ASHBURTON CAR CLUB TRIAL

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28556, 9 April 1958, Page 7

ASHBURTON CAR CLUB TRIAL

Standing Sprint On Saturday

More than 25 cars, large and small, old and new, standard and “hotted up” will compete on the Longbeach road next Saturday morning, in a standing quartermile sprint event, conducted by the Ashburton Car Club. Although a 500 c.c. special sprint car and several fast sports cars are expected, most will be stock models, some of them in various stages of tuning-up, others standard family models. The event is closed to members of the Ashburton Car Club. And only those members holding basic competition licences which enable them to compete in car trials or closed, club speed events, will be allowed to face the starter. The electric timing gear for the event was built by a young member of the car club, Mr Barry Whyte. Mr Whyte explained yesterday that the apparatus was only temporary at present, and still of a somewhat experimental nature. However, the equipment is expected to be accurate to within at least a tenth of a second. Switch Gear A car standing on- the starting line will have a switch under one front wheel which automatically starts a stop-watch as the car moves off oh the timed run. As the car reaches the end of the timed section it will break a beam of light from a photoelectric cell which stops the watch. The event is the second of its kind organised by the club, and is expected to give experience to drivers, both in car handling and competition techniques in this kind of event.

Experience even more valuable should be gained by club officials in the strict organisation needed. This wiH be important should the club apply in the future for an open championship standing or flying quarter-mile event. The venue is an ideal one, a chain-wide sealed road, between the Main South road and Willowby, the closing of which does not seriously affect residents of the district.

The meeting will be run under international rules, incorporating eight different classes, each representing a different engine capacity, or type of car—racing, sports or standard.