Tasman Championship car race numbers

Originally posted by David McKinney
Buchanan's Brabham had Lotus cam-covers on its engine

Can't help with your unidentified car - I never noted reg numbers until permanent plates came in (in 1964). Might it be a contestant in one of the other races? Are you able to post a scan?

Thank you David...I believe the engine in Buchanans car was brand new hence interesting enough to take the photo maybe. There is a scan of the mystery car in my last post - the red #4. When I first saw it I thought perhaps it could be Chris Amon's Maserati 250F but I am very much the novice at such things. The date on the photo is Dec 63. Another meeting somewhere else perhaps?

Sorry, shirt, I missed the scans (don't ask...)
The Buchanan Brabham was the first car we'd seen in NZ with a twin-cam Lotus-Ford engine, hence - as you say - the interest. The other cars suggested by Ray all had pushrod engines (and the Lola's was at the other end of the car).

The red car is Ron Rutherford's 260M Zephyr Special - also at Renwick, but not entered in the main race. There was usually a secondary event for such machinery at South Island meetings in those days (what some Australian race organisers at the time called a B Grade race) and Rutherford was pretty much unbeatable in them.

Looks pretty good for a Zephyr Special... no wonder it cleaned up!

I thought that would be early for a Twink... but not knowing the cars involved I couldn't be sure. Perhaps it's the angle that made those side frame rails look wrong for a Brabham?

Its Longford, I think its 1968 in which case is this the Bear’s transport?

The photo has lost a bit of quality along the way, slide to poster print to scan but many thanks to Alan Matthews who was a spectator that year and took a number of photos.

Or 1967?

Andrew... download Irfanview so you can crop the pic back to the size of the actual print.

Phew! The edit worked! (Ray there doesn't seem to be a version for Apples, but thanks anyway)

I have checked with Alan and he remembers that the Bear was World Champion and it was Clark's last visit. Alan ended up in the Travel Lodge where Lotus and one or two other teams were staying. John Harvey's trailer hit the car port at the front of the motel when some one gave it a push in the early hours. The Brabham on it was undamaged but the car port was totalled! He was invited to help knock off all the winning champagne (50 bottles?) on Sunday night! Ah, what great days eh?

So that looks like 1968, (Alan is a member here but doesn't have a scanner, & I am on P Plates when it comes to posting photos)

Originally posted by Andrew Fellowes
Phew! The edit worked! (Ray there doesn't seem to be a version for Apples, but thanks anyway)

Not a problem...

I have checked with Alan and he remembers that the Bear was World Champion and it was Clark's last visit.

Also the last race at the circuit, the wet one? Sadly I wasn't there...

.....Alan ended up in the Travel Lodge where Lotus and one or two other teams were staying.....

Ah yes, many of them did...

.....John Harvey's trailer hit the car port at the front of the motel when some one gave it a push in the early hours. The Brabham on it was undamaged but the car port was totalled! He was invited to help knock off all the winning champagne (50 bottles?) on Sunday night! Ah, what great days eh?

Indeedy... check:

http://forums.atlasf...&postid=1174247

Posts 304 and 316... it's all there! And go back to 297 and read the quote... highly appropriate to the times of which you speak.

So that looks like 1968, (Alan is a member here but doesn't have a scanner, & I am on P Plates when it comes to posting photos)

You're learning... the one thing that baulked me initially was that they were HR Holdens, but it was the beginning of 1968 still.

It wasn't Hulme's transport, as for the 1968 Tasman Series he was driving a privately entered BT23 Brabham with an FVA. He had already moved across to McLaren and wasn't part of the Brabham Works equipe.
Actually, I believe it is probably from 1967 as Brabham doesn't figure in the results for Longford in 1968, and I don't think he had entered.

Originally posted by David McKinney
Sorry, shirt, I missed the scans (don't ask...)
The Buchanan Brabham was the first car we'd seen in NZ with a twin-cam Lotus-Ford engine, hence - as you say - the interest. The other cars suggested by Ray all had pushrod engines (and the Lola's was at the other end of the car).

The red car is Ron Rutherford's 260M Zephyr Special - also at Renwick, but not entered in the main race. There was usually a secondary event for such machinery at South Island meetings in those days (what some Australian race organisers at the time called a B Grade race) and Rutherford was pretty much unbeatable in them.

Thanks for that David...now I know it's the Zephyr Special it's perfectly obvious

Here is another scan- Red Dawson #49?...this is the car I thought was the D-type at first glance but after having a proper look it's nothing like Bremers car which was still pale blue and #48. I don't know why the driver was going backwards round the track with no helmet on or is it not Renwick ?

