XIV NEW ZEALAND GRAND PRIX
 Location - Pukekohe NZ  Laps - 57  Distance - 160.52 km  Date - 07/01/67  Weather - Fine
ENTRY LIST
No. DRIVER ENTRANT MAKE ENGINE
4 Jack Brabham Brabham Racing Org. Brabham BT22 Repco V8 2.5
3 Denis Hulme Rorstan Motor Racing. Brabham BT7A Climax FPF
5 Red Dawson Red Dawson Brabham BT7A Climax FPF
7 Frank Gardner Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT23B Climax FPF
8 Kevin Bartlett Alec Mildren Racing Brabham BT11A Climax FPF
12 Roly Levis Roly Levis Brabham BT18 Ford 1.5
14 Graeme Lawrence Graeme Lawrence Brabham BT18 Ford 1.5
15 Ken Sager J.H. Sager Brabham BT16 Ford 1.5
16 Grahame Harvey Grahame Harvey Brabham BT9 Ford 1.5
20 Laurence Brownlie Laurence Brownlie Brabham BT6 Ford 1.5
24 Bill Stone Roly Levis Brabham BT6 Ford 1.5
27 Kerry Grant Kerry Grant Brabham BT11A Climax FPF
29 Don McDonald Don McDonald Brabham BT10 Ford 1.5
36 John Weston John Weston Brabham BT2 Ford 1.5
41 Jim Palmer Jim Palmer Racing Brabham BT22 Climax FPF
60 Jim Boyd Syd Jensen Brabham BT4 Climax FPF
1 Richard Attwood R.H.H. Parnell BRM P261 BRM V8 2.1
2 Jackie Stewart R.H.H. Parnell BRM P261 BRM V8 2.1
18 Dennis Marwood Ecurie Rothmans Cooper T66 Climax FPF
30 Pat McLoughlin Pat McLoughlin Cooper T45 Climax FPF
35 Tony Rutherfurd Tony Rutherfurd Dino Ford 1.5
6 Jim Clark Team Lotus Lotus 33 Climax V8 2.0
11 Ken Smith Ken Smith Lotus 22 Ford 1.5
19 Dene Hollier Dene Hollier Lotus 27 Ford 1.5
23 Ian Arbuthnott Ian Arbuthnott Lotus 20 Ford 1.5
Brabham in the PaddockIn one of the best New Zealand Grands Prix for many years, Jackie Stewart averaged more than 100 m.p.h. to win the country's premier race by a few seconds after a race-long dice with Jim Clark. The second works BRM V8, in the hands of Richard Attwood, was third a lap behind in the first round of the 1967 Tasman Championship, which was watched by a crowd of well over 35,000 on the new shortened Pukekohe circuit on January the seventh.

Seconds before he lost the nose section of his Lotus Climax V8 after contact with a tailender, Jim Clark set a new lap record in his vain attempt to pass the flying Stewart. In fourth place, two laps behind Attwood, was Kiwi Jim Palmer in his 2.5L Brabham Climax, while Graeme Lawrence drove an extremely well-judged race to take fifth position in his 1.5L Brabham.

Only a few of the competitors took advantage of the first unofficial practice session on the Wednesday, and some mechanics were busy cleaning up cars which had been damaged by salt water in transit from England. Few people were trying hard at the Wednesday practice but Kerry Grant clipped the wheel of another car near the end of Firestone straight and his Brabham Climax burst into flames. By the time the car had spun to a halt Grant was badly burnt, but latest reports are that his condition is improving.

Thursday was practice proper and the wet conditions soon dried out for the single seaters. In the first practice session, it didn't take long for Jackie Stewart to get down to lm 3s, which won him 25 bottles of champagne as it marked the first time anyone had lapped the Pukekohe circuit at 100 m.p.h. The BRM team were trying both Dunlop and Goodyear tyres, and elected to run on the low profile tubeless Goodyears for the race. Jim Clark was using tubeless Firestone R125s on his Lotus Climax V8.

