The passing of Sir Stirling Moss is a significant day in motorsport. Such was his talent that even though he retired in 1962 having not won a F1 World Championship title, he captured the respect of both drivers and motorsport fans through until today.
New Zealand witnessed first-hand his talent between the years of 1956 and 1962 and mostly at Ardmore where he competed in the NZ Grand Prix five separate times.
He won the 1956 NZGP in a Maserati 250F / Maserati 2497cc 6cyl, completing the 100 laps in 2 hrs 32min 23.1 seconds.
He was not entered in the 1957 and ’58 races but returned in 1959 winning in a Cooper T45 / Climax 2015cc 4cyl.
He retired from both NZGPs’ in 1960 (Cooper T51 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl) and 1961 (Lotus 18 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl) with clutch problems.
He also competed in the 1961 Lady Wigram Trophy race (main picture) at the Wigram Aerodrome in Christchurch finishing second, driving a Lotus 18 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl, to Jack Brabham.
His last appearance in NZ was in January 1962, winning the NZGP (6 January) in a Lotus 21 / Climax 2495cc 4cyl. A week later he competed in the Levin International finishing second again to Jack Brabham.
He won the Lady Wigram Trophy race the following weekend and then finished second to Bruce McLaren at the Teretonga International in Invercargill during the last weekend of January.
Serious head injuries in a crash at Goodwood at Easter of ’62 would bring about his early retirement at the age of 32 years-old.
Comments