 Jan 1984
  • The Motor Racing Club was told that Wigram's Lady Wigram Trophy races in 1984 would not be covered live on television owing to difficulties with outside coverage on the long airfield circuit. 20 Jan 1984
  • In 1983 Norm Hunter was fastest qualifier at Wigram with 70.40s on the 3.429km circuit, an average of 175.346 km/h, with Oxton second fastest on 70.50s. 20 Jan 1984
  • In the 1983 Lady Wigram races, Allen Berg won, Hunter crashed in the first race, and Ken Smith set the lap record in the second race. 20 Jan 1984
  • The touring car championship rules were biased slightly in favour of Falcons so they could compete with Holden Commodores; Falcons finished first and second at Wigram in January 1984. 23 Jan 1984
  • In the first Motorcraft Formula Ford heat at Wigram in January 1984 the lead changed nine times between Richards, Crawford, Lester and Ingram. 23 Jan 1984
  • The Wigram circuit measured 3.429 km and was first used for motor racing in 1949. 23 Jan 1984
  • Ken Smith set the Wigram lap record of 1:10.01 in 1983. 23 Jan 1984
  • Jones qualified second fastest behind Oxton for the 1984 Lady Wigram Trophy. 23 Jan 1984
  • David Oxton's winning time in race two was 1.38 sec quicker than Jones's in race one, giving Oxton the fastest time of the two Lady Wigram heats in 1984. 23 Jan 1984
  • The Wigram lap record for Pacific cars in January 1984 was held by Ken Smith at 70.1 sec, set in 1983. 23 Jan 1984
  • The January 1984 Wigram round was the first sighting in the South Island of the new ANZ Bank Touring Car Championship. 23 Jan 1984
  • Cheever had first driven a Formula Pacific car in a private session the day before. 3 Dec 1984
  • The OSCA prize pool was increased by $10,000 to $35,000 for the 1984/85 championship. 28 Nov 1984
  • Formula 5000 began at Wigram in 1970; the first Formula 5000 race winner there was Australian Frank Matich. 29 Nov 1984
  • Lap speed in km/h can be calculated by multiplying the circuit length in km by 3600 and dividing by the lap time in seconds. 29 Nov 1984
  • Access to the Wigram infield in 1984 closed on Saturday and opened at 10.30 am on Sunday, with spectators admitted only via the Wigram Road gate. 29 Nov 1984
  • Tom Gloy won the first Wigram race for Formula Pacific cars in 1977. 29 Nov 1984
  • The main gates to the Wigram air force base were closed to the public; infield and back straight entry was via Wigram Road, the Loop via Springs Road, and front straight via Washbournes Road. 29 Nov 1984
  • The December 1984 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting had 15 events, the first at 11.15am. 29 Nov 1984
  • Ross Cheever's first competitive season was 1982 in Formula Ford, where he won his second outing. 29 Nov 1984
  • Cheever's December 1984 Lady Wigram Trophy ride was his first drive in a Formula Pacific car. 29 Nov 1984
  • Ken Smith held the Wigram lap record for Formula Pacific cars at 70.01 sec in December 1984. 29 Nov 1984
  • The Wigram circuit was given as 3.44 km long in the Star's December 1984 preview. 29 Nov 1984
  • Norris Farrow withdrew from the first race but won the second race of the 1984 Wigram motor-cycle challenge's Formula One class. 3 Dec 1984
  • Strong winds on the back straight slowed lap times, and Ken Smith's Pacific lap record of 70.01 sec at Wigram was never threatened. 3 Dec 1984
  • Only 1.69 sec separated the first eight drivers in Formula Pacific practice at Wigram on 18 January 1986; all were in Ralt RT4s. 18 Jan 1986
  • Strengthening wind after the first practice made improvement in the second timed session unlikely. 18 Jan 1986
  • The Quinns Fashion Trophy was a new four-lap (14 km) Group A saloon race for women drivers, first prize worth $3000. 31 Aug 1985
