NZ Grand Prix history

[Roderick]

1954 to 1963

www.sergent.com.au/nzgp.html

Preliminary to NZGP

Ardmore Circuit

1st NZGP 1954
2nd NZGP 1955
3rd NZGP 1956

4th NZGP 1957
5th NZGP 1958
6th NZGP 1959

7th NZGP 1960
8th NZGP 1961
9th NZGP 1962

10th NZGP 1963

11th NZGP and Tasman Series

Picture Gallery

Back to New Zealand Motor Racing

www.sergent.com.au/nzmr.html

[Roderick]

Fred Zambucka

www.sergent.com.au/nzdriversz.html

Fred Zambucka Back to Top

Date Venue Event Car / Engine Chassis Result
1950-02-25 Wigram 2nd NZ Championship Road Race DeSoto Special / DeSoto 4099cc 6cyl 255068 4
1950-03-18 Ohakea NZ Grand Prix DeSoto Special / DeSoto 4099cc 6cyl 255068 Ret
1951-02-03 Mairehau 3rd NZ Championship Road Race DeSoto Special / DeSoto 4099cc 6cyl 255068 DNS
1951-03-03 Ohakea 2nd Ohakea Trophy DeSoto Special / DeSoto 4099cc 6cyl 255068 Ret
1951-03-31 Wigram 1st Lady Wigram Trophy DeSoto Special / DeSoto 4099cc 6cyl 255068 DNS
1954-01-09 Ardmore 1st NZ Grand Prix Maserati 8CM / Maserati 2992cc 8cyl s/c 3020 11/NC
1954-02-06 Wigram 4th Lady Wigram Trophy Maserati 8CM / Maserati 2992cc 8cyl s/c 3020 Ret
1954-03-06 Ohakea 5th Ohakea Trophy Maserati 8CM / Maserati 2992cc 8cyl s/c 3020 DNS
1955-01-08 Ardmore 2nd NZ Grand Prix Maserati 8CM / Maserati 2992cc 8cyl s/c 3020 7
1956-01-07 Ardmore 3rd NZ Grand Prix Maserati 8CLT-50 / Maserati 2984cc 8cyl s/c 3037 12
1956-01-21 Wigram 5th Lady Wigram Trophy Maserati 8CLT-50 / Maserati 2984cc 8cyl s/c 3037 DNA

[Roderick]

This guy i met when i was very young...he drove us to my aunties? funeral...Auck-Cambridge...i knew he was a racing car driver , and saw him race at Ardmore in the NZ grand Prix a couple of times....he was killed about 1956 i think...googling details now...i had him in mind when i came up with the zambuka name...as well as deviant tart and mamalicious drink...

Results 1 - 10 of about 203 for Fred Zambucka with Safesearch on. (0.13 seconds)

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1951 Other RacesFred Zambucka 11m 45s Keith Roper 13m 15s Jack Tucker 13m 30s Ronnie Moore 16m 30s Fred Sharman 16m 30s Pat Hoare 17m 30s John Peek 18m Jack Tutton 18m 30s ...
www.sergent.com.au/other1951.html - Similar pages

1956 NZGPRoycroft, himself, was driving the Jaguar-engined Bugatti, as roadworthy as ever, but the colourful Fred Zambucka had made a trip to Europe and came back ...
www.sergent.com.au/1956.html - Similar pages
More results from www.sergent.com.au »

1955 NZGPAmong the New Zealanders, the position was as before, with Roycroft still the favourite in the 2.9 Alfa-Romeo, likely to be challenged by Fred Zambucka with ...
esvc001245.wic014u.server-web.com/1955.html - Similar pages

1954 NZGPFred Zambucka (Maserati 8CM). On the 45th lap, Wharton came in for fuel and tyres, the heavy BRM burning up its rubber fast on the turning Ardmore circuit. ...
esvc001245.wic014u.server-web.com/1954.html - Similar pages

Techno Classica - Maserati - StoryFred Zambucka from New Zealand. Up to today not confirmed is the rumour that only one car was built with an additional 8 CLT/50 engine – number 3036. ...
www.barchetta.cc/all.ferraris/techno-classica-story-part-m/ - Similar pages