I'm pretty sure that's Renwick, but the car's going the right way - the photographer has merely hopped over to the other side of the track ;)
The D-type was not pale blue at this time however, and hadn't been for several years

Sorry David...my mistake...I had read that Bremer painted the D-type maroon from a pale blue but didn't know when so when I saw the back of the pale blue car in a pits picture I wrongly assumed it was the D-type...here is the offending photo. With closer inspection it is rather short on Jaguar curves

Originally posted by mctshirt
I had read that Bremer painted the D-type maroon from a pale blue but didn't know when

Don't know where you would have read that, but it's still not right. Bremer bought the car only a few weeks before the Renwick meeting and, as I said earlier, it hadn't been pale blue for several years
For some reason I can't get a bigger image of the light blue car, but it's pretty clearly one of Bill Thomasen's T51 Cooper-Climaxes

Originally posted by David McKinney

Don't know where you would have read that, but it's still not right. Bremer bought the car only a few weeks before the Renwick meeting and, as I said earlier, it hadn't been pale blue for several years
For some reason I can't get a bigger image of the light blue car, but it's pretty clearly one of Bill Thomasen's T51 Cooper-Climaxes

There are two pale blue cars behind the Cooper in the background and poor research led me astray...I have found the article with the history of the car. In NZ Classic Cars Dec 2002 Eoin Young wrote a piece about the D-type being auctioned by Bonhams at Goodwood and it's history. Careful rereading has revealed it was dark blue when imported by Jack Shelly in 1956. Bob Gibbons raced it then in 1958 Shelly sold it "then painted blue" to Angus Hyslop who uprated the engine and painted it white. Simon Taylor then took ownership of the car in 1961 and won the last Ken Wharton Memorial Trophy race at Ardmore.
According to the article: "The Jaguar was on the move again a year later, this time to racer and dealer Johnny Riley (father of Brett), who sold it on to Gary Bremner for national events around New Zealand. According to New Zealand racing historian, David McKinney, Bremner had the car painted maroon."
It was sold in 1964 to Noel Foster for 1425 pounds who got it painted again in BRG which is described here as a "soft light green colour". The car made 485,000 pounds at auction.

I can now see the Thomasen Cooper shot - ImageShack must have been resting earlier, as I couldn't call up my D-type pic then either.

The car behind the bloke with his hands on his hips is Riley's Lola (with the owner striding towards it from left of frame). Behind him is Barry Porter's Lotus XV, and the middle car looks like Kelvin Brown's Buckler

Originally posted by David Shaw
It wasn't Hulme's transport, as for the 1968 Tasman Series he was driving a privately entered BT23 Brabham with an FVA. He had already moved across to McLaren and wasn't part of the Brabham Works equipe.

David that was a very well aimed spanner, darn it. Looks like a faulty memory chip as to who was World Champion, 1967 it must have been.

I've been given some more photo's which I'm trying to identify by car numbers. The majority were taken at the 1963 Levin International meeting including the sportscar and saloon car races. During the matching of photo's to the entry list I've come to the following conclusion - can anyone confirm I'm on the right track?

5/1/63: New Zealand GP, Pukekohe
Result No. Driver Nat Car / Engine
1 #2 John Surtees, Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.75l Climax
2 #5 Angus Hyslop, Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
3 #12 Jim Palmer, Bowmaker (Parnell) Cooper T55 / 2.5l Climax
4 John Histed, Lola T2 / 1.5l Ford
5 #25 Rex Flowers, Gemini Mk IIIa FJ / 1.3l Ford
6 Bill Thomasen, Cooper T51 / 2l Climax
7 #29 nose (#25 sides) Chris Amon, Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #1 Graham Hill, Rob Walker Ferguson P99 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #17 Tony Shelly, Lotus 18/21 / 2.5l Climax
Ret Lionel Bulcraig, Aston Martin DBR4 3l
Ret Barry Cottle, Lola Mk1 / 1.2l Climax
Ret #47 Bruce McLaren, BMMR Cooper T62 / 2.7l Climax
Ret Ian Green, Cooper T45 / 2l Climax
Ret Forest Cardon, Lycoming Special
Ret #4 Jack Brabham, Brabham BT4 / 2.7l Climax
Ret David Young, Cooper T59 / 1.5l Ford
Ret #3 Tony Maggs, Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.75l Climax
DNS Ken Sager, Lotus 20 / 1.5l Ford
DNS Frank Turpie, Lotus 20 /1.5l Ford
DNS Bob Smith, Ferrari 555 3.5l
DNS Rod Coppins, Tec-Mec/Chevrolet Chev 4.6