  • A 1930 Brooklands Riley, one of six built, won the first Lady Wigram Trophy race in 1949. 14 Jan 1986
  • The Brooklands Riley on display at Riccarton Mall in January 1986 won the first Lady Wigram Trophy race in 1949. 14 Jan 1986
  • The Motor Racing Club members converted Wigram from an operational air base to a race circuit each year. 15 Jan 1986
  • The January 1986 Lady Wigram meeting included the first Quinns Fashion Cup for female drivers, with $3000 of cash and fashion prizes. 15 Jan 1986
  • Select Autos/Auto Warranty Mini 7s were included on the Wigram programme for the first time in January 1986. 15 Jan 1986
  • All three earlier 1986 rounds at Bay Park, Pukekohe and Manfeild were affected by wet weather. 16 Jan 1986
  • The January 1986 Lady Wigram Trophy was the 37th running; the race was first run in 1949. 16 Jan 1986
  • In 1986 the Phillip Mills Luxury Cars Lady Wigram Trophy was awarded for one race only: the first race was 20 laps and the Lady Wigram Trophy race 30 laps. 16 Jan 1986
  • The Quinn's Fashion Cup at the January 1986 Lady Wigram meeting was believed to be the first women's race at national level in New Zealand; prizes were valued at $3000. 17 Jan 1986
  • The Quinn's Fashion Cup at Wigram in January 1986 was the first women's race held at national level in New Zealand, according to Motor Racing Club president Don McKay. 17 Jan 1986
  • The 1986 Wigram meeting included championship rounds for OSCA, NZ touring cars, pre-1965 saloons, Mini 7s, Formula Ford, 2.5GT saloons and the first women's race in New Zealand motor racing. 17 Jan 1986
  • Jeff MacPherson won the first round at Bay Park in January 1986 after Cheever retired, and won the second race at Manfeild after Cheever won at Pukekohe. 17 Jan 1986
  • Debbie Lester of Palmerston North won the first Quinn's Fashions Trophy women's race. 20 Jan 1986
  • Jeff MacPherson won both the first Formula Pacific heat and the 30-lap Lady Wigram Trophy at the 1986 meeting. 20 Jan 1986
  • The 1986 Lady Wigram Trophy was run over 30 laps on the 3.43km Wigram airfield circuit. 20 Jan 1986
  • Debbie Lester took a $1500 wardrobe prize in the 1986 Quinns Fashions women's handicap at Wigram. 22 Jan 1986
  • MacPherson's 1:08.59 in 1986 was the fastest race lap ever by a Formula Pacific car at Wigram. 22 Jan 1986
  • An Australia versus New Zealand sports sedan clash with six V8 cars was set for Wigram on January 18, 1987, taking top billing over the single-seaters for the first time. 19 Dec 1986
  • The Wigram circuit was quoted as 3.44km in 1987. 14 Jan 1987
  • The New Zealand team for the 1987 Handy Hire match races was to be the fastest six qualifiers in Saturday practice. 14 Jan 1987
  • The 1987 Lady Wigram Trophy entrants might take second billing for the first time since the race began. 14 Jan 1987
  • Sports sedan racing at Wigram in 1987 was two 8-lap races over the 3.44km circuit. 16 Jan 1987
  • The Wigram circuit was 3.44km long in 1987. 17 Jan 1987
  • Four of the six Australians had gearing problems on the long Wigram circuit in 1987 practice. 17 Jan 1987
  • The 1987 Lady Wigram meeting broke a 37-year tradition by giving top billing to sports sedans, and drew the biggest crowd for years. 19 Jan 1987
  • The 1987 Lady Wigram meeting saw a 30 per cent increase in attendance. 30 Jan 1987
  • In the 1987 Wigram sports sedan challenge Trevor Crowe won the first race by 0.05sec and the second by 0.21sec over Bob Tindall. 30 Jan 1987
  • Ken Smith won the 1976 Lady Wigram Trophy in a Lola Formula 5000, averaging 186.21km/h, still the fastest race average in the 38-year history of the event as of 1987. 17 Jul 1987
