1972 New Zealand Grand Prix

  1972 New Zealand Grand Prix

Race details
Race 1 of 7 in 1972 Tasman Series
Date	8 January 1972
Location	Pukekohe Park Raceway, Pukekohe, New Zealand
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	2.82 km (1.76 mi)
Distance	58 laps, 164 km (102 mi)
Weather	Light Cloud
Pole position
Driver	Graham McRae	Leda-Chevrolet
Time	55.2
Fastest lap
Driver	Frank Gardner	Lola-Chevrolet
Time	56.9
Podium
First	Frank Gardner	Lola-Chevrolet
Second	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Chevrolet
Third	David Hobbs	McLaren-Chevrolet

The 1972 New Zealand Grand Prix was a race held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway on 8 January 1972. The race had 20 starters.

It was the 18th New Zealand Grand Prix, and doubled as the first round of the 1972 Tasman Series. Australian Frank Gardner won his first NZGP in his McLaren Formula 5000 ahead of British Grand Prix motorcycle racing champion Mike Hailwood. The first New Zealand driver to finish was Robbie Francevic in the McLaren Formula 5000 who came in 9th place.

The race saw the tragic death of Bryan Faloon who died after an accident on the back straight with Graeme Lawrence in the closing laps of the race.

Classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time
1	1	Frank Gardner	Lola Cars Ltd.	Lola T300 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	58	57min 16.5sec
2	2	Mike Hailwood	Team Surtees	Surtees TS8A / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	58	+ 27.0 s
3	10	David Hobbs	Hobbs Racing London	McLaren M18/M22 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	58	+ 31.1 s
4	5	Kevin Bartlett	Kevin Bartlett Shell Racing	McLaren M10B / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	58	+ 31.5 s
5	6	Max Stewart	Max Stewart Motors	Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8	58	+ 37.6 s
6	34	Teddy Pilette	Racing Team V.D.S.	McLaren M10B / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	58	+ 1:04.3 s
7	29	John McCormack	Elfin Sports Cars	Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8	57	+ 1 Lap
8	7	Evan Noyes	Gemco Racing	McLaren M18 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	56	+ 2 Laps
9	60	Robbie Francevic	Wright Machinery	McLaren M10A / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	55	+ 3 Laps
10	10	Graham McRae	Crown Lynn	Leda GM1 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	49	+ 9 Laps
11	11	Ken Smith	Air New Zealand Motor Racing	Lotus 69B / Hart 1860cc 4cyl	49	+ 9 Laps
12	16	Peter Hughes	Town & Country Cars Ltd.	Begg FM2 / Chevrolet 4945cc V8	48	+ 10 Laps
13	10	Garrie Cooper	Crown Lynn	Elfin MR5 / Repco Holden 4994cc V8	48	+ 10 Laps
Ret	18	David Oxton	G.N. Begg Engineering Co. Ltd.	Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4945cc V8	53	Hit Debris
Ret	14	Graeme Lawrence	Lawrence Racing	Lola T300 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8	52	Accident
Ret	57	Bryan Faloon	Stanton Motors Ltd.	Stanton 1 / Porsche 1981cc 8cyl	51	Fatal Accident
Ret	30	David McConnell	D.W.M. Racing Ltd.	Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4945cc V8	48	Retired
Ret	88	Frank Radisich	Henderson Central Motors Ltd.	Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4945cc V8	40	Engine
Ret	3	Frank Matich	Frank Matich Racing Pty. Ltd.	McLaren M10B / Repco 4994cc V8	19	Engine
Ret	12	Baron Robertson	Robertson Racing	Matich A50 / Repco 4994cc V8	2	Engine
DNA	32	Allan Moffat	Allan Moffat Motor Racing Co.	unknown		Did Not Arrive
Source(s): [1][2]

References

1. "1972 Round 1 Pukekohe". sergent.com.au. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
2. "New Zealand Grand Prix - Pukekohe, 8 Jan 1972". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 2015-10-27.