BIG DIFFICULTIES FOR CARS ON ECONOMY RUN

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29057, 20 November 1959, Page 17

BIG DIFFICULTIES FOR CARS ON ECONOMY RUN

‘‘Tht> Press’’ Special Service

DUNEDIN, Nov. 19. Unscheduled delays caused by mobs of sheep and roads under construction or repair together with a tight time schedule meant drivers and co-drivers required a high degree of skill and planning to finish today with respectable miles-a-gallon figures in the fourday Mobilgas economy run through the South Island. In a most eventful stage of the journey today the 24 cars encountered big difficulties on a 316-mile route from Invercargill to Dunedin by way of Queenstown in the very hot temperatures of Central Otago. Along the winding, hilly roads, the cars continued to establish excellent miles-a-gallon figures, but it was a band of very weary drivers and crews who drove into Dunedin this evening. Although it is not an official entry in the run, the Holden fitted with a four cylinder , Perkins diesel engine, and entered by Mr J. E. Ainsworth, of Wellington, continues to maintain the best over-all figures for the total distance of 886 miles covered so far. The car’s figures are 51.95 miles a gallon, representing a decrease of two miles a gallon on its figures of yesterday and 17 miles a gallon less than the 68 achieved on the first day. tciass C Leaders The two Christchurch brothers, Geoffrey Rushworth and Jack Rushworth continue to lead in class C with their 2.4 litre Jaguar. Careful driving and Widespread use of the car’s overdrive has given them a figure of 36 miles a gallon, but a Holden Special was ominously close to them at the end of today’s run, having used only half a gallon more petrol than the Jaguar on the run so far. In class A, the Standard 10 of E. T. Skews and J. J. Simpson, of Wellington, retains its hold on the leading position, which it has occupied since the first day. A

Volkswagen is the nearest challenger, having burned almost two gallons more fuel. Unless something unusual occurs tomorrow, R. J. Barnes and M. B. Mills, of Blenheim, seem set to win class B in their Humber 80. This car has achieved an excellent figure of 40.17 miles a gallon and left the rest of the class well behind.

Another Jaguar, a 3.4 litre model, holds the front in the heavy class with 31.53 miles a gallon. Considering this car has more power than any other on the run, the figure seems almost unbeatable and the large American models arg suffering badly by comparison. Some Penalties

Officials of the Association of New Zealad Car Clubs’ who are conducting the run on behalf of the sponsoring company, said last evening that some penalties had been incurred by entrants, but these would not be announced until the run finished in Christchurch tomorrow. These penalties, imposed for breaches of the road code or exceeding the time limit could considerably affect the final placings in each class. Southland and Otago produced brilliant weather for today’s journey but there were some pitfalls for competitors. One was a 10-mile-an-hour speed restriction for tar sealing between Mossburn and Five Rivers, which delayed the cars 33 minutes behind their time schedules. A few miles, later, the slow running had a painful effect on the little Fiat 600 saloon which was leading class A yesterday. Ten miles an hour in top gear for so long was more than the little motor would stand and the car retired with a blown head gasket. The car was towed 83 miles to the lunch stop at Cromwell for repairs but it is now virtually eliminated from the contest. Tomorrow the cars will leave Dunedin at 5 a.m. for Christchurch, where they will be flagged to a stop by the Minister of Transport (Mr Mathison). The distance of tomorrow’s run is 246 miles ahd the time allowed is six hours 56 minutes. The final impound area will be Minsons’ car park in Gloucester street.

Provisional cumulative results at the end of today’s run are;— Class A.—Standard 10 (E. T. Skews and J. J. Simpson. Wellington), 49.25 miles a gallon. 1; Volkswagen (G. C. Palllser and S. R. Young. Wellington), 47.65, 2; Morris Minor 1000 (D. J. le Cren and J. M. Hall, Nelson), 47.28, 3. Class B.—Humber 80 (R. J. Barnes and M. B. Mills, Blenheim). 40.17, 1; Austin A 55 (J. L. Bell and A. J. Black, Dunedin-). 37.70, 2; Ford Consul (R. D. Youngman and T. H. Pierce, Palmerston North). 37.62, 3.

Class C.—Jaguar 2.4 (G. Rushworth and J; Rushworth, Christchurch), 36.0, 1; Holden Special (G. T. Wagg and G. H. B. Worsley, Masterton), 35.52, 2; Standard Vanguard (W. W. Brown and W. L. Affleck, Invercargill). 31.47, 3.

Class D.—Jaguar 3.4 (E. Rillstone and H, T. Melhop, Invercargill). 31.55, 1; Chevrolet Bel Air, 6-cyl. (I. R. Chalmers and Mrs H. M. Chalmers. Auckland), 25.96, 2; Plymouth Savoy (G. G. McLean and P. J. Thomson, Ashburton). 23.23, 3.