  • Ken Smith held the fastest average speed for the Lady Wigram Trophy race, 186.2km/h, as of December 1987. 26 Dec 1987
  • The 1988 Benson and Hedges series was the first to be organised by Global Sports and Promotions. 21 Jan 1988
  • The 1988 Motorcraft Formula Ford championship had record entries of up to 29 cars. 21 Jan 1988
  • Dean Hall won the 1988 Lady Wigram Trophy, his first Formula Pacific series win, after Radisich lost gears on lap 24. 25 Jan 1988
  • Bill Clark bought the P3 Alfa in 1960 for 2350 (pounds) with a trailer he later sold for 450; its last circuit appearance was a Country Gentlemen's meeting at Wigram in the summer of 1987-88. 14 Dec 1988
  • The first Christchurch car race was held on 26 February 1949 and won by Morrie Proctor (Brooklands Riley) at 65.67 mph over 105 miles. 20 Jan 1989
  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was run by the Motor Racing Club on Easter Saturday, 24 March 1951, and won by Les Moore in a P3 Alfa Romeo. 20 Jan 1989
  • Three Australians (John Nind, Tom Sulman, Ken Tubman) contested the first Lady Wigram Trophy meeting in 1951. 20 Jan 1989
  • The Motor Racing Club cancelled its 1955 Lady Wigram meeting because the RNZAF planned to reseal the taxi-strips that formed the circuit. 20 Jan 1989
  • The Canterbury Car Club appealed unsuccessfully against the Motor Racing Club's application to run the first Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. 20 Jan 1989
  • The 1989 Wigram meeting was 40 years after Morrie Proctor won the main race at the first meeting on the circuit. 27 Jan 1989
  • The 1961 Lady Wigram race was run in pouring rain and won by Jack Brabham, with Stirling Moss recovering from a start shunt to finish second. 27 Jan 1989
  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy race was held in 1949 and won by Morrie Proctor in a Riley Nine; the Motor Racing Club has organised the meeting annually since 1951. 27 Jan 1989
  • In 1989 the Wigram meeting was described as the only international motor racing meeting still held on an operational airfield, on the RNZAF base. 27 Jan 1989
  • The January 1989 Wigram meeting was the 40th motor racing meeting on the 3.44km Wigram air base circuit. 28 Jan 1989
  • Paul Radisich led the 1989 Lady Wigram Trophy race for about the first half before his engine blew. 30 Jan 1989
  • Hiro Matsushita was the first Japanese driver to win the Lady Wigram Trophy, beating Mark Smith by 11.30 seconds in 1989. 30 Jan 1989
  • The 1989 Lady Wigram Trophy race was 30 laps; the fastest lap was 70.09 sec (1:10.09), credited to Paul Radisich in this results table. 30 Jan 1989
  • Paul Radisich won the first 15-lap Formula Pacific race at Wigram on 29 January 1989 in 17:45.30. 30 Jan 1989
  • Hiro Matsushita, aged 27, had never seen the Wigram circuit before late on the Friday afternoon of the 1989 Lady Wigram meeting. 13 Feb 1989
  • Matsushita was second-fastest in qualifying behind Paul Radisich, but a water-pump seizure forced an engine change in his Panasonic Swift DB4 before race day. 13 Feb 1989
  • The Wigram circuit length was given as 2.31 miles (3.71 km) in 1989; the 1989 Lady Wigram Trophy race was 111.5 km. 10 Feb 1989
  • In the 1960s the Lady Wigram meeting offered a side prize for the first 100mph (160 km/h) lap in the race; it was first achieved by Jim Clark in 1968. 10 Feb 1989
  • The 1968 Lady Wigram Trophy was 163.57 km; Clark's Gold Leaf Team Lotus was the first commercially sponsored livery in European-style racing. 10 Feb 1989
  • Ken Smith was fourth in the 1989 Lady Wigram Trophy race, and Dean Hall's fastest lap that year was 190.238 km/h versus Smith's 189.537 km/h. 10 Feb 1989
