1962 New Zealand Grand Prix

1962 New Zealand Grand Prix
New Zealand Grand Prix
Race details
Date	6 January 1962
Location	Ardmore Circuit, Auckland, New Zealand
Course	Temporary racing facility
Course length	3.2 km (2.0 miles)
Distance	50 laps, 160 km (100 miles)
Weather	Heavy rain
Pole position
Driver	Bruce McLaren	Cooper T53
Time	1:25.4
Fastest lap
Driver	Stirling Moss	Lotus 21
Time	1:32.8
Podium
First	Stirling Moss	Lotus 21
Second	John Surtees	Cooper T53
Third	Bruce McLaren	Cooper T53

The 1962 New Zealand Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Ardmore Circuit on 6 January 1962. It was the ninth edition of the New Zealand Grand Prix and the final one to be held at the Ardmore Circuit. Following this event, the race would be moved to the Pukekohe Park Raceway south of Auckland.

Beset with heavy rainfall, Stirling Moss dominated proceedings to take his third New Zealand Grand Prix title in a highly-acclaimed drive. Fellow Grand Prix alumni John Surtees and Bruce McLaren rounded out the podium.

Race report

All international entrants were driving Inter-Continental Formula cars - machines with a maximum capacity of 3 litres, as compared with the Formula One limit of 1.5 litres. The regular contingent of Moss, Surtees, McLaren and Jack Brabham had made the venture to New Zealand for the summer series races and the field boasted an array of local rising talent that included the likes of Chris Amon. However, Denny Hulme elected not to attend as he did not deem the venture financially viable. McLaren set the pace in practice and would capture pole position.

Weather heading into the weekend was horrendous with heavy rain plaguing track conditions and slowing the pace to a relative crawl. As a result, the race distance was shorted from the standard 150 miles to 100 for Saturday's race. Nevertheless, the venue boasted a 45,000-strong crowd for the event. Almost as soon as the flag fell to start the race, rain further intensified around the circuit. At the end of the first lap, Surtees led from McLaren, Brabham and Bib Stillwell. Moss, who had started from 21st on the grid, had worked his way up to fifth and, by the start of the third lap, had taken the lead from Surtees. Brabham meanwhile had opted for dry weather tyres for the start and greatly struggled to keep his car on track before a broken gear selector curtailed his race. College Corner proved a troublesome corner for the competitors with multiple drivers coming unstuck in the hay bales that lined it.

Aside from one spin on the pit straight after hitting a patch of standing water, it was a dominant performance from Moss. His fastest lap was 1.4 seconds faster than that of second-placed Surtees and over two seconds faster than the highly-favoured McLaren. Moss's drive was held to such acclaim that, during the prize-giving ceremony, Surtees remarked, "He's just not normal".

Classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	Laps	Time	Grid
1	7	Stirling Moss	Lotus 21 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl	50	1hr 23min 14.3sec	21
2		John Surtees	Cooper T53 / Climax 2750cc 4cyl	50	+ 39.4	3
3		Bruce McLaren	Cooper T53 / Climax 2750cc 4cyl	48	+ 2 laps	1
4		Roy Salvadori	Cooper T53 / Climax 2596cc 4cyl	47	+ 3 laps	5
5		Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper T53 / Maserati 2890cc 4cyl	45	+ 5 laps	13
6		Pat Hoare	Ferrari 256 / Ferrari 2953cc V12	45	+ 5 laps	11
7		Angus Hyslop	Cooper T53 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl	45	+ 5 laps	4
8		Lex Davison	Cooper T53 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl	44	+ 6 laps	6
9		Johnny Mansel	Cooper T51 / Maserati 2890cc 4cyl	44	+ 6 laps	15
10		Bib Stillwell	Aston Martin DBR4-300 / Aston 2991cc 6cyl	44	+ 6 laps	7
11		Chris Amon	Maserati 250F / Maserati 2495cc 6cyl	43	+ 7 laps	17
12		Ross Greenville	Lotus 18 FJ / Ford 998cc 4cyl	42	+ 8 laps	18
13		David McKay	Cooper T51 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl	42	+ 8 laps	9
14		Bill Thomasen	Cooper T51 / Climax 1964cc 4cyl	41	+ 9 laps	16
15	41	Jim Palmer	Lotus 20 / Ford 1475cc 4cyl	41	+ 9 laps	14
16		Forrest Cardon	Lycoming Special / Lycoming 5239cc 4cyl	39	+ 11 laps	19
Ret		Jack Brabham	Cooper T55 / Climax 2750cc 4cyl	32	Gear selector	2
Ret	9	Arnold Glass	BRM P48 / BRM 2497cc 4cyl	15	Retired	10
Ret	8	Ron Flockhart	Lotus 18 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl	7	Engine	12
Ret	20	John Histed	Lola Mk2 / Ford 998cc 4cyl	6	Brakes	20
Ret		Tony Shelly	Cooper T45 / Climax 1964cc 4cyl	1	Suspension	8
DNQ	25	Rex Flowers	Gemini Mk Illa FJ / Ford 998cc 4cyl		Did not qualify
DNQ		Len Gilbert	Cooper-Bristol Mk II / Holden 2258cc 6cyl		Did not qualify
DNQ		Bob Smith	Ferrari Super Squalo 555 / Ferrari 3431cc 4cyl		Did not qualify
DNQ		Hec Green	RA / RA 2100cc 4cyl s/c		Did not qualify
DNQ		Lou Stonnell	Lynx FJ / Ford 998cc 4cyl		Did not qualify
DNQ		Rod Coppins	Tec Mec 1 / Chevrolet 4600cc V8		Did not qualify
DNQ		Scott Wiseman	Lotus 20 / Ford 998cc 4cyl		Did not qualify
DNQ		Peter Elford	Cooper-Bristol Mk I / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl		Did not qualify
DNA		David Evans	Cooper T43 / Climax 1964cc 4cyl		Did Not Attend
DNA		Roly Levis	Cooper T52 FJ / BMC 994cc 4cyl		Did Not Attend
DNA		Barry Thomas	Lynx FJ / Ford 998cc 4cyl		Did Not Attend
Source:

Aftermath

After having hosted the marquee event since 1954, the 1962 race would prove to be the last to be held on the Ardmore Circuit. With the building of a new airport in Māngere, Ardmore was reverted to operational status as an aerodrome and thus would no longer be available for motor racing.