XIII NEW ZEALAND GRAND PRIX
 Location - Pukekohe NZ  Laps - 40  Distance - 140.16 km  Date - 08/01/66  Weather - Rain
ENTRY LIST
No. DRIVER ENTRANT MAKE ENGINE
11 Spencer Martin Scuderia Veloce Brabham BT11A Climax FPF
4 Frank Gardner Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT11A Climax FPF
5 Red Dawson Red Dawson Brabham BT7A Climax FPF
8 Andy Buchanan Wilson Motors Brabham BT7A Climax FPF
29 Neil Whittaker Lesco Racing Brabham BT4 Climax FPF
10 Syd Jensen Syd Jensen Brabham BT4 Climax FPF
15 Ken Sager J.H. Sager Brabham BT9 Ford 1.5
12 Roly Levis Roly Levis Brabham BT6 Ford 1.5
20 Ray Thackwell Team Tiki Brabham BT2 Ford 1.5
14 Graeme Lawrence Lawrence Motors Brabham BT6 Ford 1.5
31 Bill Caldwell W. Caldwell Brabham BT6 Ford 1.5
2 Graham Hill Owen Racing Org. BRM 261 BRM V8 1.9
6 Jackie Stewart Owen Racing Org. BRM 261 BRM V8 1.9
3 Dennis Marwood Ecurie Rothmans Cooper T66 Climax FPF
24 Bill Stone Bill Stone Cooper T52 Ford 1.5
1 Jim Clark Team Lotus Lotus 39 Climax FPF
41 Jim Palmer George Palmer Lotus 32B Climax FPF
17 John Riley John Riley Lotus 18/21 Climax FPF
7 Leo Geoghegan Total Team Lotus 32 Ford 1.5
9 Dene Hollier Dene Hollier Lotus 20B Ford 1.5
19 Ken Smith Ken Smith Lotus 22 Ford 1.5
16 Roger McLoughlin Roger McLoughlin Lotus 22 Ford 1.5
18 Tony Rutherfurd Tony Rutherfurd Lynx Ford 1.5

Martin gets the power down best to take the startCharacterised by glorious sounding motors and bright orange snouts, the works 2-litre V8 BRMs in the hands of Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart had a one-two victory in the 1966 New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe on January 8, the first round in the Tasman Championship. They crossed the finish line only 1.5 seconds apart, well clear of Jim Palmer who drove a steady third place race while suffering from an attack of stomach influenza, and Dennis Marwood who drove an excellent race to finish fourth. The G.P. was Hill's second consecutive win, and he also established a new lap record early in the race which was run in indifferent weather.

The organisers allowed only one day's practice this year instead of the usual two, much to the annoyance of most competitors who had little time to set up their cars. To make matters worse, the weather on Thursday's practice was intolerant. For the morning session the rain reluctantly held off but genuine wet English conditions prevailed later in the day. Particularly noticeable was the large number of cars running on Firestone tyres, and Jim Clark, of course, was using them for the first time on the Lotus. Hill and Stewart were out early in the BRMs, the roar of the stretched Formula 1 V8s sounding gloriously unlike the old Coventry Climax motors which we have become accustomed to. Hill was trying various lines through corners, and lost the BRM on his first circulation in the Loop. while Stewart cautiously felt his way around the circuit which he had never seen before.

As track conditions improved lap times came down, and eventually Hill clocked 1m 25.2s which was the sameClark thrusts his arm up as he strips 1st off the mark unofficial lap record made by Bruce McLaren in 1964 and under the official record of 1m 26.2s held by Frank Matich (Brabham) since 1964. Clark was only three tenths of a second behind Hill. One of the best performances was made by the brilliant 25-year-old Australian Spencer Martin who was driving at Pukekohe for the first time. With the Scuderia Veloce Brabham (the car which Graham Hill drove to victory in the 1965 N.Z. Grand Prix), Spencer rustled around the circuit in a most polished style, and then recorded an excellent lm 26.6s lap to be third fastest and gain a front row grid position. This year there were no pre-race preliminaries so it was vital that competitors recorded good practice times. Jackie Stewart was fourth fastest with 1m 26.4s, and best New Zealander was Jim Palmer who clocked 1m 26.8s to accompany Stewart on the second row. Suspension and gearing alterations were made to a number of cars after the morning session and everyone was set to make fast afternoon times when the rain came down, squashing all hopes of any improvement. Stewart was the fastest man in the wet, recording a rapid 1m 32s lap, but little else happened in the afternoon.

Race day conditions were poor but a crowd of about 30,000 turned out which was quite surprising as promotion for this year's event had been negligible. Dark clouds formed shortly before the cars were wheeled onto the grid, and most competitors, with the exception of Clark, had rain tyres fitted. There had been drama at the start of the 1965 Grand Prix when Bruce Abernethy spun on the grass upsetting a few cars, and in the feature event shortly before this year's G.P. a couple of 1500 c.c. single-seaters went sideways at the drop of the flag, so everyone hoped for a quiet start to the Grand Prix.

13TH NEW ZEALAND GRAND PRIX.
THE GRID.