  • The Lady Wigram Trophy race is held annually at the RNZAF base on the outskirts of Christchurch; 1989 marked its 40th anniversary. 30 Jan 1989

1990s (60)

  • The 1990 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was moved from Wigram to the Canterbury Car Club's Ruapuna circuit because of runway reconstruction at Wigram. 4 Nov 1989
  • In October 1989 the Wigram circuit was announced unavailable for two years because of runway reconstruction. 7 Oct 1989
  • The 1990 and 1991 Lady Wigram Trophy meetings were scheduled for Ruapuna because of runway resurfacing at Wigram; the airfield circuit was 3.44km long. 24 Jan 1990
  • The 1990 Lady Wigram Trophy at Ruapuna was the first break from the Wigram airfield since 1955, when no race was held because of runway resealing. 26 Jan 1990
  • Craig Baird, 19, won both Formula Pacific races at Ruapuna on 28 January 1990 including the Lady Wigram Trophy; the series concluded at the Levels circuit the following weekend. 29 Jan 1990
  • Paul Radisich set the fastest lap of the Ruapuna Formula Pacific race one in 38.93 sec; Ken Smith the fastest in the Lady Wigram Trophy race in 39.35 sec (January 1990). 31 Jan 1990
  • Fastest lap of the 1990 Lady Wigram Trophy race was Ken Smith's 39.35 sec; Radisich's 38.93 sec was the fastest lap of heat 1. Feb 1990
  • The 1990 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was the first true international car race meeting at Ruapuna. 10 Jan 1991
  • The 1991 Lady Wigram meeting was held at Ruapuna for the second year because the RNZAF had a prior claim on the Wigram airfield. Feb 1991
  • The Canterbury Aviation Company trained 182 pilots for the Royal Air Force during the First World War. 9 Aug 1991
  • After the July 1991 Budget the Defence Force ordered all RNZAF flying training to leave Wigram within three years, saving an estimated $4.8m a year. 9 Aug 1991
  • Holden HQs and Mazda RX7s made a first appearance at the 1992 Wigram meeting as supporting races. 18 Dec 1991
  • The revised Wigram circuit for 1992 was to have an extended loop section and a resited pit area, with the infield kept free of spectators. 19 Jul 1991
  • Julian Westwood was regarded as the fastest and most professional visiting driver in the Peter Jackson series since Davy Jones, after the first two rounds at Teretonga and Levels in 1992. 15 Jan 1992
  • Graham McRae won the Lady Wigram Trophy in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1975 and still held the record for most victories as of 1992. 15 Jan 1992
  • In 1992 Wigram was only available as a race circuit for the two days of the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting, so Group N drivers had just two quarter-hour practice sessions. 18 Jan 1992
  • Rain began to fall shortly before the start of the 1992 Lady Wigram Trophy, a 26-lap race, and Craig Baird won by less than a second from Julian Westwood. 20 Jan 1992
  • Multiple pile-up at the hairpin on lap one spoilt the first ICI Autocolor Formula Ford heat at Wigram in 1992. 20 Jan 1992
  • Sunday crowd at the 1992 Wigram meeting was around 3000, competing with a cricket test at Lancaster Park, but the Lady Wigram Trophy race attracted 10,000. Feb 1992
  • The Brooksands Riley won the first Lady Wigram Trophy race in 1949 and was being restored in 1992 by Auto Restorations of Christchurch. 21 Jan 1992
  • The RNZAF planned to move all flying from Wigram by 1994, after which the airfield would close; about 400 jobs were affected. Feb 1992
  • Moving flying training from Wigram would save the RNZAF $4.8 million a year but remove $13 million a year from the Canterbury economy. 20 Nov 1992
