1955 New Zealand Grand Prix

The 1955 New Zealand Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Ardmore Circuit on 8 January 1955. It was the third iteration of the New Zealand Grand Prix and was won by Thailand's Prince Bira. Bira won in relatively dominant fashion, lapping all but two drivers – Peter Whitehead and Tony Gaze. The need for pitstops potentially cost the Ferrari pairing of Whitehead and Gaze a shot at victory. They did however complete the podium, on the lead lap.

1955 New Zealand Grand Prix
3rd New Zealand Grand Prix
Race details
Date	8 January 1955
Location	Ardmore Circuit, Auckland, New Zealand
Course	Temporary racing facility
Course length	3.2 km (2.0 miles)
Distance	100 laps, 300 km (186 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Determined by heats
Fastest lap
Driver	Prince Bira	Maserati 250F
Time	1:33.0
Podium
First	Prince Bira	Maserati 250F
Second	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari 500/625
Third	Tony Gaze	Ferrari 500/625

Having both set a time of 1:33.0, Bira and Whitehead had shared the fastest lap of the race.

Classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	Laps	Time
1	1	Prince Bira	Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl	100	2hr 40min 12sec
2		Peter Whitehead	Ferrari 500/625 / Ferrari 2968cc 4cyl	100	+ 33.0 s
3	4	Tony Gaze	Ferrari 500/625 / Ferrari 2968cc 4cyl	100	+ 1.26.0 s
4		Jack Brabham	Cooper T23 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl	98	+ 2 Laps
5	3	Reg Hunt	Maserati A6GCM / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl	97	+ 3 Laps
6		Syd Jensen	Cooper Mk. VII / Norton 498cc 1cyl	91	+ 9 Laps
7	12	Fred Zambucka	Maserati 8CM / Maserati 2992cc 8cyl s/c	89	+ 11 Laps
8		George Palmer	Jackson-Mercury / Mercury 4118cc V8	88	+ 12 Laps
9		Ross Jensen	Triumph TR2 / Triumph 1991cc 4cyl	86	+ 14 Laps
10		Dick Cobden	Ferrari 125 / Ferrari 1995cc V12 s/c	86	+ 14 Laps
11		Arnold Stafford	Cooper Mk. VII / Norton 498cc 1cyl	85	+ 15 Laps
12		Phil Neill	Austin-Healey 100 / Austin 2660cc 4cyl	83	+ 17 Laps
13		Peter McInally	Austin-Healey 100 / Austin 2660cc 4cyl	80	+ 20 Laps
14		Des McDonagh	Thomas-Mercury / Mercury 4100cc V8	75	+ 25 Laps
15		John Horton	HWM F1 / Alta 1960cc 4cyl s/c	55	+ 45 Laps
Ret		Ron Frost	Cooper Mk. VIII / Norton 498cc 1cyl	89	Gearbox
Ret		Lex Davison	HWM F2 / Jaguar 3442cc 6cyl	88	Transmission
Ret		Ron Roycroft	Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa Romeo 2905cc 8cyl s/c	58	Valve
Ret		Jon McMillan	Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa Romeo 2905cc 8cyl s/c	33	Retired
Ret		Bill Lee	Cooper Mk. VI / Norton 498cc 1cyl	30	Retired
Ret		Les McLaren	Austin-Healey 100 / Austin 2660cc 4cyl	30	Retired
Ret		Bill Culver	DeSoto Special / DeSoto 3368cc 6cyl	19	Engine
Ret	26	Reg McCutcheon	Normac Special / Chevrolet 3870cc 6cyl	17	Frost Plug
Ret		Stan Coffey	Cooper T20 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl	16	Oil Pressure
Ret		Gordon Brown	GBS / Ford 1172cc 4cyl	9	Engine
DNS		George Smith	GCS / Chrysler 5600cc V8		Did Not Start
DNS		Wally Bern	Triumph TR2 / Triumph 1991cc 4cyl		Did Not Start
DNS		Tony Shelly	Morgan +4 / Standard 2088cc 4cyl		Did Not Start
DNS		Johnny Mansel	Mansel Special / Mercury 3950cc V8		Did Not Start
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