S.L Scramble Will Be Close Race

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 15

S.L Scramble Will Be Close Race

In the absence of two leading riders—M. Butler (Christchurch), the 500 c.c. South Island miniature T.T. champion, who fractured his ankle a few weeks ago, and the holder, W. Veitch (Dunedin) —the South Island open scramble championship will be a closelycontested race.

The event, the first of the season, is to be held on Sunday over 15 laps of the tortuous Findlay’s Farm circuit at Halswell.

B. Roberts (Christchurch), a former New Zealand open champion, D. Burns (Christchurch), a regular South Island representative in recent years and the holder of many South Island titles, N. Miller (Blenheim), the present South Island 350 c.c. and 500 c.c. title-holder, and R. Johnson (Timaru), who has had overseas experience, can be relied on to battle out the major placings. Now mounted on a smaller 250 c.c. D.0.T., Roberts has been showing steadily improving form and appears to have a very slight edge on Burns, who is entered on a 250 c.c. Greeves but may finally appear on a larger machine. Johnson, who has always performed very creditably in any company in the past, will

be riding a 500.c.c. Mattisse scrambler, one of the best machines in the country, and this should increase his chances considerably. Miller has not been particularly prominent recently but last season he was in brilliant form to win both the 350 c.c. and 500 c.c. South Island titles on a 350 c.c. Matchless. He has now exchanged this machine for a 250 c.c. Greeves, a rather smaller scrambler than he has been used to in the past. Other prominent riders entered include N. Mcllwaine (Blenheim), 500 c.c. Trisba, N. Currie (Christchurch), 250 c.c. Greeves, G. Stapleton (Christchurch), 250 c.c. Jawa, and L. Reynolds (Christchurch), 250 c.c. Starmaker.