Stirling, was ahead of the field in the 1959 New Zealand Grand Prix, when he coasted to a halt after the Cloverleaf bend on the last lap of his qualifying heat, looking anxiously down at the rear transmission.

Throwing off his helmet and leaping out, he pushed the car home the 400 yards to the finishing-line, and in the pits it was found that the universal yoke to the offside half-shaft had sheared. Although he was not among the twenty-four fastest to finish the heats, Stirling, being an overseas entry, had his start guaranteed. Jack Brabham lent him a new half-shaft for the race which he went onto win.