Career
He started serious motor racing in the National 1.5 litre series (New Zealand equivalent of F3) winning the series decisively in 1968 ahead of David Oxton and Ken Smith. Lawrence then ran half a European F2 series in an uncompetitive semi works F2 McLaren, he found the racing harder than expected and was shaken, by his experience racing in Germany at the Hockenheim race in the rain, were Jim Clark was killed. Lawrence regularly qualified in mid grid, and suggested he still had international potential.
This was confirmed by brilliant driving of the underpowered Ferrari 2.4 in the 1971 Tasman, at Levin he passed Amon in a March 701, Oxton and Cannon and was closing on 2nd placed Neil Allen, when he collided with a lapped back marker and at Levin he finished third ahead of Amon and Gardiner, but a bad crash in a new Lola F5000 at Pukekohe in 1972, left Lawrence with the Lola limp and largely ended any chance of a racing career in the United States and he did not fully recover till the 1974-1975 race season driving a Lola T332 Formula 5000 car. which Lawrence set up largely to the pattern of the United States F5000 Parnelli cars of Andretti and Unser.
In Australasian F5000 races, Lawrence had driven hard, racing for victory rather than adopting the percentage driving tactics of say a John McCormick, David Oxton or John Walker, inevitably that resulted in more retirements and crashes. Lawrence competed in the 1970 Can-Am season, driving the Spirit of Edmonton McLaren M12 to points finishes.
