Motor Racing F. Shuter Wins S.I. Title At Renwick

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29361, 14 November 1960, Page 23

Motor Racing F. Shuter Wins S.I. Title At Renwick

(From Ous Own Reporter) ♦ BLENHEIM, November 13.

_ The quiet atmosphere of Renwick, a small farming area on the Wairau plains whose chief claim 1? * a J n ? is as a orte-tinie coach stop on the route from Blenheim to Nelson, was shattered yesterday by roaring engines and the pungent smells of racing fuel ana burning rubber when Marlborough held the first major motor race meeting in its history. On a tight 1.1-mile circuit which was more a test of acceleratiop and braking than outright skill, ’the Marlborough Car Club laid strong claims for success in its attempts to have the South Island road race championship as an annual event.

The number of entries in the South Island championship race ■was most disappointing, and of the nine cars which lined up on the grid, only four completed the whole 27 miles. This does not detract from the convincing performance of the Christchurch driver, F. Shuter, who, at the wheel of his recently-acquired 3litre Ferrari for the first time, had an easy win and set himself on the way to becoming the New Zealand champion driver for the current season.

This Ferrari, which last season took P. M. Hoare to runnerup for the national title, outaccelerated and out-braked its opposition, with Shuter using the full power at his disposal and quickly mastering the tight circuit. After years of struggling in old cars and battling against great odds, Shuter now has a modem racer which does his driving credit. On the international circuit later this season he could be a stem challenger to overseas aspirants. Honours for this race must also go to the young Timaru driver, D. G. Young, whose C-type Jaguar circulated consistently well to finish in second place. In beating L. R. Gilbert, of Hamilton, whose Maserati 250 F was handling indifferently, Young drove the best race of his career to date. The Jaguar is a heavy sports car and not an easy one to handle on such a tight circuit. Gilbert, who had the fastest lap in practice of Imin I.Bsec. compared with Shuter’s fastest race lap of Imin 2.3 sec, finished disconsolately in third place ahead of B. R. Blackbum. of Christchurch. in a Maserati 4CLT.

The unluckiest competitor yesterday was J. Palmer, of Hamilton. After holding the lead in his Lotus for the first three laps. Palmer was pressed into making a mistake at the 180 degree hairpin and slid off into a deep ditch. The car was only slightly damaged and Palmer was unhurt, but the mishap robbed Shuter of one of his strongest opponents. Shuter always had the measure of Gilbert and to a lesser extent, of Young, and over the closing stages he was able to lengthen his lap times considerably. Having only about 100 members and with no previous experience of major races, the Marlborough Car Club is considered to have been particularly successful in organising yesterday’s event. The three A.NZC.C. stewards who attended (Messrs I. Daikee, W. J. Glasgow and L. S. Lester) had no serious criticism to make. The attendance was estimated at 5000. The narrow circuit meant only two cars could occupy the front of the grid start for the South

Island championship, and Gilbert and Palmer had this distinction. After a most untidy start. Palmer made the first corner under pressure, followed by Gilbert and Shuter. These three were in very close company, followed by Young and Hoare, who was driving the old pre-war Maserati formerly owned by Shuter and which had been well prepared for the race. On the fourth lap, Palmer spun off into a ditch to let Gilbert into the lead, and Shuter was waiting an opportunity to take the big Ferrari through. On the next lap, Shuter forged past the Maserati and settled dcAvn to some consistently fast lapping. Gilbert was having difficulty in holding his car on a straight course under acceleration, and Young, in third place, was edging closer. Hoare’s car continued to race amazingly well for its age. Blackburn held fifth place in the Maserati which he has completely rebuilt in recent months, and was showing a fair degree of skill for a young driver. By the eighth lap, Shuter had a seven second lead over Gilbert and only five ears remained in the running. By the thirteenth lap Shuter had increased his margin to 20 seconds over Gilbert, and on the same lap Hoare was flagged into the pits because his rear tyres were worn down to the casings. Young, meanwhile, had latched on to Gilbert and sought an opportunity to pass. It came on the twentieth lap when Gilbert surprisingly spun at the entrance to the pits, and Young took to the grass and moved up to second place. Over the last few laps the race fell into a pattern of Shuter cruising comfortably in the lead while his pit crew signalled him to slacken sneed, Young driving very competently in second place and Gilbert still third, working under difficulties in the Maserati. The car seemed very unstable once the surface became slippery, and Gilbert was not able to approach his excellent practice times. Saloon Race First points of the season for the saloon car drivers’ championship were earned by F. E. Sprague, of Timaru, in his new disc-braked Ford Zephyr. Together with M. B. Mills (Humber 80), Sprague provided some of the most thrilling racing of the day. Sprague held off the powerful XKI4O Jaguar of Mrs J. C. Monk until it retired with clutch trouble, and Mills had the satisfaction of walking away from a 3.4-litre Jaguar. Mills was slowly overhauling Sprague when his car disappeared in a cloud of smoke and came to rest with a hole in the side of the crankcase. M. C. Wear, of Christchurch, took an extremely potent

Morris Minor into second place ahead of R. Silvester’s Chevrolet. Results were:—

Saloon car scratch race for A.N.Z.C.C. gold star points (10 laps, 11 miles): F. E. Sprague (Ford Zephyr) Timaru, 12min 32.55ec, 1: M. C. Wear (Morris Minor) Christchurch, 13min 47sec, 2; R. Silvester (Chevrolet). Christchurch, 14min 21.01 sec, 3.

Sports cars and New Zealand specials (10 laps, 11 miles): J. Palmer (Lotus), Hamilton, llmin Isec, 1; D. G. Young (Jaguar C-type) Timaru, llmin 7sec, 2; R. S. Rutherford (RA. Zephyr) Christchurch, llmin 17sec, 3. Saloon cars handicap, up to 1500 c.c. (10 laps, 11 miles): K. Roper (Austin A4O) Nelson, 15min 18.Isec, 1: J. Mullins (Simca) Christchurch, 15min 36.45ec, 2; J. Ord (Singer) Greymouth, 15min 59sec, 3. Saloon cars handicap, over 1500 c.c. (10 laps. 11 miles): F. E. Sprague (Ford Zephyr) Timaru, 12min 56.25ec, 1; S. Prestidge (Ford) Christchurch, 13min 24.45ec. 2; R. Silvester (Chevrolet) Christchurch, 14min 19see. 3. Sports, specials, and racing cars handicap (10 laps, 11 miles): D. McKenzie (Cooper) Wellington, 13min 57sec, 1; D. G. Young (Jaguar C-type) Timaru, 14min 9.Bsec, 2: D. Lawrence (Cooper) Wanganui, 14min 24.45ec, 3.

South Island championship road race (25 laps. 27 miles): F. Shuter (Ferrari) Christchurch, 28min o.7sec, 1; D. G. Young (Jaguar C-type), Timaru, 28min lO.Bsec, 2; L. R. Gilbert (Maserati 250 F) Hamilton, 28min 48.8 sec, 3: B. Blackbum (Maserati 4CLT), 30min 21sec, 4; D. McKenzie, 19 laps. 5. Fastest lap, Shuter on the sixth, Imin 2.3 sec.