Lady Wigram Trophy

Wigram, 20 Jan 1968

All cars are 2.5-litre Tasman unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Brabham BT23 [2] (Denis Hulme): Motor Racing Developments entry for Denny Hulme in 1967 and probably the car used by Jack Brabham for a few races in July and August after his usual car was sold to Mick Mooney. Then raced by Frank Gardner in September. It was then taken to the Tasman series for Denny Hulme to drive after he had wrecked BT23-5 at Pukekohe. The BT23 was then advertised by Frank Williams in early April and sold by him to Ernesto 'Tino' Brambilla in Italy. Brambilla raced it as a Scuderia Picchio Rosso entry at Tulln-Langenlebarn in July 1968, but was then recruited by Ferrari to drive the F2 Dino 166, and his BT23 was only seen once more that season, when driven by Enzo Corti at Vallelunga in October. Corti drove the car for Scuderia Picchio Rosso right through the 1969 season, and it was then raced a few times in early 1970 by Vittorio Brambilla, Tino's younger brother. In 1970, the car had BT30 sidepods and wings. Its last appearance was in July 1970, after which the brothers bought new Brabham BT30s. The next steps in the car's life remains unclear, but it is said to have been acquired by Antonio Bernardo (Lugano, Switzerland) some time in the early 1970s. An original claim that Bernardo acquired it directly from the Winkelmann Racing at the end of the 1967 season appears to have been a misunderstanding. He stored it unused "for over 30 years". It was bought from Bernardo in 2006, and restored between 2006 and 2010. Paint layers on the bodywork match the colours used by MRD and Corti, and the double-rollhoop also matches Corti's car, but some questions remain unanswered about this car as of February 2023.
2. McLaren M4A [M4A/2] (Piers Courage): Entered by John Coombes for Piers Courage in F2 in 1967. Crashed at Brands Hatch in August 1967 and believed to have been rebuilt on a new tub before its next race at Albi four weeks later, but Autosport makes no mention of a rebuild nor of it being a new car. Raced by Piers Courage in the 1968 Tasman series. Sold to Niel Allen and raced in Australian events in 1968 until Allen crashed heavily at Lakeside in July, reportedly requiring another new tub to be fabricated. Raced again by Allen in 1969, then to Pat Burke for drivers Len Goodwin 1970-71 and Warwick Brown 1971. Sold by Burke and Peter Malloy to Erol Richardson but bought back by Pat Burke around 1982. Restored by Molloy for Burke and retained until sold to John Hugenholtz. To David Coplowe (England) by 1994. Raced in the HSCC Historic Formula Racing Car Championship in 1995. Raced by Coplowe until 2010, and sold to Gareth Williams (Oxfordshire) in 2012.
3. McLaren M4A [M4A/1] (Jim Palmer): Entered by Bruce McLaren Motor Racing for Bruce McLaren in F2 in 1967. Sold to Jim Palmer (NZ) 1968, then to Tony Osborne's Argo Racing in Australia July 1968, driven by Peter Macrow in 1968 and then Alfredo Costanzo from 1968 to 1971. To Ken Hastings mid-1971, who swapped the FVA for a Ford twin-cam for 1972, and the to John Sheppard August 1973. Fitted with a 1300cc Toyota Corolla engine by Geoff Kennett 1974. Later Tony Armstrong (Victoria, Australia) in November 1982 and rebuilt around 1985. At Christie's Melbourne auction 1990 where it was sold to Art Valdez (Torrance, CA). It remained in Valdez' collection for many years, until sold to a UK consortium in 2017.
