1957 New Zealand Grand Prix
# 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.

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 | |
| Source: |||||||
