CAR RACES AT WIGRAM

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26662, 22 February 1952, Page 8

CAR RACES AT WIGRAM

BIG ENTRY OF FAST CARS

TOMORROW’S EVENTS

The race to be conducted by the Christchurch Motor Racing Club on the perimeter airstrips at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Station, Wigram, to-morrow has attracted one of the best entries since the race was first organised as an annual event three years ago. Some prominent Christchurch racing motorists will drive new cars in the contest, and several entries of fast cars from outside Canterbury have been received, including one from Australia.

The race this year will be,conducted in two heats of 25 miles, with 10 cars in each, and the four fastest cars in each heat will compete in the final race of 50 miles. It was thought by the organisers that several comparatively short events would provide keener competition than one long race of 100 miles, as in other years, and spectators would be able to follow drivers’ progress more easily. Also, it has been found in other years that tyres will not stand 100 miles of hard driving on the non-skid surface of the airstrips, and competitors have had to resort to slowing more than necessary in approaching nigh-speed corners in order to reduce drifting and consequent tyre wear. A race for saloon and sports cars has been included as a separate event, over 25 miles. Cars entered in this race will be handicapped on power output. Last Year’s Winner The car which won the race last year, a 2.9 litre Grand Prix AlfaRomeo, will be driven again this year in the first heat by a well-known racing motor-cyclist, Les Moore. Also in the first heat will be Moore’s son Ronnie, a speedway rider who has risen in the last two seasons to world championship class, driving a Kieft racing car powered by a 998 c.c. Vin-cent-HRD Black Lightning motor. This car is very like the Cooper-J.A.P. car raced with some success by J. Lee and H. McLean in Christchurch in recent seasons, but it is considerably lighter. Two Coopers will be competing in the second heat. The first will be McLean’s 1100 c.c. Cooper-J. A P which competed at Wigram last year but covered most of the distance with only one of its two cylinders doing any work. The second will be a car which was until recently powered bv u ln ?^ r -engine of Moore's Aten, but this motor was completely ruined m a sprint event a few weeks ago. The owner, J. Stafford (Wellington) has bought the Grand Prix Norwa r^ de ?T by J’ ?warbrick when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Cust last year, and will use the 500 c.c. motor in his car. Powerful Special The driver who led Moore for the greater part of the 1951 Wigram race, G. C. Smith (Auckland) will again dr ‘Y® the p °werful Ford V 8 special ° ve £ heated at a critical mbment last*year, when in side-valve £ ori j’ Smith has returned to over-head-valves. and he hopes that the motor will not over-heat this time e ® Gree P’ perhaps one of the most popular and certainly the best-known racing motorist in Christchurch will try again to make his rear-engined supercharged Vanguard special stay in 2?® sace5 ace ong enou g h to use its tremendous reserves of power to good ?rn r m O m«n 8 a*\ was hand-built from many hits and pieces in a Christchurch garage, as was his red Wolseley special in which he won the Wigram race in 1950. and each time it is ntho ln eompetition Green finds another weak spot to cure for the next The Australian z driver will be T whose Grand Prix Maserati H w-» W Wlt , h a x cra c k ed cylinder head at Wigram last year. Sulman had r«a^ S in