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Levin International

Levin, 15 Jan 1966

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Richard Attwood (Tasman) 1.9-litre BRM P261 [2614] - P60 V8
#2 Owen Motor Racing Organisation
28 23m 12.0s
2 Jim Clark Lotus 39 [R12] - Climax FPF 4
#1 Team Lotus
28 23m 24.1s
3 Spencer Martin Brabham BT11A [IC-4-64] - Climax FPF 4
#11 Scuderia Veloce
28 23m 35.1s
4 Roly Levis (NZ 1.5) 1.5-litre Brabham BT6 [FJ-9-63] - Ford twin cam
#21 (see note 1)
28 23m 35.8s
5 Jim Palmer Lotus 32B [32-FL-8] - Climax FPF 4
#41 G J Palmer
28 23m 42.7s
6 "Red" Dawson Brabham BT7A [IC-1-63] - Climax FPF 4
#15
28 23m 48.0s
7 Dennis Marwood Cooper T66 [F1-6-63] - Climax FPF 4
#5 Ecurie Rothmans
27
8 Andy Buchanan Brabham BT7A [IC-2-63] - Climax FPF 4
#8
27
9 Bill Caldwell (NZ 1.5) 1.5-litre Brabham BT6 [FJ-18-63] - Ford twin cam
#31 (see note 2)
27
10 Ken Sager (NZ 1.5) 1.5-litre Brabham BT6 [FJ-12-63] - Ford twin cam
#12 (see note 3)
26
11 Ken Smith (NZ 1.5) 1.5-litre Lotus 22 [22-J-20] - Ford pushrod
#16
26
R Frank Gardner Brabham BT11A [IC-2-64] - Climax FPF 4
#4 Alec Mildren
26 transmission
R Dene Hollier (NZ 1.5) 1.5-litre Lotus 20B [20-J-953] - Ford pushrod
#9
13 oil leak
R Jackie Stewart (Tasman) 1.9-litre BRM P261 [2617] - P60 V8
#6 Owen Motor Racing Organisation
9 gearbox
R Ray Thackwell (NZ 1.5) 1.5-litre Brabham BT2 ["FJ-13-62"] - Ford twin cam
#20 Team Tiki (see note 4)
1 half-shaft
DNS Graeme Lawrence (NZ 1.5) 1.5-litre Brabham BT6 [FJ-4-63] - Ford twin cam
#14 (see note 5)
Did not start
DNS Neil Whittaker Brabham BT4 [IC-1-62] - Climax FPF 4
#3 Lesco Racing Team (see note 6)
Did not start
DNS John Riley Lotus 18/21 ['P1'] - Climax FPF 4
#17
Did not start
DNA Syd Jensen Brabham BT4 [IC-3-62] - Climax FPF 4
#10 (see note 7)
Did not arrive

All cars are 2.5-litre Tasman unless noted.

Qualifying
Qualifying information not available

Notes on the cars:

  1. Brabham BT6 [FJ-9-63] (Roly Levis): 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.
  2. Brabham BT6 [FJ-18-63] (Bill Caldwell): A very late-1963 car for Andy Buchanan to race in Australian 1500cc racing with a Ford twin cam engine. Retained for 1965 then to Bill Caldwell for 1966 then to Peter Yock for 1967. Yock is known to have returned the car to England for repairs but its history after is still being researched.
  3. Brabham BT6 [FJ-12-63] (Ken Sager): Denis O'Sullivan in Formula Junior in 1963. Retained for Formula 3 in 1964, now entered by Baldyne Engineering. Appears to have moved to Motor Racing Stables after O'Sullivan acquired at F2 Brabham BT10 around August 1964 and was raced by John Tomlinson at Brands Hatch 13 Sep 1964. Sold to Ken Sager and fitted with a 1500cc Ford engine for New Zealand racing in 1965 and 1966. During its time in New Zealand, it was often referred to as a 1964 car, implying a BT9. Sold to Grahame Harvey mid-1966 and retained for 1967. Then to Tim Bailey and fitted with a 1500cc Fiat engine for 1968. To Brian Pellow for 1969, still with the Fiat. Retained by Pellow for 1970, but now with a 1600cc Ford. By October 1970, Peter Mahoney was driving "the old Pellow" Brabham in Formula Ford. This car was sold to Frank Gilbert (Auckland) and raced as a Formula Ford for two seasons. Graham Vercoe's book 'Historic Racing cars of New Zealand' claims that the car was a BT9, and that a replica frame was built by Pellow and that it was the replica frame that became the Formula Ford. Writing in 1991, he said that the original 'BT9' frame was owned by John Wigston.
  4. Brabham BT2 ["FJ-13-62"] (Ray Thackwell): 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.
  5. Brabham BT6 [FJ-4-63] (Graeme Lawrence): Rodney Banting Formula Junior 1963. Then observed by Formula 1 Register member John Thompson to be the car entered by Janspeed Engineering for Clive Baker (Torquay) in Formula 3 in 1964. Sold to Graeme Lawrence and fitted with a 1500cc Ford twin cam for New Zealand racing in 1965 and 1966. To Laurence Brownlie for 1967, then Tony Batchelor for 1968, then hillclimber Roy Lyme for the 1968/69 season. Lyme raced it for the first time in a National Formula race at Pukekohe on 9 November 1968, but hit the fence at Champion Curve on lap 2, and the car was badly damaged. According to Graham Vercoe, it was rebuilt by Warner Collins. It then went to William Smith and was raced as a BT15 in 1970, then Eric Anderson in 1971, then Bernard Milray as a Formula Ford in 1976; and was bought by Wayne Rogers in 1982. Rogers restored it to Formula Junior specification and ran it at Pukekohe in December 1983. It was bought by Paul Higgins in 1988 who retained it until March 2001, when he sold it to Rob Hands in Australia. Bought by Peter Strauss (Armadale, Australia) in June 2002 and driven for the first time in a FJ race at Philip Island in in February 2004. Strauss has raced the car in Australian Formula Junior Association events since then.
  6. Brabham BT4 [IC-1-62] (Neil Whittaker): New for Jack Brabham to drive at the November 1962 Australian GP. Used by Brabham in the New Zealand Internationals in January 1963, winning at Levin, then sold to Dave McKay's Scuderia Veloce for the Australian International races the following month. Raced by Graham Hill for McKay in the 1964 Tasman series, winning the Longford race in March. To Len Southward's Lesco Racing Team for Kerry Grant to drive during the 1964/65 season, and for Neil Whittaker in 1965/66. Sold to John McCormack (Davenport, Tasmania) and raced on through the next three seasons. From McCormack to John Blanden (Adelaide, South Australia) in 1978 and extensively rebuilt. To Ken Messenger (Adelaide) March 1982, then to Art Valdez (Torrance, CA) in 1986, and remained in his collection for many years, until sold to a UK consortium in 2017.
  7. Brabham BT4 [IC-3-62] (Syd Jensen): 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.

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 plus a race for 1500cc cars.