The Watson special... with a Willys Special and Fred Zambucka with a De So to Special, and ahead of some Ford V8s. George Smith and Ron Roycroft were not at this meeting. ...
www.bsafwdc.co.uk/page52.php - Similar pages

RECOGNISING THE YEAR’S EFFORT - Motorsport News for New ZealandPauline is steeped in motor racing history - her father was the legendary Fred Zambucka, her husband is former race champion and formidable engineer, Garry, ...
www.nzmotorsport.co.nz/content/newsarticle.cfm?id=1171 - Similar pages

Grand-Prix and races 1958-today01/11/1962, Fred Zambucka Trophy, New Zelande, Angus HYSLOP, Cooper T53 Climax 2.5 FiC, A.Hyslop, FL, Levin. 01/11/1962, Renwick 50, New Zelande ...
jpgleize.club.fr/gp/gpmod.htm - Similar pages

carnatic.com > Karmasaya > Kirsten ZambuckaFrederick P. Brooks, Jr. Ed Yourdon · Guido van Rossum ... Kirsten Zambucka · Paolo Valdemarin ... Frederick Buechner · Nathaniel Branden ...
www.carnatic.com/karmasaya/index.php?Kirsten%20Zambucka - Similar pages

Faster - Encyclopedia7 Fred Zambucka Maserati 8CM 2992cc 89 8 George Palmer Jackson-Mercury 4118cc 88 9 Ross Jensen Triumph TR2 1991cc 86 10 Dick Cobden Ferrari 125 2000cc 86 ...
www.f1total.com.br/faster/modules.php?name=Enciclopedia&op=content&tid=1373&janela=1 - Similar pages

[Roderick]

www.barchetta.cc/all.ferraris/techno-classica-story-part-m/

Maserati 8 CLT/50 s/n 3036
Regular Barchetta visitors already know this Maserati compressor racer very well from
last years Oldtimer GP Maserati display or the Retromobile show earlier this year.
Originally built for the rich industrialist Franco Rol to compete in the Indy 500, this ill-
fated project has never gained any international race laurel and was eventually sold to
Fred Zambucka from New Zealand. Up to today not confirmed is the rumour that only
one car was built with an additional 8 CLT/50 engine – number 3036. Anyway, today
two complete 8 CLT/50’s exist and s/n 3036 – like the 8 CM mentioned above - is still
owned by Dr. Thomas Bscher while Axel Schuette is offering this Maserati since
November 2000.

[Roderick]

www.f1total.com.br/faster/modules.php?name=Enciclopedia&op=content&tid=1373&janela=1

CORRIDAS EXTRA-OFICIAIS

1955 Nova Zelândia GP
8 Janeiro - Ardmore: 337.89 km (3.379 km x 100 voltas)

Melhor Volta: N/A
Pole Position: N/A

Resultado:

1 B. Bira Maserati 250F 2500cc 100 2h 40m 12s
2 Peter Whitehead Ferrari 500/625 3000cc 100 2h 40m 35s
3 Tony Gaze Ferrari 500/625 3000cc 100 2h 41m 38s
4 Jack Brabham Cooper-Bristol T23 1971cc 98
5 Reg Hunt Maserati A6GCM 2500cc 97
6 Syd Jensen Cooper-Norton T26 500cc 91
7 Fred Zambucka Maserati 8CM 2992cc 89
8 George Palmer Jackson-Mercury 4118cc 88
9 Ross Jensen Triumph TR2 1991cc 86
10 Dick Cobden Ferrari 125 2000cc 86
11 Arnold Stafford Cooper-Norton T31 500cc 85
12 Phil Neill Austin-Healey 100 2660cc 83
13 Peter Mclnally Austin-Healey 100 2660cc 80
14 Des McDonagh Thomas-Mercury 4100 cc 75
15 John Horton HWM-Alta 1960cc 55

1955 Buenos Aires GP
30 Janeiro - Buenos Aires: 141.180 km 2(4.706 km x 30 voltas)

Pole-Position:

1)Juan Manuel Fangio(ARG)Mercedes
2)Maurice Trintignant(FRA)Ferrari

Classificação Final:

1 Fangio Mercedes-Benz 3000 2:23'18.9" 118.23 kph
2 Moss Mercedes-Benz 3000 2:23'30.8"
3 González/Trintignant Ferrari 2500 2:23'53.1"
4 Kling Mercedes-Benz 3000 2:24'17.5"
5 Behra Maserati 2500 2:24'41.2"
6 Menditeguy Maserati 2.25'39.6"
7 Montovani/Schell Maserati 2.25'50.9"
8 Musso/Montovani Maserati 2 25'51.8"
9 Bucci Ferrari 2.27'28.2"
10 Farina/Gonzales Ferrari 2.25'35.5"
11 Trintingnant/Maglioli Ferrari 2.26'00.2"
12 Pablo Birger Gordini
13 Elie Bayol Gordini
14 Alberto Uria Maserati
15 Alfredo Pian/ Jose Faraoni/ Adolfo Schweim Cruz Maserati
16 Jesus Iglesias Maserati
17 Mieres Maserati

OBS:Como já era habitual, duas semanas depois do Grande Prêmio da República Argentina se disputava no mesmo circuito, uma corrida de "Fórmula Livre", onde as equipas testavam novos componentes, antes da temporada européia. Como diferença, esta prova se correria em duas etapas de 30 voltas, considerando a classificação final, pela soma de ambas as baterias. Nesta ocasião, estavam praticamente os mesmos carros e pilotos da última edição, excetuando-se a equipe Lancia que havia retornado a Itália.
A Mercedes aproveitou a ocasião, para testar os motores que equipariam durante o ano as 300 SLR. As máquinas alemãs, correriam com motores de 3000 cc e não com 2500 como estabelecia o regulamento de Fórmula 1.
A prova de classificação se realizou na chuva, com a pole sendo conseguida por Juan Manuel Fangio, seguido por Trintignant a 1.2 segundos.
Na largada, Fangio consolidou sua ponta, seguido por Moss e Kling, todavia, na medida que se sucederam as voltas, Farina começou a atacar, superando um a um os pilotos da Mercedes.
Assim terminou a primeira bateria: Farina (Ferrari), Fangio (Mercedes) a 10.5" e terceiro Moss (Mercedes) a 25.4"
Na segunda bateria, Farina tem que abandonar em virtude de uma rodada. A seguir, Fangio que estava atrás de Stirling Moss, segue sem forçar o passo, controlando a Ferrari de Trintignant que vinha no terceiro posto.
Desta forma, a classificação final de segunda etapa: Moss (Mercedes), Fangio (Mercedes) a 3" e Trintingnant (Ferrari) a 3.9".
A classificação final na soma dos tempos foi: Fangio (Mercedes), Moss (Mercedes) e González - Trintingnant (Ferrari).

[Roderick]

The Watson Special


Racing at Ohakea

a paragraph...big article for those interested


Racing at Wigram

www.bsafwdc.co.uk/page52.php

About this time too George took me by surprise, his GCS (V8 Special) coming past about 40mph faster with a shower of sand. However, he was still a lap behind which he could not make up, but I should not have forgotten about him. Home again and feeling more confident of the BSA's ability to keep going, I entered for the North Island Championship Beach Race at Muriwai and finished the 50 miles in 3rd place, behind Ron Sutherland with a Willys Special and Fred Zambucka with a De So to Special, and ahead of some Ford V8s. George Smith and Ron Roycroft were not at this meeting. As usual when racing I ran with the silencers removed, the exhaust pipes terminating about level with the back of the seat. My ears -were painful for a week afterwards and I resolved never to do this again. As the correct length pipe would have finished level with the front of the seat and may have been even worse on the driver's ears, all ideas of exhaust tuning were abandoned and a set of stub pipes about 4" long were made, which resulted in much less exhaust noise and so were used in future. The next event was the North Island Championship Sprint at Napier, where the BSA managed a time of 35.4 sec for the standing kilometre. Other interesting times were Herb Gilroy's 33.6 in the Brooklands Austin single seater/ George Smith's FTD of 29.4 with the V8 Special and Ron Roycroft's 33.4 with the Type 35 Bugatti.
When Ron suggested returning via Lake Waikaremoana and staying at the Tourist Lodge, I mentioned having been turned away for arriving in a dusty condition in a Singer Le Mans. Ron overcame this problem with a telephone reservation, so that on arrival, covered in dust, we were met by a disapproving porter waiting to carry our bags. Ron, perhaps because of speedway experience, seemed to accept driving in a cloud of dust, and I remember him saying that when flying stones appeared among the dust it meant you were dose enough to get past!
By the time we reached home again the BSA had done many miles trying to keep that blue Bugatti tail in sight in the distance.
Not long after, when driving back from Orewa one hot day, a head came off one exhaust valve and of course went through the piston. The pieces seemed to be safely out of the way in the sump, so the 2 pushrods were removed and the BSA driven home on the other cylinder and then this motor was retired! During the Ohakea tour I had acquired another BSA motor, the owner having fitted a s.v. Hillman in its place. Later inspection revealed that the cylinders had cracked off around the base flange at one time, and