  • RNZAF Base Wigram occupies 247ha and has trained military pilots since 1917; the RNZAF Museum there is guaranteed a home regardless of the base's fate. 1 Dec 1992
  • If Wigram's flying training had to shift, the RNZAF had decided it would go to Ohakea. 1 Dec 1992
  • Wigram air base covers 247ha; civilian operators proposed sharing it with the RNZAF as at Woodbourne, where Safe Air and Air New Zealand are based. 9 Dec 1992
  • The decision to move flying training to Ohakea ended 75 years of flying training at Wigram, which was established to train pilots for the Royal Flying Corps and became the birthplace of the RNZAF. 9 Dec 1992
  • The Air Force Museum at Wigram is protected because its site is administered by a separate trust. 9 Dec 1992
  • In December 1992 the RNZAF confirmed it would consolidate flying at Ohakea and Whenuapai, closing Wigram as a flying base. 19 Dec 1992
  • The Britten V1100 motorcycle was the first New Zealand-built machine to win the country's Formula One Grand Prix, at Ruapuna in January 1993. 16 Jan 1993
  • Steve Cameron won the New Zealand Formula Vee Championship and the Bruce McLaren Memorial Trophy in 1979 and his first American Formula Atlantic race in 1984. 19 Jan 1993
  • McEwan on the Britten won the Airfield Trophy at the Lady Wigram meeting, 17 January 1993, in front of a crowd of several thousand. 19 Jan 1993
  • Attendance at the January 1993 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was estimated at 500 to 1000 up on 1992's 3300. 23 Jan 1993
  • Attendance at Wigram in 1993 was up because it was thought to be the last Wigram meeting before closure of the RNZAF base. Feb 1993
  • Planning approval was given in early 1993 for circuit extensions at Manfeild and Ruapuna, which were expected to proceed due to Wigram's likely closure. Feb 1993
  • Ruapuna was given approval to use land to the west of the present circuit, extending straight ahead from the hairpin. Feb 1993
  • Wigram air base will close in late 1995; the Air Force Museum and adjacent hangars will be retained. 12 Mar 1993
  • In July 1993 the Wigram air base covered 247ha and was being withdrawn from RNZAF use. 16 Jul 1993
  • The RNZAF was due to vacate Wigram air base in late 1995; it opened in 1917 as a flying training base. 5 Aug 1993
  • The 3 Squadron Detachment helicopter unit and the RNZAF Museum were to remain at Wigram. 5 Aug 1993
  • Wigram air base was due to be declared surplus to RNZAF requirements on 1 January 1996. 11 Aug 1993
  • The RNZAF's 1992-93 budget at Wigram was $37 million, $7 million below 1990-91 and 1991-92. 11 Aug 1993
  • The RNZAF was due to vacate Wigram base by the end of 1995; Christchurch City Council wanted Defence to retain ownership and lease the 247ha site to the city. 11 Aug 1993
  • Wigram was due to close in December 1995; the RNZAF's relocation costs to Woodbourne were put at $34.5 million. 24 Sep 1993
  • The RNZAF moved Wigram's functions to Woodbourne and Ohakea because it was cheaper, and Wigram was to close in December 1995. Oct 1993
  • The RNZAF was due to leave Wigram in December 1995. 22 Oct 1993
  • The 1991 Defence budget cuts led the RNZAF to announce that all flying training would leave Wigram within three years. 1994
  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy meeting was in 1949. 19 Jan 1994
  • The 1994 Peter Jackson championship was held over three meetings, the first at Wigram. 19 Jan 1994
  • The 1994 Wigram meeting included the first Nissan Sentra Aztec Cup round in the South Island and the first round of the national Mini 7 championship. 17 Jan 1994
  • The 1994 Lady Wigram Trophy was the first time Formula Brabham cars raced in New Zealand. 21 Jan 1994