12/1/63 Levin International
Result No. Driver Nat Car / Engine
1 #4 Jack Brabham Aust Brabham BT4 / 2.7l Climax
2 #3 Tony Maggs SA Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.75l Climax
3 #2 Innes Ireland Scot Rob Walker Ferguson P99 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #18 Tony Shelly NZ Lotus 18/21 / 2.5l Climax
4 Roly Levis NZ Cooper T52 / 1.5l Ford (black)
5 #9 Bill Thomasen NZ Cooper T51 / 2l Climax
6 #27 Ken Sager NZ Lotus 20 / 1.5l Ford
7 Rex Flowers NZ Gemini Mk IIIa FJ / 1.3l Ford
Ret Angus Hyslop NZ Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #47 Bruce McLaren NZ BMMR Cooper T62 / 2.7l Climax
Ret #5 Chris Amon NZ Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #10 David Young NZ Cooper T59 / 1.5l Ford (dark blue)
Ret #1 John Surtees UK Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.7l Climax
Ret #41 Jim Palmer NZ Bowmaker (Parnell) Cooper T55 / 2.5l Climax

Saloon grid
(1) #47 Bruce McLaren Mini Cooper S
(2) #68 Alastair McBeath Jaguar 3.8
(3) #64 Kerry Grant A40 998cc
(4) #59 Dennis Marwood Humber 80
Jack Nazer?


Sportscar
#53 Graham McRae Masarrari (Humber 90 engine)
#7 Johnny Riley Monza Ferrari Corvette
#21 Geoff Richardson (UK) Ferrari Berlinetta 250GT
#42 W S Reid Triumph TR3

EDIT: David McKinney corrections
EDIT: More David McKinney corrections

I'll dig out my programmes later
In the meantime, note that Palmer and Shelly both used 2.5-litre engines
Bulcraig's Aston Martin was a DBR4 (not DBR1)
Cottle's Lola was a Mk1 (not T2)
David Young's Cooper was a T59 (not T65)
and McRae's car was called a Masarrari (not Maserati Special)

Thanks David - the danger of using Graham Vercoes book as a reference I'm afraid. The Masarrari reference is all my own blunder. This is the car I'm really stuck on - as far as my limited knowledge stretchs, I think it is a Cooper but (to me) appears a little late model for the average NZ privateer of the time. Correction (as always) welcome.

Arnold Glass's BRM-Buick.

EDIT: Sergent's only listing of this BRM P48 in 1963 is a DNA at the NZGP. It looks like it did arrive after all. Blanden's book mentions it there, but that Glass did not drive. He then apparently lent it to Ross Jensen who drove it in a race at Pukekohe (and won) in February.

The blue rocker cover in the photo, some posts back, looks suspiciously like a BT6 Brabham, chassis overhanging the rear drive shafts, frame over the chassis for the rear body which doesn't quite go to the end of the chassis and the Specialized Molding sticker on the inside cockpit area of the rear bodywork.
My guess is it is Rolly's car, which is about 10 feet from where I am sitting, which was and is again black. Interesting though, the cam cover does not now have Lotus embossings on it, if it is his car, nor does it have the little CAST-IN breather as shown in the photo. I do have the cast-in breather however complete with angle grinder marks from when it was removed, and it sits taking pride of place in the little display cabinet I have, the grinder marks match the marks inside the cover, which was welded up to cover the hole.

I think with David McKinney's correction and the knowledge that Levis' car was black I'm leaning towards the red car being that of David Young. I'm not entirely convinced it could be the Glass BRM.

BT6, yes, Ed
But it's Buchanan's dark blue car, not the black Levis example, which would not arrive in NZ for another 12 months.
Afraid I can't remember whether Roly's had Lotus can-covers when it raced in NZ but Buchanan's definitely did. I'll see if I can dig out a photo.

The BRM shots are especially interesting. I know the print says January 1963, but I'm wondering if the film might have been undeveloped in the camera for a whole year, as the background looks like Ardmore, where the car ran in 1962. Contemporary reports says the car did not arrive in NZ in time for the 1963 NZ GP, where it was entered for "TBN".
Can anyone spot from the exhaust-system layout whether it's a BRM or the Scarab-Buick engine in the car? That would confirm which year it was.

Originally posted by mctshirt
I think with David McKinney's correction and the knowledge that Levis' car was black I'm leaning towards the red car being that of David Young. I'm not entirely convinced it could be the Glass BRM.

As above, whether or not it "could be" the BRM, it definitely is
David Young's Cooper had exhausts out only on side ;) and was dark blue

David's right. Check the photo in BRM Vol 2 p352 if you doubt him.