G. HILL. J. CLARK. S. MARTIN.

J. STEWART. J. PALMER.

D. MARWOOD. F. GARDNER. L. GEOGHEGAN.

R. DAWSON. G. LAWRENCE.

J. RILEY. A. BUCHANAN. K. SAGER.

K. SMITH. N. WHITTAKER.

D. HOLLIER. R. LEVIS. B. STONE.

R. THACKWELL.

Clark battled valiantly with a sick car before retiringHowever, as the flag went down Jim Clark stripped first gear in the Lotus and up went the Champion's hand as he sat helpless on the grid. Aussie Frank Gardner attempted to take avoiding action behind but was shunted by Andy Buchanan, the Brabham hitting the back of Clark's car. In the meantime, Spencer Martin had made a grand start and led Hill, Stewart, Palmer, Marwood, John Riley (Lotus Climax), Geoghegan, Red Dawson (Repco Brabham) and Ken Sager (Brabham Ford) into the Elbow for the first time. With a push start, Clark was away in second gear at the back of the field but sadly Gardner and Buchanan were out of the running with damaged radiators.

Martin was trying a little too hard to keep in front of the BRMs and overcooked things at Railway corner, spinning up and damaging his radiator which unfortunately put yet another of the top boys out of the race. As the field came around the end of the first lap Hill led Stewart, Palmer, Marwood. Riley, Dawson, Roly Levis (Brabham 1.5) and Geoghegan. On the second lap Graham Hill recorded the fastest lap of the race and a new course record with a time of m 25.7s.

Jim Clark streaked his way through the field and after only three laps he had passed six cars, spinning at the LionHill oversteers on his way to victory hairpin in the process! A dice evolved between Riley and Geoghegan for fifth place, the Australian pushing his smaller Lotus ahead on the fourth lap. Seconds later Geoghegan and Dawson both spun at the hairpin, putting Levis in fifth place ahead of Riley, Sager, Neil Whittaker (Repco Brabham) and Geoghegan. The rain began to fall and on lap six the two BRMs were 11 seconds in front of Palmer. Then Clark came into the pits with an ailing Lotus. The stripped first gear had played havoc with the rest of the gearbox and the Scotsman was out of the race for the second year running.

Graeme Lawrence's 1.5 Brabham was suffering from an ailing clutch, and he eventually retired on lap 7, while on the same round Bill Stone's Cooper spun and struck a post near the hairpin with no injury to the driver. By now Palmer was 23 seconds ahead of Marwood who, in turn, was 17 seconds in front of Levis, Sager and Whittaker. Despite the wet track, the leading BRMs were roaring down the back straight at 140 m.p.h., but lap times had dropped to about 1m 39s. There were only four cars on the same lap by the eleventh round.

An ill Jim Palmer takes his trophy for 3rd placeThe slippery track was proving difficult for some competitors and Ken Smith's 1.5 Lotus understeered into the haybales at the Elbow, the car being able to continue after a short delay. Geoghegan was experiencing trouble with his goggles and he pitted for a visor without losing his position. Sager poured on the coals in his little Brabham and was soon hard on fifth man Levis who was leading the 1500 c.c. category in his Brabham.

At the half-way mark, with 20 laps gone, the BRMs were sounding as healthy as ever, touring round together as if they were on rails. Hill and Stewart were the only two on the same lap, while Palmer's third place was a comfortable one ahead of Marwood, Levis, Sager, Riley, Dean Hollier, Dawson, Whittaker and Geoghegan. One lap later Riley pulled off the circuit with electrical misdemeanors in his Lotus Climax.

The race had settled into a procession by now, although interest lay in the battle between Levis and Sager while Geoghegan was pushing his way back through the field, passing Whittaker and Dawson on lap 21. On lap 24 the red, white and blue Total Lotus of Geoghegan had taken Hollier, and the Australian now had his sights on the scrapping pair of Levis and Sager.

With 30 laps gone the track was beginning to dry and times were improving. A gap of one minute remained2nd NZGP on the trot for Graham Hill between Palmer and Marwood, the latter being about 25 seconds in front of Levis. Then Roly Levis spun in a big way at the Loop and was relegated to eighth position behind Sager, Geoghegan and Hollier. Geoghegan was driving his Lotus well and on lap 34 began to harry Aucklander Ken Sager, passing him on the next circulation.

Hill pushed his lap times down to 1m 29.5s as the race reached its final stages, while Dawson passed Levis with only five laps to go. The race ran out with a cool and calm win for the BRM drivers who were never pushed at any stage.

Considering the weather and lack of publicity, this year's Grand Prix was a reasonable success. It was unfortunate that Clark, Gardner, Martin and Buchanan were eliminated early in the race, removing much of the challenge to the BRMs and giving them a rather hollow victory.
 
RACE RESULTS
POSITION LAPS TIME
1. Hill 40 1:02'56.5 FL:1'25.7
2. Stewart 40 1:02'58.0
3. Palmer 38 .
4. Marwood 38 .
5. Geoghegan 37 .
6. Sager 37 .
7. Dawson 37 .
8. Levis 37 .
9. Hollier 37 .
10. Whittaker 37 .
11. Thackwell 36 .
12. Smith 36 .
Riley 21 DNF:Electrical
Stone 07 DNF:Accident
Lawrence 07 DNF:Clutch
Clark 06 DNF:Gearbox
Gardner 0 DNF:Accident
Buchanan 0 DNF:Accident
Martin 0 DNF:Accident
Written by Donn Anderson for Motorman Magazine. Article submitted by Milan Fistonic

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