1955 New Zealand Grand Prix

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1955 New Zealand Grand Prix
3rd New Zealand Grand Prix
Ardmore Track Layout.png
Race details
Date8 January 1955
Location Ardmore Circuit, Auckland, New Zealand
Course Temporary racing facility
Course length 3.2 km (2.0 miles)
Distance 100 laps, 300 km (186 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver
  • Flag placeholder.svgDetermined by heats
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Thailand.svg Prince Bira Maserati 250F
Time 1:33.0
Podium
First Maserati 250F
Second Ferrari 500/625
Third Ferrari 500/625

The 1955 New Zealand Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Ardmore Circuit on 8 January 1955. It was the third iteration of the New Zealand Grand Prix and was run to Formula Libre regulations.

Contents

The event was won by Thailand's Prince Bira. Bira won in relatively dominant fashion, lapping all but two drivers – Peter Whitehead and Tony Gaze. The need for pitstops potentially cost the Ferrari pairing of Whitehead and Gaze a shot at victory. They did however complete the podium, on the lead lap. Having both set a time of 1:33.0, Bira and Whitehead had shared the fastest lap of the race.

Race report

The second iteration of the New Zealand International Grand Prix saw the introduction of heats to determine the starting grid positions for the main race. The modified layout from the previous years race to mitigate the slew of cars spinning at the west end of the circuit was retained for the 1955 event. This would be the last year it would be run as, for 1956, Ardmore would revert to the original layout. It was immediately apparent that speeds had drastically increased from the previous year and Bira, with his formidable Maserati 250F and menthol blend fuel mixture, was the fastest of them all in early practice. The two qualifying heats were held mere hours before the race. The first was won by Peter Whitehead while the second was won by Bira.

At the start of the main Grand Prix, Whitehead and Tony Gaze leapt off into an early lead in their Ferrari's. However, they were soon vanquished by Bira, who never looked back once he assumed the lead. Both the Ferrari's repeatedly made brief calls to the pits during the race, starting from lap 22 while Bira continued to tear around and never required to venture to the pitlane for the entirety of the race. Whitehead lost 23 seconds in the first stop whilst Gaze lost an entire lap to clear a jammed throttle linkage. Down the pack, local driver Fred Zambucka had trouble negotiating College Corner and spun into the hay bales no less than three times during the course of the race. Australian Stan Coffey exceeded expectations by jostling among the leading pack in the early part of the race before being forced to retire due to oil pressure on lap 16.

From that point, the race was rather processional. However, the effect of Ferrari's pitstops were not immediately apparent. Bira was leading comfortably but with a handful of laps remaining, Bira's brakes began to fade noticeably and was essentially driving on the gears. The effort required to pull the car up wore out the soles of his shoes and as Gaze scythed past to unlap himself, a late-race challenge by Ferrari might've been feasibly possible had Whitehead and Gaze not lost as much time as they did in the pits. As it was, Bira romped home to take victory, with the winning average speed over six miles an hour faster than last years event. Whitehead and Gaze rounded out the top three with both being the only cars other than Bira on the lead lap.

Classification

PosNo.DriverCarLapsTime
11 Flag of Thailand.svg Prince Bira Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl1002hr 40min 12sec
2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Peter Whitehead Ferrari 500/625 / Ferrari 2968cc 4cyl 100+ 33.0 s
34 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony Gaze Ferrari 500/625 / Ferrari 2968cc 4cyl100+ 1.26.0 s
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Cooper T23 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl98+ 2 Laps
53 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Reg Hunt Maserati A6GCM / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl97+ 3 Laps
6 Flag of New Zealand.svg Syd Jensen Cooper Mk. VII / Norton 498cc 1cyl91+ 9 Laps
712 Flag of New Zealand.svg Fred Zambucka Maserati 8CM / Maserati 2992cc 8cyl s/c89+ 11 Laps
8 Flag of New Zealand.svg George PalmerJackson-Mercury / Mercury 4118cc V888+ 12 Laps
918 Flag of New Zealand.svg Ross Jensen Triumph TR2 / Triumph 1991cc 4cyl86+ 14 Laps
10 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dick Cobden Ferrari 125 / Ferrari 1995cc V12 s/c86+ 14 Laps
11 Flag of New Zealand.svg Arnold Stafford Cooper Mk. VII / Norton 498cc 1cyl85+ 15 Laps
12 Flag of New Zealand.svg Phil Neill Austin-Healey 100 / Austin 2660cc 4cyl83+ 17 Laps
13 Flag of New Zealand.svg Peter McInally Austin-Healey 100 / Austin 2660cc 4cyl80+ 20 Laps
14 Flag of New Zealand.svg Des McDonaghThomas-Mercury / Mercury 4100cc V875+ 25 Laps
15 Flag of New Zealand.svg John Horton HWM F1 / Alta 1960cc 4cyl s/c55+ 45 Laps
Ret Flag of New Zealand.svg Ron Frost Cooper Mk. VIII / Norton 498cc 1cyl89Gearbox
Ret Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lex Davison HWM F2 / Jaguar 3442cc 6cyl 88Transmission
Ret Flag of New Zealand.svg Ron Roycroft Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa Romeo 2905cc 8cyl s/c58Valve
Ret Flag of New Zealand.svg John McMillan Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa Romeo 2905cc 8cyl s/c33Retired
Ret Flag of New Zealand.svg Bill Lee Cooper Mk. VI / Norton 498cc 1cyl30Retired
Ret Flag of New Zealand.svg Les McLaren Austin-Healey 100 / Austin 2660cc 4cyl30Retired
Ret Flag of New Zealand.svg Bill CulverDeSoto Special / DeSoto 3368cc 6cyl19Engine
Ret26 Flag of New Zealand.svg Reg McCutcheonNormac Special / Chevrolet 3870cc 6cyl17Frost Plug
Ret Flag of Australia (converted).svg Stan Coffey Cooper T20 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl16Oil Pressure
Ret Flag of New Zealand.svg Gordon BrownGBS / Ford 1172cc 4cyl9Engine
DNS Flag of New Zealand.svg George SmithGCS / Chrysler 5600cc V8Did Not Start
DNS Flag of New Zealand.svg Wally Bern Triumph TR2 / Triumph 1991cc 4cylDid Not Start
DNS Flag of New Zealand.svg Tony Shelly Morgan +4 / Standard 2088cc 4cyl Did Not Start
DNS Flag of New Zealand.svg Johnny ManselMansel Special / Mercury 3950cc V8Did Not Start
Source: [1]

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References

  1. "Second New Zealand International Grand Prix 1955". sergent.com.au. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
Sporting positions
Preceded by New Zealand Grand Prix
1955
Succeeded by