After the rebuild

[Roderick]

www.bsafwdc.co.uk/page52.php

The Stanton special in NZ




In the early 1950s another BSA was being used in competition in Christchurch by the Stanton brothers. This was a 3-wheeler to which a tubular rear axle with a transverse spring had been fitted, to convert it to 4 wheels. The Stantons also modified the front suspension by replacing the 8 quarter elliptic springs with wishbones and one transverse spring. When first meeting the Stantons in 1953, I was a little secretive about my performance times, but need not have been as the opportunity to race the 2 cars together never occurred.
At the time the Stantons were working on an aircraft-engined special, as I was to do later, so perhaps it is natural to graduate from aircooled BSAs to aeroengines 30 years later the 2 BSAs were found together in Wellington, where they had been stored for a considerable time. My car was in bad condition, the body having been removed and much of it lost. The best motor, however, was there and showed little wear, but had suffered from rust through being left partly dismantled.
After some negotiation and sorting of parts, the remains of my car came back to me. Examining it again after all this time, the lightness of the body construction was a surprise and even after bringing out my old notebook it took some time to remember all the important details.
Restoration work took nearly 2 years, a complete new body being required, the workmanship being of a much higher quality this time.
The concept and shape were kept the same as the original Special, but it was now possible to incorporate some improvements based on the sketches and calculations I found in my old notebook. The rear axle weight was greatly reduced and a new worm and wheel made to replace the worn one and raise the gear ratio from 5.25 to 4.4 This higher ratio would reduce stress on the engine and enable the car to be driven longer distances at modern motorway speeds, and also on racing circuits with long straights, with much less fear of blowing it up.
The first drive with the restored car along city streets felt so bumpy that I had doubts whether I would be using the car much. A second try early one morning along the motorway was much different and at 60mph the ride smoothed out, all the old sensations came back, and there was promise that it may yet become a delight to drive after all. The fitting of thinner front spring leaves brought the frequency down from 160 to 124, and this after many road tests to adjust shock absorber settings brought about an improvement in the ride.
During the 1985 summer the BSA attended some historic car meetings and hillclimbs but I drove cautiously being troubled by the thought that the early model connecting rods could come apart. They had some stress risers near the small end (these had been improved on later (1934) BSA rods) but worse than this, it had been impossible to polish out the rust marks which penetrated right into the steel (intergranular corrosion?), Also the tappets, although built up with hard welding, were wearing rapidly and the cams having lost their correct shape were giving the valve gear a rough time

www.bsafwdc.co.uk/page52.php

[Roderick]

The Lycoming Special



www.ferrumengineering.com/classichistoricracing.htm

Ferrum Engineering has a long association with New Zealand's most famous and successful racing car. The Lycoming Special was at the forefront of New Zealand Motorsport throughout the 1950's, 60's and into the 70's.

The Lycoming was built by Ralph Watson in the early 1950's. It was a revolitionary design with the air cooled 5244cc aircraft engine running through a Studebaker gearbox to a Ford V8 differential. The engine is upsidedown and back to front. Ralph Watson designed and built his own fuel injection system for the Lycoming.