  • The 1994 Lady Wigram Trophy was shortened to 23 laps (89km) because of rain, and was won by Paul Stokell. 24 Jan 1994
  • Paul Stokell was the first Australian to win the Lady Wigram Trophy since 1978. 26 Jan 1994
  • The final Lady Wigram Trophy in January 1994 was run in rain and was won by Paul Stokell, introducing Formula Brabham to New Zealand. 20 Apr 1994
  • Leo Leonard set a Wigram lap record of 1:14.90 in the PDL Mustang 2 in 1978, which stood in the record books for many years. 2 Feb 1994
  • Greg Murphy won five of six 1994 Peter Jackson Series races but lost the title to Paul Stokell by 10 points after spinning out of the Lady Wigram Trophy in torrential rain. 7 Feb 1994
  • The first Wigram race meeting was held on 26 February 1949 with RNZAF co-operation, two weeks after being proposed, and drew about 20,000 people. 22 Apr 1994
  • RNZAF Base Wigram was to close on 15 September 1995 after 58 years' service, with about 500 families departing. 27 Jul 1995
  • The RNZAF ensign was to be lowered for the last time at Wigram during a Beating of the Retreat on 14 September 1995. 27 Jul 1995
  • The first pupils moved on to the base in June 1917 and 32 graduated in February 1918. 31 Jul 1998
  • By 1998 the former RNZAF Wigram base of more than 250 hectares was owned by the Ngai Tahu Property Group. 18 Aug 1998

2000s (10)

  • The first Lady Wigram Trophy race took place on 26 February 1949. 9 Feb 2000
  • The Last Wigram meeting was held mid-week in early 2000, fifty-one years after the first race, when the RNZAF had left and the airfield was being turned into housing. 9 Feb 2000
  • The Last Wigram meeting was not open to the public because a permit was impossible for safety reasons; spectators watched from the perimeter roads. 9 Feb 2000
  • Historic cars at the final Wigram meeting included the Brooklands Riley that won the first Wigram race and the historic Lady Wigram Trophy. 9 Feb 2000
  • A private drivers' meeting closed to the public was planned at Wigram on the Wednesday to farewell the high-speed airfield circuit. 7 Feb 2000
  • The final race meeting on the 3.87km Wigram airfield circuit was a drivers-only classic farewell held on 9 February 2000, closed to the public. 10 Feb 2000
  • The 1930 Brooklands Riley in which Morrie Proctor won the first Wigram race in 1949 took a lap during the lunch break at the 2000 farewell. 10 Feb 2000
  • Two weeks before the 1957 Wigram race Roycroft put the Ferrari on pole for the NZ Grand Prix at Ardmore, the first local to do so. 10 Aug 2000
  • Les Moore won the Motor Racing Club's 100-mile race at Wigram in 1951 in a record 1hr 27min 41sec in the Alfa Romeo P3. 18 Nov 2000
  • The 1951 Wigram 100-mile race offered a 500 pound prize. 18 Nov 2000

References

  1. Henry Wigram, Wikipedia
  2. Wigram, Henry Francis, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara
  3. Wigram airbase timeline, Christchurch City Libraries
  4. Wigram Aerodrome, Wikipedia
  5. The Lady Wigram race, Air Force Museum of New Zealand
  6. Lady Wigram Trophy, Christchurch City Libraries
  7. Wigram, primotipo (2022)
  8. Other 1950 races, sergent.com.au
  9. Murray McFadden, Wigram Motor Racing 1949–1994: The History of the Motor Racing Club; cited at jimbarclay.nz
  10. 1949 Lady Wigram Trophy, Motor Sport database
  11. Wigram Airfield Circuit, Wikipedia
  12. Wigram, Motor Sport database
  13. Lady Wigram back on track, Otago Daily Times
  14. NZ Formula Pacific and Tasman results, oldracingcars.com
  15. SKOPE Classic to feature replica V8-powered Cortina, Otago Daily Times
  16. The end of the Wigram motor racing era, talkmotorsport.co.nz
  17. Lady Wigram Trophy, Wikipedia