The 1957 New Zealand Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Ardmore Circuit on 13 January 1957. The event was won by Briton Reg Parnell driving the Ferrari 555/860 to victory over fellow Briton Peter Whitehead and former New Zealand Grand Prix winner, Stan Jones.
The event was perhaps best known for the death of British driver Ken Wharton. Whilst attempting to overtake a lapped car, Wharton lost control of his car and struck straw bales outlining the base of the pylon carrying an overhead banner over the circuit. After somersaulting several times, where Wharton was thrown out onto the circuit, he was left unconscious with severe head injuries of which he would later succumb to.
Classification Pos No. Driver Car Laps Time Grid 1 4 Reg Parnell Ferrari 555/860 / Ferrari 3431cc 4cyl 120 3hr 07min 56.1sec 3 2 5 Peter Whitehead Ferrari 555/860 / Ferrari 3431cc 4cyl 120 2 3 6 Stan Jones Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl 119 + 1 lap 2 4 18 Ross Jensen Ferrari 750 Monza / Ferrari 2999cc 4cyl 118 + 2 laps 5 5 28 Bob Gibbons Jaguar D-Type / Jaguar 3442cc 6cyl 16 6 George Palmer Cooper T23 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl 11 7 62 Ralph Watson Lycoming Special / Lycoming 4733cc 4cyl 17 8 Ron Frost Cooper Mk IX / Norton 515cc 1cyl 20 9 8 Tom Clark HWM / Alta 1960cc 4cyl s/c 4 10 3 Jack Brabham Cooper T41 / Climax 1460cc 4cyl 8 11 27 Peter Gendell Bugatti Type 35A / Jaguar 3442cc 6cyl 19 12 31 Alex Stringer Cooper T41 / Climax 1098cc 4cyl 13 13 23 Ronnie Moore Cooper T39 / Climax 1098cc 4cyl 21 14 10 John McMillan Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa 2905cc 8cyl s/c 22 Ret Arnold Stafford Cooper Mk IX / Norton 515cc 1cyl 103 Oil Pressure 23 Ret Syd Jensen Cooper T41 / Climax 1460cc 4cyl 99 Engine 9 Ret 11 Allan Freeman Talbot-Lago T26C / Talbot 4485cc 6cyl 81 Magneto 18 Ret 19 Ron Roycroft Ferrari 375 / Ferrari 4493cc V12 63 Driver Exhaustion 1 Ret 36 Pat Hoare Maserati 4CLT-48 / Maserati 1498cc 4cyl s/c 55 Retired 12 Ret 7 Bib Stillwell Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl 50 Gearbox 10 Ret 35 Roly Crowther Lotus Eleven / Climax 1098cc 4cyl 32 Differential 14 Ret 2 Horace Gould Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl 15 Valve 6 Ret 12 Dave Caldwell Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa 2905cc 8cyl s/c 10 Valve 15 Ret Bill Morice Cooper T20 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl 9 Engine 24 DNS 1 Ken Wharton Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl Fatal Accident DNS Gavin Quirk Cooper T20 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl Did not start DNQ Frank Shuter Maserati 8CM / Maserati 2992cc 8cyl s/c Did not qualify DNQ Phil Neill Maserati 6CM / Maserati 1493cc 6cyl s/c Did not qualify DNQ Ted Thompson Bugatti Type 38 / Ford 4071cc V8 Did not qualify DNQ Rob Hugill Cooper Mk VIII / JAP 497cc 1cyl Did not qualify DNQ Bruce Webster Cooper Mk VII / JAP 497cc 1cyl Did not qualify DNQ Len Gilbert Cooper Mk VI / Norton 498cc 1cyl Did not qualify DNQ Les Moore Cooper Mk V / Vincent 998cc V2 Did not qualify DNQ Wally Henwood Cooper Mk IV / Vincent 998cc V2 Did not qualify DNQ Jim Boyd Buckler DD1 / Climax 1098cc 4cyl Did not qualify DNQ Ted Avery HWM / Cadillac 5420cc V8 Did not qualify DNA Norman Hamilton Porsche Spyder 550 / Porsche 1498cc 4cyl Did Not Attend DNA Bill Culver DeSoto Special / DeSoto 3368cc 6cyl Did Not Attend DNA Alex Mackay Cooper T39 / Climax 1098cc 4cyl Did Not Attend DNA Reg McCutcheon Normac Special / Chevrolet 3870cc 6cyl Did Not Attend DNA Paul England Ausca / Holden 2350cc 6cyl Did Not Attend DNA Johnny Mansel Ardun Special / Mercury 4500cc V8 Did Not Attend DNA Bruce McLaren Austin-Healey 100/4 / Austin 2660cc 4cyl Did Not Attend Source:
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