New Zealand Gold Star Race

Baypark Raceway, 26 Mar 1978

All cars are 1.6-litre F/Pac unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 76B [20] (Ken Smith): Sold via Doug Shierson to Ken Smith (New Zealand) and debuts in early 1977 New Zealand races. Retained to 1981 then sold to Warren Binning. Returned to Smith in 1982 and retained to at least 2003.
2. March 76B [14] (Richard Melville): Chassis number observed on Richard Melville’s car by Dave McKinney at Baypark, 2 Jan 1977, and published NZMA 28 Jan 77 p5 and described as ex Brambilla. Brambilla's 1976 Trois Rivières car according to Motoring News 10 Feb 77, so a Doug Shierson Racing team car in 1976. As Shierson ran up to four drivers, plus a spare car, at some American and Canadian races, we cannot yet identify users in North America. [However, it does seem we can eliminate Cobb, using 76B [4]. Chassis number observed on Melville’s car by McKinney at Baypark, 2 Jan 1978, and published NZMA 20 Jan 78 p4. Dave McKinney advises sold to Unipart for Tiff Needell to use in 1979 Macau GP. Observed on Sonny Rajah’s car by Dave McKinney at Malaysian GP, 1980 and published NZMA 16 Jun 80 p15, so presumably sold to Rajah.
3. Chevron B29 [29-75-30] (Eric Morgan): Built as a works development car, and tested by Brian Redman. Then entered by Jörg Obermoser's Team Warsteiner Eurorace for Hans Binder to drive in Formula 2 with a Rosche BMW engine, when it was reported to be chassis 32. Brian Redman drove it in the 1976 New Zealand Internationals, still with its 2-litre BMW engine, this time as part of the Fred Opert team. Sold in New Zealand to David Oxton, fitted with a Formula Pacific BDA engine and raced in the New Zealand Formula Pacific series in January 1977. Then to Eric Morgan for Gold Star and International races from 1977 to 1981. Sold to Chris Read for 1982. Later history with the car indicates that it was sold by Read to Kenny Smith in 1991, then to Brian Sampson in 1992, then Peter Whelan in 2000, and Miles Jackson in 2008.
4. March 77B [30] (Dave McMillan): Entered by March for Danny Sullivan in the 1978 New Zealand International series. Sold to Colin Giltrap and entered by him for Dave McMillan at Baypark Mar 1978 then for Larry Perkins in the 1978/79 series. Raced by Desiré Wilson in the Jan/Feb 1980 series then John Smith in Jan 1981. Sold to Ray Hanger (Australia) and used in the 1981 AF1 and Pacific series. Also raced at Shah Alam in October 1981.
5. Chevron B34 [34-76-19] (Norm Lankshear): Tom Bagley (Centre Hall, PA) raced a yellow-and-blue Chevron B34 run by Fred Opert Racing in three IMSA Formula Atlantic races in early 1976, with Kent Oil sponsorship. This car was then raced by Juan Cochesa (Venezuela) in the Players Formula Atlantic series, starting at Edmonton on 16 May. Chris Waddell's report from Edmonton for Autosport described Cochesa's car as "an Opert B34 driven earlier in the year by Tom Bagley". Cochesa then moved to a new car, and the ex-Bagley car was sold to RJ Nelkin (Roslyn, NY/Woodbury, NY), who first raced it in an SCCA National at Summit Point in late June. He then raced it in Pro and SCCA races for the rest of 1976. Nelkin recalls that the car was then returned to Opert to be used as a spare car for Keke Rosberg and Mikko Kozarowitzky to use in the New Zealand Formula Pacific series in January 1977. After the 1977 New Zealand series, the car was sold to Norman Lankshear (Feilding, New Zealand) and raced in the Gold Star series in 1977/78 and 1978/79, and the International series in early 1978 and early 1979. It was then sold to Bryan Hartley (Palmerston) and raced by him in the 1981/82 season. The car was then sold to John Wigston (Auckland), fitted with a Ford crossflow engine and used in hillclimbs in New Zealand in the late 1980s. Wigston was reported to still have the car in October 2016.
6. Chevron B34 (David Oxton): A car built by David Oxton using a spare monocoque acquired from the Opert team. Raced by Oxton in the New Zealand Formula Pacific series in January 1978, then in the 1977/78 Gold Star, and also in the January 1979 and January 1980 Internationals. Next seen in 1984 Internationals, when it was raced by Charlie Thomasen, and then in several more seasons by Heather Spurle. It is reported that this car then went via Kenny Smith to John Wigston for his daughter Joanna to race.
7. Ralt RT1/77 [73] (Hugh Owen): New to Brian Robertson's Ralt America for Craig Hill to drive in the CASC Formula Atlantic series, backed by Quick-Trans and Castrol. To Hugh Owen in New Zealand for 1978, and raced in the New Zealand Formula Pacific series starting in January 1978. Retained by Owen for the 1978/79 and 1979/80 seasons. Then sold to Dave McMillan and used as a spare car to his Ralt RT4/81 in the 1980/81 season, McMillan's earlier RT1 having been converted to FSV specification by this time. Fitted with a Nissan LZ14 engine for the 1981/82 and 1982/83 seasons when it was raced by McMillan at some races and also by Ray Lipper. Reappeared at Baypark Raceway in January 1985 when owned by John Crawford. CT

Sources

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' original results.

The New Zealand race results have been provided by Chris Townsend based on material in Autosport and Motoring News reports in the UK, Motoraction in New Zealand plus the information supplied by a wide range of contributors.

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.