Scobie Clear Winner In Wigram Motor-Cycling

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31275, 23 January 1967, Page 15

Scobie Clear Winner In Wigram Motor-Cycling

High class fields of riders from all over the country proved no match for the 1965 New Zealand Isle of Man T.T. representative, B. Scobie (Hamilton), in the national airfield motor-cycle championships, held at Wigram in conjunction with the international car race on Saturday.

Scobie. the top road racer In the Dominion, .was a convincing winner of the final 11-lap Gold Leaf race of 25 miles on his

immaculate 500 c.c. Manx Norton. He took both airfield titles at stake in this race, the 500 c.c. and open, as well as maximum points toward the New Zealand 500 c.c. road racing series.

He was also first home in the earlier 11-lap race for the national 250 c.c. and 350 c.c. airfield championships and road race title points but was not eligible for either title because he rode a 500 c.c. machine. This was a considerable surprise. Scobie who finished second to K. I. Turner (Wellington) in the first round of the 250 c.c. road racing championship at Levin a week ago, would have been a comfortable leader in the series had he ridden the 250 c.c. Bultaco on which he had originally entered. The 250 c.c. class of the race was won by the Christchurch rider, K. McCleary, who finished sixth on his water-cooled 250 c.c. Bultaco. He made a dreadful start, being twentieth of 25 riders at the first bend. However, once he got the motor running he quickly weaved through the field to take the title.

McCleary was officially timed through the speed tra'p on the back straight at 103 miles an hour. This was considerably slower than W. Molloy, the Bultaco works rider, on the same machine last year, but a strong head wind probably accounted for this.

The 350 c.c. title was won by another Christchurch rider R. Clarke, who rode a 350 c.c. A.J.S. with the skill of a veteran. He did not have the best of starts, being tenth first time round but he passed rider after rider in one of the most impressive displays of the meeting to finish fifth He was first in his class ahead of many larger machines.

The winner of the New Zealand 500 c.c. T.T. three weeks previously, R. Haldane (Tauranga), showed some of the form which won him a place in the New Zealand team to the Isle of Man two seasons ago but he was rarely in a position to offer a serious challenge to Scobie in either of the races.

He was, however, head and shoulders above the other New Zealand riders on his new 500 c.c. Matchless Metisse —one of the best machines in the country and the only one of its type here—and finished a relatively close second in the open classes of both, races.

Third places in both races were hotly contested. In the first, G. Lacy (Whangarei). on a 500 c.c. Norton and P. C. Schultz (Mount Maunganui), on a similar machine, had a great battle before Schultz slipped past Lacy on the final la'p to take the placing. In the second race three riders contested the position, Lacy, Schultz and A. R. Mayne (Christchurch). Lacy was third, followed closely by Schultz and Mayne.

The fastest motor-cycle speed recorded by the electronic speed trap on the back straight was 112 miles an hour by Scobie in the first race. Haldane was timed at 109 mile? an hour in the same race and McCleary at 103 miles an hour. In the second race the head wind was even stronger and this time Scobie’s best was 110 miles an hour.

Scobie set the fastest lap time of the day at Imin 47.35ec on his fourth in the second race. This was the equivalent of slightly more than 77 miles an hour. His winning time in the second race of 19min 54.8 sec represented an average speed of about 71 miles an hour. Results were:—

Open event (25 miles).—B. Scobie (Hamilton), 500 c.c. Norton, 20:1.8, 1; R. Haldane (Tauranga) 500 c.c. Matchless-Me-tisse, 20:4, 2; P. C. Schultz (Mount Maunganui), 500 c.c. Norton, 20:48.8, 3; G. Lacy (Whangarei), 500 c.c. Norton, 21:20.8, 4; R. Clarke (Christchurch) 350 c.c. A.J.S., 5.

N.Z. 250 c.c. Airfield Championship.—K. McCleary (Christchurch), 250 c.c. Bultaco, 1; W. A. McCleary (Christchurch), 250 c.c. Greeves Silverstone, 2; J. A. Hale (Christchurch). 247 c.c. N.S.U., 3.

N.Z. 350 c.c. Airfield Championship.—R. Clarke (Christchurch), A.J.S. 1; D. J. Mortimer (Hamilton), Norton, 2; J. Hubbard (Springston), 8.5. A., 3. N.Z. Open Airfield Championship (25 miles). —B. Scobie (Hamilton), 500 c.c. Norton, 19:54.8, 1; R. Haldane (Tauranga) 500 c.c. Matchless-Me-tisse, 19:56.3, 2; G. Lacy (Whangarei), 500 c.c. Norton, 20.34.5, 3; P. C. Schultz (Mount Maunganui), 500 c.c. Norton, 4; A. R. Mayne (Christchurch), 500 c.c. Norton 5. N.Z. 500 c.c. Airfield Championship.—Scobie 1, Haldane 2, La’cy 3.