4. Brabham BT18 (Roly Levis): New Zealander Roly Levis had a new Brabham BT18 with 1500cc Ford twin cam engine ready for the New Zealand Gold Star race at Renwick in mid-November 1966. He raced it though the 1966/67 season, before selling it to Tony Shaw for 1967/68. Levis continued to race the car in Shaw's ownership throughout that season. It was then sold to Allan McCully for the 1968/69 season. It reappeared in 1973 with Russ Noble, who raced it in Gold Star events in 1973/74. It was then acquired by Murray Baker, rebuilt with a Chevrolet V8 and renamed 'Elk'. It raced in this configuration in 1974/75. It was later owned by Tom Donavan and Richard Trewsdale. Some time before 1984, it was bought from Trewsdale by David Currie and Ken White, and was immaculately restored by Currie to Levis's specification. In in April 1986, it was sold to Charlie Conway, who used it in historic racing in New Zealand. Rodin Wootton took over the drive in 1992, until Conway sold the car to Bruce Wootton (Auckland, NZ) in 1997.
5. Brabham BT6 [FJ-9-63] (Bill Stone): Brabham Racing Organisation for Denny Hulme in Formula Junior in 1963. To Alec Mildren Racing, fitted with a 1500cc Ford twin cam engine and raced in Australian national racing by Frank Gardner in 1964. To Roly Levis in November 1964 for New Zealand racing in 1965 and 1966. Entered by Levis for Bill Stone in 1966/67 then sold to Stone who raced it again in 1967/68. Sold to Gerald 'Jiggs' Alexander in September 1968 and raced in the 1968/69 and 1969/70 seasons, after which Alexander stripped the car with the intention of restoring it. However, it remained in this state until 1999 when it was sold to Ian McDonald (Australia) who restored the car and ran it in Australian historic racing from 2001 onwards. Sold to Ed Holly (Sydney, NSW) in July 2006 and raced in the Tasman Revival series from 2006/07 to 2012/13. Sold to Mark Shaw (Edinburgh, Scotland) early 2017, and raced by him at Monterey and Watkins Glen later that year.
6. Brabham BT10 [IC-6-64] (Don Macdonald): Having driven a late-season Brabham BT6 for Scuderia Veloce in 1964, Greg Cusack bought a new Brabham BT10 which carried the non-standard plate 'IC-6-64' and fitted it with a 1500cc Ford twin cam engine for ANF1½ in 1965. The car probably came via Brabham's Australian agent Alec Mildren Pty Ltd. Cusack retained this for the first few months of 1966 and then sold it to Don Macdonald for racing in New Zealand in 1967 and 1968. It then went to Wayne Murdoch for the 1968/69 season and he returned with the car for the 1970 Internationals but it was then described as a BT18. The car was then acquired by Frank Radisich, converted to Formula Ford spec and sold to Peter Mahoney who raced it from 1971 to 1973. It may then have been the "BT18" raced by Ron Duirs in the 1973/74 and 1974/75 seasons. Then unknown until acquired by Richard Armstrong (New Zealand) as a rolling chassis in 1977, who planned to turn it into a hillclimb car with a Lotus-Ford twin-cam engine, but other commitments put paid to those plans. The car has remained in storage with Richard ever since, and, in 2017, his intention was to restore it to NZ National Formula specification.
7. Brabham BT4 [IC-3-62] (Bryan Faloon): New to Bib Stillwell for the Australian Internationals in February 1963. Used by Stillwell to win the 1963 Australian Gold Star and then, having acquired the 2.7-litre engine from Jack Brabham's BT4, he won the Gold Star again in 1964. Sold to Bill Thomasen in New Zealand and used in NZ Gold Star in 1964/65 before it was sold to Ecurie Palm Court who ran it for Ian Green and John Riley in late-season 1964/65 races and in Australian Gold Star races in August 1965. To Robbie Francevic in time for the 1965/66 NZ season and then quickly sold again, this time to Syd Jensen. Jenson leased it to Jim Boyd for the 1967 Internationals and then sold it to Bryan Faloon in March 1967. Raced and crashed many times by Faloon before he joined the Rorstan team for 1969/70 and the BT4 was finally retired. Sold by Faloon's estate to David Manton in 1981, then to Richard Hook (Auckland, NZ), who restored the car to its original Tasman specification and used it in historic racing in 1990. Then through four other historic racers until bought by the Minshaw family in 2005. Raced by Jason Minshaw from 2005 onwards.