Allen

Originally posted by David McKinney
Contemporary reports says the car did not arrive in NZ in time for the 1963 NZ GP, where it was entered for "TBN".
[/B]

Blanden's "Historic Racing Cars in Australia Vol II " states:
The BRM went to New Zealand again for the 1963 Grand Prix but Glass was unable to drive.
It doesn't mention why he was unable to drive. Could it be that it did turn up but didn't leave the pits that weekend?

I was just about to edit my post about the Young car being blue but it was all too late. It's ok - I have more faith in David being right than me getting it right. I would be surprised if the film had been in the camera since Ardmore but unwilling to rule it out. One point of difference is the Glass BRM did not have a white stripe down the nose in the photo at NZGP 1962 (p.64 of Rothmans Book of NZ Motor Racing by Des Mahoney). Was the BRM raced in NZ in 1963? This is a larger scan of a black & white photo from the ones I was given:



Curiouser and curiouser. It certainly explains why I couldn't match it to the 1963 Levin International.

Originally posted by David Shaw
He then apparently lent it to Ross Jensen who drove it in a race at Pukekohe (and won) in February. [/B]

You're quite right about the stripe mctshirt, and it definitely has the V8 in it too.

Glass raced the BRM with BRM engine in NZ in 1962
Here's a note I have from the time of the 1963 NZ Grand Prix:
Arnold Glass planned to enter his BRM....but he broke broke his shoulder in a water-skiing accident just days before the Pukekohe race. He sent the car anyway, for an unnamed New Zealander to drive, but labour problems on the Sydney wharf ruled out its appearance
Perhaps the photos are at Levin a week later after all (the same as the others on the film roll) though it seems too "wide open spaces" for that venue. Either way, it wasn't entered at Levin and No.7 was a different car.
It was a month later again that Ross Jensen raced it in a minor event at Pukekohe

If I can get away with two posts in a row once, I guess I can do it again

Originally posted by mctshirt
I've been given some more photo's which I'm trying to identify by car numbers. The majority were taken at the 1963 Levin International meeting including the sportscar and saloon car races. During the matching of photo's to the entry list I've come to the following conclusion - can anyone confirm I'm on the right track?

5/1/63: New Zealand GP, Pukekohe
Result No. Driver Nat Car / Engine
1 #2 John Surtees, Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.7l Climax
2 #5 Angus Hyslop, Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
3 #12? Jim Palmer, Bowmaker (Parnell) Cooper T55 / 2.5l Climax
4 John Histed, Lola T2 / 1.5l Ford
5 Rex Flowers, Gemini Mk IIIa FJ / 1.3l Ford
6 Bill Thomasen, Cooper T51 / 2l Climax
7 #29 (nose) or #25 (sides) Chris Amon, Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #1 Graham Hill, Rob Walker Ferguson P99 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #17 Tony Shelly, Lotus 18/21 / 2.5l Climax
Ret Lionel Bulcraig, Aston Martin DBR4 3l
Ret Barry Cottle, Lola Mk1 / 1.2l Climax
Ret #47 Bruce McLaren, BMMR Cooper T62 / 2.7l Climax
Ret Ian Green, Cooper T45 / 2l Climax
Ret Forest Cardon, Lycoming Special
Ret #4? Jack Brabham, Brabham BT4 / 2.7l Climax
Ret David Young, Cooper T59 / 1.5l Ford
Ret #3 Tony Maggs, Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.75l Climax
DNS Ken Sager, Lotus 20 / 1.5l Ford
DNS Frank Turpie, Lotus 20 /1.5l Ford
DNS Bob Smith, Ferrari 555 3.5l
DNS Rod Coppins, Tec-Mec/Chevrolet Chev 4.6

12/1/63 Levin International
Result No. Driver Nat Car / Engine
1 #4 Jack Brabham Aust Brabham BT4 / 2.7l Climax
2 #3? Tony Maggs SA Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.75l Climax
3 #2 Innes Ireland Scot Rob Walker Ferguson P99 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #18? Tony Shelly NZ Lotus 18/21 / 2.5lClimax
4 Roly Levis NZ Cooper T52 / 1.5l Ford (black)
5 #9? Bill Thomasen NZ Cooper T51 / 2l Climax
6 #27? Ken Sager NZ Lotus 20 / 1.5l Ford
7 Rex Flowers NZ Gemini Mk IIIa FJ / 1.3l Ford
Ret Angus Hyslop NZ Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
Ret #47 Bruce McLaren NZ BMMR Cooper T62 / 2.7l Climax
Ret #5 Chris Amon NZ Cooper T53 / 2.5l Climax
Ret David Young NZ Cooper T59 / 1.5l Ford (dark blue)
Ret #1 John Surtees UK Bowmaker (Parnell) Lola T4 / 2.7l Climax
Ret #41? Jim Palmer NZ Bowmaker (Parnell) Cooper T55 / 2.5l Climax

Saloon grid
(1) #47 Bruce McLaren Mini Cooper S
(2) #68? McBeath Jaguar 3.8
(3) #64 Kerry Grant A40 998cc
(4) #59 Dennis Marwood Humber 80
Jack Nazer?


