New Zealand Grand Prix

Pukekohe, 8 Jan 1983

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

Notes on the cars:

1. Ralt RT4/81 [263] (David Oxton): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Bob Jane, without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/119; Gearbox FT1480; Fuel cell: JM36736 6/81] Chassis number given in NZMA report for the car of Alan Jones at the 1981 Australian G.P, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. A note in A/S concerning Bruce Allison's entry at the Australian Gold Star Round at Calder [1 Aug 82] says that Allison used 'the car run by Jones at the Australian GP' at that race. Chassis number given for Alain Prost's car at the 1982 AGP. [CT]
2. Ralt RT4/82 [81-269] (Paul Radisich): Ralt sales record says sold to Theodore Racing, delivered 2 Oct 81. [Tub no: 81/123; gearbox FT1482; fuel cell JM36678 6/81] Chassis number given by NZMA for the car of Mike Rosen at Bay Park 3 Jan 82. Described by NZMA report as ex-Jarier, so presumed to be Jarier's car at Macau 1981. A note for Paul Radisich's car at the Bay Park Union Travel Championship race 11 Apr 82 [A/S 15 Apr 82 p48] says that this was the car used earlier in the year by Mike Rosen. Paul Radisich's car at Adelaide 4 Jul 82 is described as 'ex Mike Rosen' [AMSYB-82 p153] Chassis number given for Paul Radisich's car at 1982 AGP, and presumed to be the car used by him throughout the 1982 Australian Gold Star series. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Paul Radisich at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. [CT]
3. Ralt RT4/82 [81-267] (Dave McMillan): Ralt sales record says sold to Theodore Racing, delivered 16 Oct 81. [Tub no: 81/135; gearbox FT1488; fuel cell JM37176 10/81] Dave McMillan's car at Bay Park 3 Jan 82 is described by NZMN as Lees's car from Macau, 1981. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Dave McMillan at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. Presumed to be the car used by McMillan for the first part of the 1982 North American season, before he was given a 1982 specification car to use [alternatively this may have been RT4-205]. Chassis number given for McMillan's car at 1982 AGP, [AMSYB-82 p167] [CT]
4. Ralt RT4/81 [256] (Christian Danner): Ralt sales record says sold to Andrew Meidecke, without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/94; gearbox: FT1423; JM34732 11/80]. The car of Andrew Meidecke in the 1981 Australian season; chassis number given for Meidecke's car in NZMA report of 1981 AGP [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]; chassis number given for Meidecke's car at the Selangor GP 29 Nov 81 [NZMA 11 Jan 82 p3]. [CT]
5. Chevron B49 [49-79-04] (Charlie Thomasen): New to Graeme Lawrence (New Zealand) and raced in the Southeast Asian Formula Pacific races in 1979. Crashed in the Selangor Grand Prix in September, and reported to have been written off. To Peter Haskett and rebuilt. Entered by Haskett for Charlie Thomasen in the 1983/84 New Zealand season. Raced by Haskett in the 1983/84 season, and retained for the 1984/85 and 1985/86 seasons. Then unknown until 2003 or 2004, when it was bought from Kenny Smith by Kevin Ban (Christchurch, NZ) of Kelford Cams. It went to Barry Leitch for restoration, and Murray Sinclair commented on TNF in June 2006 that it would need a new monocoque, which was being fabricated. It was shown complete in March 2015, when Ban was due to pick it up.
6. Ralt RT4/81 [262] (Ken Smith): Ralt sales record says sold to Graham Watson/Bob Jane, without delivery date. [Tub no: 81/118; Gearbox FT1356; Fuel cell: JM36679 5/81] Chassis number noted in NZMA report as on the car of Geoff Brabham at the AGP 1981, [NZMA 23 Nov 81 p4]. Chassis number given for Jacques Laffite's car at 1982 AGP. Chassis number given NZMN 21 Jan 83 p16 for the car of Ken Smith at Bay Park, 2 Jan 83. A separate note by Dave McKinney says that this was the car used by Brabham 1981 AGP and Jacques Laffite 1982 AGP. [CT]
7. Ralt RT1/77 [88] (Eric Morgan): New to Brian Robertson's Ralt America as a late-season car for the CASC Formula Atlantic series, probably intended for Eddie Cheever to drive at Trois Rivieres, but he did not appear. To Larry Bergman (Los Gatos, CA) for SCCA Formula B in California. Bergman retained the car for 1979, winning the Northern Pacific Division Formula Atlantic title but also competing in most rounds of the North American Formula Atlantic series. Then to Steve Millen in New Zealand, and raced in the Aurora AFX New Zealand Formula Pacific series in January 1980, then in the 1980/81 season. To Eric Morgan for the 1981/82, 1982/83 and 1983/84 seasons. CT
8. Chevron B39 (Steve Cameron): John Sisk (Lahaska, PA) raced a Formula B Chevron in a NERRC event at Lime Rock in April 1978. At the end of that season New Zealander Grant Campbell bought a Chevron B39 from the US to use in the New Zealand Formula Pacific from January 1979 onwards. Kiwi journalist David McKinney noted that the car wore the '01' chassis plate and was told by Campbell that it had previously been raced by John Sisk. It was retained by Campbell for the 1979/80 and 1980/81 seasons in New Zealand, then taken to Australia for the National Panasonic Formula Pacific series before the start of the 1981/82 New Zealand season. To Steve Cameron (Auckland) for the 1982/83 season. David McKinney advised that it then went to Charlie Thomasen, who also owned the ex-Dave Oxton B34, and then to John Wigston (Auckland) in 1985.

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.

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.

Individual sources for this event

Autosport 13 Jan 1983 p53, Autosport 20 Jan 1983 pp13-14.