1957 New Zealand Grand Prix

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.

1957 New Zealand Grand Prix
5th New Zealand Grand Prix
Race details
Date	13 January 1957
Location	Ardmore Circuit, Auckland, New Zealand
Course	Temporary racing facility
Course length	3.2 km (2.0 miles)
Distance	120 laps, 384 km (240 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Ron Roycroft	Ferrari 375
Time	Determined by heats
Fastest lap
Driver	Reg Parnell	Ferrari 555/860
Time	1:31.2
Podium
First	Reg Parnell	Ferrari 555/860
Second	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari 555/860
Third	Stan Jones	Maserati 250F

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			2
3		Stan Jones	Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl			2
4	18	Ross Jensen	Ferrari 750 Monza / Ferrari 2999cc 4cyl			5
5		Bob Gibbons	Jaguar D-Type / Jaguar 3442cc 6cyl			16
6		George Palmer	Cooper T23 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl			11
7		Ralph Watson	Lycoming Special / Lycoming 4733cc 4cyl			17
8		Ron Frost	Cooper Mk IX / Norton 515cc 1cyl			20
9		Tom Clark	HWM / Alta 1960cc 4cyl s/c			4
10		Jack Brabham	Cooper T41 / Climax 1460cc 4cyl			8
11		Peter Gendell	Bugatti Type 35A / Jaguar 3442cc 6cyl			19
12		Alex Stringer	Cooper T41 / Climax 1098cc 4cyl			13
13		Ronnie Moore	Cooper T39 / Climax 1098cc 4cyl			21
14		John McMillan	Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa 2905cc 8cyl s/c			22
Ret	19	Ron Roycroft	Ferrari 375 / Ferrari 4493cc V12	63	Driver Exhaustion	1
Ret		Bib Stillwell	Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl	50	Gearbox	10
Ret		Arnold Stafford	Cooper Mk IX / Norton 515cc 1cyl	49	Oil Pressure	23
Ret		Allan Freeman	Talbot-Lago T26C / Talbot 4485cc 6cyl		Magneto	18
Ret		Roly Crowther	Lotus Eleven / Climax 1098cc 4cyl	32		14
Ret		Pat Hoare	Maserati 4CLT-48 / Maserati 1498cc 4cyl s/c			12
Ret		Horace Gould	Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl	15	Valve	6
Ret		Syd Jensen	Cooper T41 / Climax 1460cc 4cyl	7	Engine	9
Ret		Dave Caldwell	Alfa Romeo Tipo B / Alfa 2905cc 8cyl s/c	3	Valve	15
Ret		Bill Morice	Cooper T20 / Bristol 1971cc 6cyl	0	Engine	24
DNS		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
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