Sportscar
Graham McRae Masarrari (Humber 90 engine)
#7 Johnny Riley Monza Ferrari Corvette
#51 Geoff Richardson (UK) Ferrari Berlinetta 250GT
#42 Unknown Triumph TR3
#53 Unknown Jaguar D-Type?

EDIT: David McKinney corrections

Pukekohe
I can confirm Palmer was 12 and Brabham 4
Amon was 29 (25 was the Flowers Gemini)

Levin
Remove all the question-marks from the International, except that D Young was 10 (7 at this meeting was the Monza-Corvette)
Saloons: McBeath confirmed as 68
Sports: 42 was W S Reid’s TR3
53 was not a D-type, but the Masarrari
Richardson’s 250GT was 21 (51 was a Humber 80)

Thank you all for your help especially David.

I should have got the Ferrari number right - a typo is my excuse



And the Ferrari Monza Corvette



Is there any chance the Glass BRM went to Renwick at the end of the 1962?

Originally posted by mctshirt
Is there any chance the Glass BRM went to Renwick at the end of the 1962?

None whatever

Lots of nostalgia for me in those last two shots. Did you identify Ivy Stephenson in the No.38 Buckler (nearest camera) in the Ferrari shot? That was taken in the assembly area next to the paddock (or, as we would have said at the time, on the dummy grid next to the pits).
I've put my programmes away again but think the No.23 Buckler in the other photo will be Alwyn Marshall's, with the Masarrari behind it and Russell Grace's very fast MGA over on the left

Yes - thankfully Ivy Stephenson's car is quite distintive. Here's a better shot of the Masarrari:



EDIT: I've been back to the books and in the Vercoe book there is mention of Ross Jensen "going well in Arnold Glass' Scarab engined BRM that he had been storing for the Sydney businessman in his Remuera car dealer's showroom." It would appear that the only time the car made an outing was to win the main event at the February 2nd Auckland Car Club meeting at Pukekohe. This doesn't explain what it's doing in a photo dated Jan 63.

Have only just seen your note on Jensen (the trouble with using the 'edit' function is that the index doesn't get updated)
The February Pukekohe meeting was the car's only race in NZ that season, but I have now come across a note that the car was at Levin one week after the Grand Prix, and that Jack Brabham had a few laps in it in practice.

Thanks for that David - a small detail that just about dropped through the cracks of history

And just for fun on a sportscar theme - it looks like Levin but I haven't identified who or when yet. The first photo may be part of the 1963 Levin International but the second and third are in a group of pictures that appear to be taken at private testing or very early practice (no crowds and some of the cars aren't running any numbers). I'm posting them simply because it's a wonderful looking car:

They just don't make them like this anymore...



Some serious curves



and some serious attitude coming into the hairpin

The first's not Levin - my guess would be a Houghton Bay hillclimb - McRae was No.8 there in 1963
The other two would most likely be one of the frequent Levin sprints held in those days

Of course

I hadn't actually got as far as connecting the identified Masarrari with the above photo's - all I had done was identify it as the same car at different meetings. It was a magnificent looking piece of machinery. Thank you once again.

HI, you have the numbers of races Ferrari 58/59 years?
THANKS
Luciano

The Tasman Championship only started in 1964, the biggest races for 1958-59 would have been Gold Star races, especially the Australian Grand Prix.

Hi David

The Levin results you posted for 1965 showed Colin Ngan #23 in the Valour. I don't have copy of the programme. The Tasman web site does not make mention of it as having entered, or a result. Did it not appear?


Levin
1. Clark
6. Glass
7. Sager
8. Buchanan
9. Thomasen
10. Hollier
11. Gardner
12. Levis
13. Abernethy
14. Grant
15. Dawson
17. Riley
18. Thomas
20. K Smith
21. Lawrence
23. Ngan
25. Flowers
30. Whittaker
41. Palmer
47. McLaren
48. P Hill
120. M Smith

Ngan ran the Valour in the National Formula race at this meeting and also in his heat of the Tasman round, but not in the final.
The entry list as posted accords with the programme

65 Longford Entries


66 Longford

This thread seems to be missing race numbers for Tasman Cup 1969 AGP at Lakeside.  My research from photo sources has this list.