8. Brabham BT2 ["FJ-13-62"] (Graham McRae): Believed to be the "interim" car raced by Denis Hulme at the Boxing Day Brands Hatch 1962. Probably FJ-1-63 but given by recent owners as 'FJ-13-62'. Raced by Roy James in Formula Junior 1963 then to Mike Lawlor 1964 and entered for John Miles in Formula 3. Entered by Speedwell Engineering for Miles in a couple of early 1965 races. To Ray Thackwell (New Zealand) and fitted with a 1500cc Ford twin cam for New Zealand racing in the 1965/66 season. To John Weston for 1966/67 and then to Graham McRae for 1967/68. McRae used the engine and gearbox in his late-1968 McRae twin cam, and may also have used the suspension and uprights. According to David McKinney, the BT2 was rebuilt by Jack Oakley, who fitted with a Ford pushrod engine and VW gearbox. Whether this car was raced by Oakley in 1969 remains unclear, as Oakley also acquired the McRae. The car was acquired by the Southward Museum around 1979 and was restored by John Rapley (Paraparumu) in 1987. The restored car used a new frame built by Peter Bruin, and the original frame remained with Rapley. Used by Rapley in historic events, starting at Manfeild in November 1987 where it was fitted with a 1500cc Ford pushrod engine. Remained in Rapley's hands until 2017, when the car was stolen. It was recovered in September 2018, but in the meantime the original frame had been passed back to the Southward Museum, who were building another car from it. How these two cars will coexist remains uncertain.
9. Brabham BT16 [F2-9-65] (David Oxton): Silvio Moser's F2 car in 1965, entered by Martinelli-Sonvico Racing. Used briefly as a second car early 1966 then apparently to Ken Sager, fitted with a 1500cc Ford twin cam and raced in the 1966/67 season in New Zealand. It was sold to Dave Oxton (Glenfield, Auckland) for 1967/68, and retained for 1968/69, still in the 1500cc class. Enlarged to 1600cc for 1969/70 and sold to Graham Watson. Graham Vercoe's books say that it was owned by Brian Faloon after Watson. According to New Zealand historian David McKinney, it was converted to Formula Ford specification and raced by Ross Atkins from 1971 to 1974, then by Terry Moon, then Davey Waugh in the 1976/77 season, and Warren Elleray in 1978. To David Manton in 1980, and retained by him for some years until restored to 1600cc National Formula spec and run in historic events by Gray Mathias in the early 1990s. Offered for sale in Seattle in 1992, and believed to have been owned by Grant Clearwater more recently. Subsequent history unknown.
10. Brabham BT23D [1] (Frank Gardner): The one-off BT23D was built for Alec Mildren Racing for Tasman racing and fitted with a 2.5-litre Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 V8. It debuted in Frank Gardner's hands at the Warwick Farm Gold Star race in Dec 1967 and was then raced by Garder in every race of the 1968 Tasman series. Kevin Bartlett took over the drive for the 1968 Australian Gold Star season and the 1969 Tasman series. It was then sold to Jim Abbott who acquired a 5-litre Traco Oldsmobile engine from Frank Matich and built what was claimed to be the first Formula 5000 in Australia. It was displayed at Abbott's Melbourne Racing Car Show and thereafter mainly used in hillclimbs. It was sold to Gavin Sala for the 1974 Victorian hillclimb season, and was then sold to Peter Neilsen, who had Gordon Dobie restore it to its original Alfa Romeo specification. Its racing career ended after the death of a later pilot, Chris Murphy, but the remains were acquired in 1985 by Paul Moxham who had it fully restored with its original Autodelta engines. It was advertised by oldtimeraustralia.com from 2011 to 2015, noting that it had been owned by the same person for 31 years.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.

Individual sources for this event

There were two heats for this race: one for 1500cc cars and one for the other entries.