During its long and successful racing career it has been raced by many notable drivers including;

- Jim Boyd (Officially timed at Pukekohe reaching 151mph/240kph - although no written record exists)

- Malcolm Gill

- Jim Clark (F1 World Champion)

- Bruce McLaren (Founder of the McLaren Racing Team which still competes in F1 today)

Around1982 Ralph Smith purchased the car and set about rebuilding it from two trailer loads of parts with no instruction manual. Since the restoration Ralph has regularly competed at Classic and Historic Race meetings throughout New Zealand. He has taken the car to Race Meetings in Australia and the United States including Philip Island and Laguna Seca.

Ferrum Engineering is very proud of its association with the Lycoming and feel privileged to be assisting in the preservation of New Zealand's most successful racing car.



The Citreon spyder Special



The Citroen Spyder in another New Zealand built special. It was built by Doug Haig of Timaru and first raced in 1951. It competed in the first ever Dunedin Street Race in 1953 and won the 150mile C W F Hamilton Trophy at Mairehua in 1954.

It is powered by a 1911cc Citroen Light 15 engine coupled to the original Citroen gearbox. The crown wheel and pinion have been reversed to convert the powertrain from the standard front wheel drive of the street car to the rear wheel drive application in the race car. Reverse gear was removed from the 3 speed gearbox to make way for a 4th gear. The car was clocked at 127mph/200kph down the back straight at the Wigram air Base circuit.

A Phase One Vanguard engine had been installed when the Citroen engine broke a crankshaft (twice). Ferrum Engineering took an active role in the restoration of the Citroen Spyder during 2002/03. Many components were either made from scratch or remachined to allow the re-fitting of the original Citroen engine.

Most recently, Ferrum Engineering made a new axle for the Spyder after the original broke while competing in the Southern Festival of Speed series at Levels Raceway, Timaru, NZ.

Also owned by Ralph Smith this car is driven by Ian Kemp who regularly competes at Classic and Historic Race Meetings throughout the South Island.

[Roderick]

The Pitts special

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitts_Special

The Pitts Special is a light aerobatics biplane designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts Special dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and, even today, remains a potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.[citation needed

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Pitts-S1S-in-flight.jpg/300px-Pitts-S1S-in-flight.jpg

Development history
It is widely accepted that the Pitts Special is the standard by which all other aerobatic planes are judged. The design has been refined continuously since the prototype's first flight in 1944, however, the current Pitts Specials still remain quite close to the original in concept and in design.[citation needed] Pitts also built several monoplane racing planes in the 1940s-50s, the most famous of which was the Pitts Pellet or "Lil' Monster". He also built a two-seat sport monoplane called the "Big Hickey".[citation needed]

Several of the aircraft that Curtis built had a picture of a skunk on them and were called Stinkers. The second plane that Curtis built was called Lil' Stinker by Betty Skelton after she bought it. The prototype S-2, which was the first 2 seat Pitts, was Big Stinker. The prototype Model 11 (later called S1-11B) was Super Stinker. The prototype Model 12 is the Macho Stinker.[citation needed]

Curtis Pitts died at age 89. At the time of his death, he was working with Steen on the prototype of the new Pitts Model 14, a brand-new, 2-seat aerobatic biplane powered by the 400 hp Vedeneyev radial engine. The Model 14 is designed for unlimited aerobatics. The rights to the Pitts name is currently owned by Aviat which also owns the similar model to the Pitts in the Christen Eagle.[citation needed]


[edit] Current versions
Certified versions of the compact Pitts Special are now produced by Aviat in Afton, Wyoming. It is available as an S1 single seater with up to 200 horsepower (150 kW) flat-4 Lycoming engine and a 17' wingspan or as an S2 two seater variant featuring a 260 hp (194 kW) flat-6 Lycoming and a 20 ft (6 m) wingspan. The Pitts Special held sway over the aerobatic world championships until the rise of the monoplane, though it remains very competitive in all levels of competition and remains a favorite of airshow performers worldwide. The first monoplane to topple the Pitts from the top of unlimited aerobatic competition was the Russian built and designed Yak-50.[citation needed]

Today, the single-seat Pitts Special S1S plans are available from Aviat Aircraft. The S1-C and derivative S1-SS plans and kits are are supplied by Steen Aero Lab in Palm Bay, Florida. The S1 continues to provide extremely high performance at a relatively low cost. Many hundreds of homebuilders have successfully completed and flown the Pitts since plans became available in 1960.[citation needed