RUAPUNA RACING Saloon battle expected

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32612, 21 May 1971, Page 7

RUAPUNA RACING Saloon battle expected

Sunday’s Ruapuna race meeting is expected to be the biggest and probably the most exciting run by the Canterbury Car Club on the circuit. It has attracted top-line entries from throughout New Zealand, and the emphasis will be on the ever - popular racing saloons.

The feature race will be the eighth of 10 in the Bank of New South Wales championship and with 20 high-class entries, competition in the two 10-lap heats is expected to be particularly fierce. Practice will be held at Ruapuna tomorrow afternoon, and on Sunday there will be 15 races, including seven races for saloons. In all, the meeting will carry $3300 in prize-money, and there will be events for unrestricted capacity saloons, sports - cars, single-seaters, and motor-cycles. The final race of the day will be a “flying farewell” for the 20 fastest saloons. Auckland’s P. Fahey in his twin-cam Escort is probably the favourite for the

championship race, but he will nave to face strong competition from such cars and driver combinations as J. Palmer in the Porsche 91 IS, J. Nazer in the twin-cam BDA Escort which is now powered by the engine from the Brabham single-seater of E. Noyes and R. Noyes and R. Coppins and D. Marwood in Chevrolet Camaros.

.1. W. Dawson will drive his fast Mustang, D. Silcock —who drove a 3.8 Jaguar earlier in the season will appear in a twin-cam Escort, and the rest of the field comprises M. Pennington (Escort T.C.), A. K. Prattley (Mini Cooper S), R. Cook, B. Phillips, M. Lines, M. Reddish, J. Little, W. Heine, K. Miller, G. Huddelston and B. Mitchell all in Mini Coopers, G. Newel (A4O Farina), and B. Carr (A4O Farina). Four of the Mini drivers will be in 1000 c.c. cars. One-litre racing is very popular in the North island, and races for this class of saloon will be run at Ruapuna next season, so the four 1-litre Minis will give a taste of things to come. B. Phillips has an Ardenconverted 1000 c.c. Mini which is likely to show

some of the bigger cars a clean pair of tail-lights. R. Cook’s car beat all other 1000 c.c. entrants at a recent Pukekohe meeting, and the cars which will be driven by Lines and Reddish are also good performers in the class. The Escort twin-cam which Silcock will drive was formerly owned by the wellknown North Island driver R. Harrington, and is said to be very fast. It should do well on Sunday. The Escort which M. Pennington will campaign, is the car which South Islanders last saw in the hands of G. Sprague, of Timaru. Pennington is becoming known as a forceful driver who often finishes well ahead of strong opposition. Dawson and his Mustang are well-known to South Island crowds, and a race with Dawson in it never lacks excitement It will be the Mustang’s first appearance in the South Island in the Sidchrome colours of blue and gold. Palmer’s Porsche has hot been seen in the South Island before, but it has caused plenty of excitement in the North. So far, the car has finished in the major placings in every race in which it has been entered. The Porsche has a 2litre engine developing 220 b.h.p.,. and at Pukekohe the car has reached more than 140 miles an'hour. The car was raced in Australia last season by B. Foley, and is complete with factory fibre* glass panels and nine-inch-wide alloy wheels. The car has been timed over a standing quartermile in the very fast time of 12sec and it will be one of the best-accelerating cars

on the track on Sunday—which should give Palmer an advantage off the start line apd into Ruapuna’s hairpin. The cornering ability of the car is also exceptional, and Palmer takes most corners with one front wheel well off the ground. Marwood’s Camaro Z2B made its first appearance in the South Island at this year’s Lady Wigram Trophy Race meeting. It also raced at Ruapuna in February, but since then the car has been extensively modified. The engine has been rebuilt with a different camshaft and carburettors, and the car itself has smaller rear wheels and larger front wheels than before, which is said to have improved its handling Considerably. The performance of the Marwbod-Camaro combination can be judged from the record: in 25 starts the score has been 10 firsts, five seconds, eight thirds, one fifth, and one "no finish.” Fahey, of course, is wellknown to al! New Zealand racegoers, and at present he has a clear lead in the Bank of New South Wales championship with 48 points to the 34 of - R. Coppins and the 14 of Dawson. R. Silvester will make a welcome return to'Ruapuna in some of the supporting saloon events, and he will bring out the Chevrolet coupe for its final appearance. The car win be powered by a Holden Monaco engine, and after Sunday the car will be retired permanently, and the motor will go into a Monaro. Sunday’s meeting will be the last at Ruapuna this racing season.