ARDMORE GRAND PRIX

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28481, 10 January 1958, Page 7

ARDMORE GRAND PRIX

Lap Record Broken In Practice (New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, January 9. The lap speeds of cars during practice at Ardmore today suggest that this year’s New Zealand Grand Prix should be the fastest and most closely fought yet. Three drivers broke the lap record set by Stirling Moss when he won the race in 1956. The nine fastest went round the two-mile circuit at an average speed of more than 80 miles an hour, and four of them were New Zealanders. It was a day of excitement for both drivers and the thousands of spectators who turned up. Grass, marker drums, and straw bales went flying as cars spun off the course, and the tricky college comer caused many incidents. _ Unluckiest of the drivers was R Salvador!, (of England, who spun on the track in his Connaught and rammed some bales. A steering rod on the car was bent, but it will be repaired in time for Saturday s . meeting. The fastest driver today was J - Brabham (Australia), who took Imin 26.35ec to cover one lap in his Cooper, unofficially breaking Moss s time of Imin 27.8 sec. The only lap records officially recognised are those set during the actual race. S. Lewis-Evans (England) recorded the second fastest lap at Imin 26.65ec in his dart-shaped Connaught. The other driver to break the record was R. Jensen (Auckland), who took his car—the Maserati 50/F which Moss raced in 1956 round in Imin 27.65ec Other drivers who recorded very fast lap speeds were A. Scott-Brown (England), L. Davison, and B. Stillwell (Australia), and R. Roycrofl and B. McLaren (Auckland). The two fastest through the speed trap were the Lister Jaguar of ScottBrown and Roycroft’s Ferrari. They, reached almost 140 miles an hour. The Lister Jaguar was by far the fastest sports car. Nine cars exceeded 130 miles an hour.