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First lap of the 1975 Lady Wigram Trophy held on the RNZAF circuit of the same name, on January 19.

It’s Graham McRae, McRae GM2 Chev from Warwick Brown, Lola T332 Chev with the partially obscured Talon MR1 Chev of Chris Amon tucked in behind WB, John Walker, Lola T332 Repco-Holden, then David Oxton aboard Max Stewart’s T330 Chev with John McCormack’s Elfin MR6 Repco-Holden at the rear of the gaggle.

I’ve always had a soft spot for this place, despite not ever having been there! It’s ‘snapper heaven of course, with so many interesting backdrops to work; Terry Marshall was the top of the local photographer pops in this era.

GP McRae won the race in his year-old McRae GM2, albeit with no shortage of aero-adornments which made this lovely car both quicker and uglier than the svelte beauty that won the 1973 Australian Grand Prix at Sandown that November, its second race.

No point getting misty-eyed about it again, see this detailed McRae treatise: https://primotipo.com/2018/09/06/amons-talon-mcraes-gm2/

John McCormack’s Elfin MR6 Repco-Holden was second – Mac and his team having given the Repco-Leyland V8 the lemonade and sars after a dismal, slow, unreliable ’74 Gold Star – with John Walker third in his unique Repco-Holden powered Lola T332, then Max Stewart’s new and uncooperative Lola T400 Chev and Graeme Lawrence’s T332 Chev.

John Walker blasts past the Wigram hangar in his Lola T330 during the 1974 Trophy ‘with Repco Holden F5000 V8 thunder echoing off the hangar walls’ as Marshall beautifully put it! Love the arty-farty surreal quality of this shot.

Tangentially, Kevin Bartlett on the differences between the rear suspension on a Lola T330 and T332 in a Facebook commented about Ken Smith’s Lola T330-332 HU8 ex-Chaparral-Haas.

‘Just about nil change to geometry as such. Twin link lower links at the rear (T332) replaced the A-arm (T330). Made for easier toe change without affecting bump steer. Aero was different with horizontal radiators, oil coolers lowered and mounted behind the front suspension, instead of the rear and side of the tub. The rear roll-bar was mounted differently on most. The tub was extended and foam-filled at the cockpit area. Visually, the bodywork was quite a bit different, as you would see if both were together. Ken Smith’s car was as much a T332 as my second car of that era. Its difference was the A-arm rear suspension and roll-bar I kept for various reasons.’

For more on this, see here: https://primotipo.com/2025/01/12/lola-t332-factory-specification-information/

Speaking of KB, here he is giving his new, Lola T400 Chev the ‘one-handed Scandinavian-flick’, and commenting, again on good-ole Facebook, ‘Yep always did it that way as I had better feel with one control hand. After all, the steer is by throttle, lock used to point it where you want to go. Ask any drift merchant for confirmation. HeHe!’

John McCormack had a good 1975 Tasman series in his MR6 – fourth – then went home and won the Gold Star in it with 27 points from Walker’s T330/332 and Max Stewart’s T400 Chev.

J-Mac ultimately proved the Leyland-Repco-McCormack-Irving V8 held together just enough to win John the 1977 Gold Star fitted in the back of a McLaren M23 GP car, see here: https://primotipo.com/2014/07/24/macs-mclaren-peter-revson-dave-charlton-and-john-mccormacks-mclaren-m232/

Butt shot of McRae’s GM2, Terry Marshall comments, ‘Wigram showing those big fat rear tyres in action. Here G.P.McRae exits the loop over the water grates and out on towards Bomb Bay. Can’t ya just feel it.’

Indeed…

Etcetera…

Graham McRae debuted his new McRae GM2 Chev at Brands Hatch on October 21, 1973 (above) before shipping it to Australia where the combo won the ‘73 AGP at Sandown, the Ampol livery readily apparent in the shot below…

At Brands McRae was a DNF with a shock absorber problem having missed practice, while at Sandown he won from Q4 with McCormack and Walker second and third; Fifth Former me was there and remembers the race well!

Credits…

Alan Batt, Terry Marshall, Stupix, Stuart Dent

Finito…