Pit Stops

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30846, 3 September 1965, Page 13

Pit Stops

Two Christchurch crews will go north to compete in the Hastings Gold Star rally, the first such event of the new season, at the week-end. They are the winner of the Gold Star national award last year, J. Butts of Christchurch (Volkswagen) and his crew, and M. Wear (Cortina GT) and his crew. » $ # A team of Mini Cooper S saloons will compete in the three-hour race at Pukekohe at the Wills saloon race meeting. A Christchurch driver, J. Mullins, and L. Nielson, of Dunedin, will compete in one car, F. Hamblin, of Wellington, and a driver not yet named will compete in the second, and D. Marwood and B. Innes will compete in the third. All the cars will be the 1275 c.c. models.

J. Siffert (Brabham 8.R.M.) won the St. Ursanne hill climb in pouring rain recently. P. Westbury provided a strong challenge in a fourwheel drive B.R.M. until the transistor ignition failed. and Jim Clark drove one of the Indianopolistype Lotus cars. However, the Lotus handling was bad in the conditions, and Clark’s times were too slow to head off Siffert. « 9 w T. Makinen, in a works Mini Cooper S, won the Rally of 1000 Lakes in Finland recently. Another Mini was second, and B.M.C. took the team prize, a Volkswagen 1500 S was third, and a Saab fourth. m * J. Rindt, in a Ferrari 250LM, won the 200-mile Austrian sports car race at Zeltweg. M. Parkes was second in another Ferrari, and an Australian, F, Gard-

ner. who also broke the lap record, was third in a Lotus 30. The New Zealander, Chris Amon, was fifth in an Iso-Grifo. « « * Bruce McLaren will not race in New Zealand during the coming season. « « • John Surtees will drive a works 2.5 litre Ferrari in the Tasman series during the next season. The car, which has a current formula one chassis, will be pewered by a 270 b.h.p. V 6 engine. It will be the first time a works Ferrari has competed in New Zealand. « * * A meeting of promoters in Sydney has announced that the Tasman formula will continue to be for 2.5 litre cars for another two years. « « « The Renwick road races will be held as usual to open the New Zealand racing season in November, and material is being sent to likely competitors. The circuit has been improved this year, and the event again has Gold Star status.