1978 New Zealand Grand Prix

  1978 New Zealand Grand Prix

Race details
24th New Zealand Grand Prix
Date	7 January 1978
Location	Pukekohe Park Raceway, Pukekohe, New Zealand
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	2.82 km (1.76 mi)
Distance	30 laps, 84.6 km (52.8 mi)
Pole position
Driver	Dave McMillan	Ralt-Ford
Time	1:04.1
Podium
First	Keke Rosberg	Chevron-Ford
Second	Larry Perkins	Ralt-Ford
Third	Danny Sullivan	March-Ford

The 1978 New Zealand Grand Prix was a race held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway on 7 January 1978. The race had 20 starters.

It was the 24th New Zealand Grand Prix. The race was won by future Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg for the second time in succession in the Chevron B39. The rest of the podium was completed by Australian Larry Perkins and American Danny Sullivan.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Car	Time	Gap
1	0	Dave McMillan	Team McMillan	Ralt RT1 / Ford BDA Hart	1:04.1
2	1	Keke Rosberg	Fred Opert Racing	Chevron B39 / Ford BDA Titan	1:04.3	+ 0.2 s
3	3	Larry Perkins	Scuderia Veloce	Ralt RT1 / Ford BDA Swindon	1:04.6	+ 0.5 s
4	2	Bobby Rahal	Fred Opert Racing	Chevron B39 / Ford BDA Morris	1:05.0	+ 0.9 s
5	11	Ken Smith	La Valise Travel	Chevron B34 / Ford BDA Nicholson	1:05.0	+ 0.9 s
6	4	Danny Sullivan		March 77B / Ford BDA Nicholson	1:05.0	+ 0.9 s
7	9	Brett Riley		March 77B / Ford BDA Nicholson	1:05.0	+ 0.9 s
8	8	Andrew Miedecke		March 763/76B / Ford BDA Dewhurst	1:05.1	+ 1.0 s
9	10	Richard Melville		March 76B / Ford BDA Hooker	1:05.1	+ 1.0 s
10	19	Steve Millen	Martini Team Schollum	Chevron B34 / Ford BDA Hart	1:05.4	+ 1.3 s
11	18	David Oxton	Vacation Hotels	Chevron B34 / Ford BDA Hart	1:05.4	+ 1.3 s
12	22	Ross Stone		Cuda JR3 / Ford BDA Nicholson	1:06.3	+ 2.2 s
13	17	Robbie Francevic		Modus M3 / Ford BDA Hooker	1:06.3	+ 2.2 s
14	5	Ian Grob	Sphere Drake Racing	March 763/77B / Ford BDA Swindon	1:07.1	+ 3.0 s
15	7	Pierre Dieudonné		Ehrlich RP3 / Ford BDA Nicholson	1:07.3	+ 3.2 s
16	16	Norm Lankshear	FCDC Fielding	Chevron B34 / Ford BDA Nicholson	1:07.7	+ 3.6 s
17	15	Eric Morgan		Chevron B29 / Ford BDA BMS	1:07.9	+ 3.8 s
18	99	Reg Cook		722 / Ford BDA CMR	1:08.4	+ 4.3 s
19	66	Graeme Crawford	Paul England Pty. Ltd	Birrana 273 / Ford BDA England	1:08.8	+ 4.7 s
20		Dave Saunders		March 722 / Ford BDA	1:09.2	+ 5.1 s

Race

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time
1	1	Keke Rosberg	Fred Opert Racing	Chevron B39 / Ford BDA Titan	30	32min 49.8sec
2	3	Larry Perkins	Scuderia Veloce	Ralt RT1 / Ford BDA Swindon	30	+ 1.7 s
3	4	Danny Sullivan		March 77B / Ford BDA Nicholson	30	+ 18.1 s
4	10	Richard Melville		March 76B / Ford BDA Hooker	30	+ 18.5 s
5	11	Ken Smith	La Valise Travel	March 76B / Ford BDA Nicholson	30	+ 38.1 s
6	18	David Oxton	Vacation Hotels	Chevron B34 / Ford BDA Hart	30	+ 40.0 s
7	22	Ross Stone		Cuda JR3 / Ford BDA Nicholson	30
8	17	Robbie Francevic		Modus M3 / Ford BDA Hooker	30
9	5	Ian Grob	Sphere Drake Racing	March 763/77B / Ford BDA Swindon	30
10	7	Pierre Dieudonné		Ehrlich RP3 / Ford BDA Nicholson	29	+ 1 Lap
11	19	Steve Millen	Martini Team Schollum	Chevron B42 / Ford BDA Hart	29	+ 1 Lap
12	16	Norm Lankshear	FCDC Fielding	Chevron B34 / Ford BDA Hart	29	+ 1 Lap
13	66	Graeme Crawford	Paul England Pty. Ltd	Birrana 273 / Ford BDA England	29	+ 1 Lap
14		Dave Saunders		March 722 / Ford BDA	27	+ 3 Laps
15	0	Dave McMillan	Team McMillan	Ralt RT1 / Ford BDA Hart	22	+ 8 Laps
Ret	8	Andrew Miedecke		March 763/76B / Ford BDA Dewhurst	15	Loose Battery
Ret	2	Bobby Rahal	Fred Opert Racing	Chevron B39 / Ford BDA Morris	8	Valve
Ret	9	Brett Riley		March 77B / Ford BDA Nicholson	7	Loose Battery
Ret	15	Eric Morgan		Chevron B29 / Ford BDA BMS	6	Gear Selector
Ret	99	Reg Cook		March 742 / Ford BDA CMR	2	Misfire
DNS	17	Steve Emson		Modus M3 / Ford BDA Nicholson		Did Not Start
DNS	20	Hugh Owen		Ralt RT1 / Ford BDA Nicholson		Did Not Start
DNS	65	Peter Larner	Paul England Pty. Ltd	Dolphin / Ford BDA England		Did Not Start
DNA		Howard Wood		Lyncar 009 / Ford BDA		Did Not Start
Source(s): [1]

References

1. "New Zealand Grand Prix - Pukekohe, 7 Jan 1978". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.