Official practice showed both Stewart and Attwood to be head and shoulders above everyone else. The second practice session saw Stewart setting the best time of 1m 2.6s, while Attwood and Frank Gardner were equal second after recording 1m 3.5s. Gardner's car is virtually a Formula 2 Brabham which has had a 2.5L Climax motor dropped into it, and it was circulating rapidly. Next was Clark (lm 4.4s) but a rear suspension damper broke and he packed it in for the day. Team mate to Gardner, Kevin Bartlett, in the Alec Mildren 2.5L Brabham Climax, clocked lm 5.2s, and Jimmy Palmer circulated in lm 6s. Fastest of the 1500 cc boys was Graeme Lawrence, who astounded everyone with a 1m 7.2s lap. Jack Brabham's car, with the new 2.5-litre Repco motor, was still being prepared and he was unable to put in an appearance on Thursday.

An airline strike had upset Brabham's plans for flying out his own car for the G.P. so the world champion was JYS on the grid forced to drive Hulme's Brabham. It looked as though Denny would be relegated a spectator but Feo Stanton, who now owns the ex-Buchanan Brabham Climax, kindly offered his car to Hulme. At the unofficial Friday practice session Hulme leapt into the car, having never seen it before, and recorded 1m 4.3s on the wrong gear ratios! Meantime Brabham was at last under way and he clocked 1m 2s, which was the best lap yet. Clark was feeling happier and got down to 1m 2.9s, while the BRM equippe were satisfied with their previous day's effort and did no further practice.
*
The two BRMs occupied the front row of the grid for the Air New Zealand preliminary race, and it was Attwood who made best of the start from Stewart, Clark, Gardner, Bartlett, Palmer and Lawrence. Stewart slipped into the lead on the opening lap, while Jack Brabham, who had started off on the back row of the grid as he had recorded no official lap time in Thursday's practice, was in eighth spot by the end of the first round.

On the next lap the world champion assumed sixth place, and Denny Hulme moved through the field to ninth position behind Lawrence. On the third lap Gardner stopped with a dropped valve, making the order Stewart, Attwood, Clark, Brabham, Bartlett, Palmer, Hulme, Dennis Marwood and Lawrence. After five laps Stewart was 5%, seconds ahead of Attwood and Clark, who were now battling it out for second place, and then a 5-second margin to Brabham, Bartlett and Hulme.

As the field came around to complete the seventh lap Hulme had taken Bartlett for fifth position, while Clark had moved into second spot. A dramatic change in the race occurred when Brabham lost things in a big way after Champion Curve, his Repco V8 spinning wildly into a ditch, tearing off a tyre and damaging the right rear suspension. After ten laps, with two to go, Stewart, Clark, Attwood, Hulme and Bartlett were well spaced and then a 16-second delay to Palmer, Marwood and Lawrence. There were no further changes before the flag.

The StartThe Brabham team whipped their car away in an attempt to repair the damage, and there was considerable speculation as to whether the work could be done in the three hours before the Grand Prix. Meantime the Alec Mildren Racing Team were hard at work changing engines in Frank Gardner's Brabham but they were to lose their race against time. Another retirement for the G.P. was Red Dawson's Brabham Climax, which had blown up expensively.

As the field came out to form the grid there was no sign of Brabham. But at 3.15 p.m. - only five minutes before the fall of the flag - the service van drove on to the circuit and the Repco Brabham was unloaded from the trailer as the crowd clapped. The grid, determined on placings in the preliminary heat, was as follows:

J. Clark J. Stewart
D. Hulme R. Attwood
J. Palmer K. Bartlett
G. Lawrence D. Marwood
L. Brownlie D. Hollier
J. Boyd J. Weston
K. Sager B. Stone
P. McLoughlin D. MacDonald
G. Harvey J. Brabham
K. Smith R. Levis

Stewart made no bones about springing into the lead at Champion Curve after Clark had made the best of the start, then followed Attwood, Hulme, Bartlett, Palmer, Marwood and Lawrence. The order remained the same at the end of the first lap, while Brabham was back in eighteenth place and not looking very happy with his car. At the head of the field the pace was hot as Clark tucked in behind the leading BRM. Graeme Lawrence was a clear leader in the 1500cc category, but second place in this class was being disputed by Dene Hollier's Lotus 27 and Laurence Brownlie's Brabham.

