HULME AND AMON SET THE PACE

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32566, 27 March 1971, Page 48

HULME AND AMON SET THE PACE

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) ONTARIO (California).

The New Zealanders, C. Amon and D. Hulme, set the fastest early laps as qualifying began for the Questor Grand Prix, Associated Press reported. But Huhne, had some misgivings.

"There ought to be a marker out there somewhere that says ‘drive carefully',” the former world champion said of the 3.2-mile road course at Ontario Speedway. The course is the site of two 100-mile races on Sunday that will match 17 Formula I cars against some of the best machines that compete in the United States-Canadian series for Formula A cars. The two races, forerunners of a second United States Grand Prix at Ontario next

April, will pay prize money in excess of $250,000. Amon, driving a MatraSimac Formula I machine, was clocked at 109 miles an hour. TITLE PROSPECT Huhne, the 1967 world champion, did 109.093 m.p.h. in his McLaren Ml 9 that uses a British-made Cosworth-Ford engine. Hulihe has said the machine should win the Formula I title for him again this year. But as for the Ontario course, the 34-year-old Hulme commented: “The circuit has no point of recognition for the driver, no checkpoint against which he can compute his progress. That mean’s we’ll have to memorise every turn, and exceedingly carefully at that.” The top United States drivers, M. Donohue, A. J. Foyt, S. Davge and the Unser brothers, Al and Bobby, were clocked in the 105-107 m.ph. bracket.