Jim Boyd spun his Brabham at Castrol Curve, but after a short delay was on the road again. Jack Brabham was Jackie lights em up off the startline lapping at about 1m 8.6s but making virtually no impression on the field, and on lap five he pulled into the pits with a broken half shaft. Brownlie passed Hollier to assume second place in the 1500cc class, but all interest centred on the great dice for the lead. The crowd loved it as the Lotus clung on to Stewart's BRM like a leech, but the latter was making it obvious that he wanted to keep that orange snout in front.

After ten laps Stewart and Clark were almost ten seconds ahead of Attwood and Hulme, who were 12 seconds in front of Bartlett and Palmer. The last named was beginning to move in on the Australian's yellow Brabham, and three laps later Palmer was hard on Bartlett's tail. While it was anticipated that the 100 m.p.h. lap would be broken in the race, no one expected that anyone would be averaging the ton for all laps but this was exactly what was happening with the two leading Scots.

Ken Sager's Brabham joined the tussle between Brownlie and Hollier, but Lawrence was so far in front of all the other 1500cc machinery that he was having a quiet race. After 20 laps barely a second separated Stewart and Clark. The third place BRM was holding this position by a slender 1.5 seconds from Hulme, who was driving brilliantly in what must have been an outclassed car. On lap 24, Dennis Marwood, who had been pedalling his Cooper Climax consistently in seventh place, retired after the crown wheel and pinion broke.

Stewart leadsStewart and Clark were almost side by side at times, and after 25 rounds their nearest opponent was 33 seconds away. Bartlett's car appeared to be faltering and on lap 27 Palmer moved past into fifth place. One lap later the Australian pitted with magneto misdemeanours. Brownlie lost his good position in the 1500cc class when he spun at Castrol Corner. Then Attwood looked around to see just where Hulme was at Castrol and in a flash he had nonsensed his BRM. After 30 laps the order was Stewart, Clark, Hulme, Attwood, Palmer, Lawrence, Hollier and Sager.

On lap 40 Lawrence doubled Hollier, and Attwood's BRM, which was suffering from overheating, lapped fifth place man Palmer. There was a big disappointment on the fiftieth circulation when Denny Hulme, who had driven an outstanding race, retired with a broken stub axle. Clark looked set to make a final attack at Stewart when he tangled with McLoughlin's tailender Cooper at the Lion Hairpin and lost the complete nose section of the Lotus and any chance of catching Stewart. He had considerable difficulty completing the last few rounds with no windscreen but still managed to finish within sight of the BRM. It was a dramatic end to a good race.
 
RACE RESULTS
POSITION LAPS TIME
1. Stewart 57 59'16.4
2. Clark 57 59'21.8 FL:1'00.5
3. Attwood 56 .
4. Palmer 54 .
5. Lawrence 52 .
    Hulme 50 Stub Axle
6. Hollier 50 .
7. Boyd 50 .
8. Stone 50 .
9. Levis 49 .
10. Sager 49 .
11. Brownlie 45 .
12. Weston ? .
13. McDonald ? .
Bartlett 28 DNF:Magneto
Marwood 24 DNF:Crown Wheel & Pinion
Brabham 05 DNF:Half Shaft
McLoughlin ? DNF:Accident
Smith ? DNF:?
Harvey ? DNF:?
Written by Donn Anderson for Motorman Magazine. Article submitted by Milan Fistonic

Every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright and we apologise to any we have been unable to contact