Records fall at start of speedway season

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32764, 15 November 1971, Page 17

Records fall at start of speedway season

The evergreen three-quarter midget car driver, R. Burt, celeorated the official opening of the season at the Templeton Speedway on Saturday night I with a record-breaking drive . in the first of two six-lap feature races. Burt signified his liking for the new track surface by clipping half a second off the race record, held by the Auckland driver B. Prestige. He flashed beneath the chequered flag in 2min 3.8 sec. On his way to victory he equalled J. Morris’s lap record of 20sec, set eight years ago when racing at Templeton was in its infancy. Later in the night Burt, who had his introduction to racing at the old Aranui Stadium, scored another fine win in the .second six-lap scratch event. Although his time was outside his new record it again broke the ola record, this time by tnreetenths of a second.

But he did not have all the record-breaking to himself. The 1 ! reigning New Zealand super J modified rod champion, P. Annan, indicated that he would again , be the man to beat at national xevel when he lowered the tour-year-old 10-lap record in the first scratch race by the large margin of 16sec. The old record, held by his brother, J. Annan, at 3min 44.55ec, was set in 1967. Rod record In the final event of the night, the super modified rod race for South Island championship points P. Annan lowered his record even further to 3min 26.95ec. This was an extremely skilled performance for he did not have the best of the start and in the closing laps had to contend with tail-end traffic being lapped. The honour of winning the first midget car event of the season went to M. Burt in his Holden-powered machine. Starting from a handicap of 50yds in che six-lap event, he demonstrai ted his increasing ability by holding out the present South Island champion, J. McKltterick, over i the last few laps. McKltterick I tried every trick he knew to get I in front but Burt was equal to them all. I R. Clive came from behind to I win the Rothmans eight-lap feat- ! ture scratch race in the midget ! car class and re-establish himself as one of Templeton’s top driv- ! ers. The winner of the South Island championsnip a few years

ago in a borrowed car, he did not make a big impression last season in a machine of his own construction. However, on Saturday he was a match for his rivals. The final eight-lap scratch race for midget cars ended in confusion and the disqualification of what remained of the field. In the middle stages of the race R. T. Hall collided with the veteran, R. Jemmett, at the entrance to the south bend. Their cars came to rest in the middle of the track and the referee immediately turned on the winking amber light indicating to the drivers that they had to slow and hold their positions in Indian file. They ignored the signal and were disqualified. Before the finish, Clive was officially timed over a flying lap at 19.4 sec, only two-tenths of a second outside Hall’s lap record. Hall had a rather unhappy time, handling problems appearing to limit his performance. The new surace, nevertheless, appeared to suit most of the car classes. It was so hard" that cars were leaving rubber trails behind them on the corners and the squeal of tyres added a new sound to the racing. The motor-cycles did not benefit to the same extent as the cars. Times were generally far from outstanding and a large number of minor spills indicated that the riders were having some trouble adapting to the concretelike surface.

Stapleton outstanding The surprise of the night was the appearance of G. J. Stapleton, who has just returned from a season racing in England. In his first outing as a replacement for the absent national champion, F. Shuter, he had to throw his machine to avoid a serious crash and hurt his leg. D. Valentine j fell right in his path and Stapleton had no hope of riding round him. The ambulance was brought on to the track for Valentine but he was able to walk away unaided after medical attention. Stapleton was able to limp away. The re-run was won by the former New Zealand test rider, R. Wright, with Stapleton chal-i lenging him strongly at the finish. This was to be Stapleton’s only: defeat on the night. For a rider who has now been racing only 12 months, his form was quite exceptional and it seems certain that Shuter and A. Brown will have their work cut out to beat him.

Stapleton won the super six scratch race in 82.8 sec. It was an effortless ride and yet he left Wright trailing by 40yds at the finish. In his third outing, in a handicap event, he came from the back mark of 50yds to the front in less than a lap. Unfortunately, R. Herdman crashed in the control box straight and the race was stopped. In-the re-run, Stapleton had to work rather harder and it was not until the final lap that he managed to fight his way past S. Unwin. The feature scratch race for sidecars resulted in a win for the veteran, L. Dwight, sen., and his passenger. S. Unwin. Throughout they were hotly pursued by L. Dwight, jun., and, G. Pullen. The two combinations. both racing off the same mark, shared the honours in the handicap events. Results were:— MOTOR-CYCLES . Solo moto-cycle handicap events (four laps).—A grade— First race: R. Wright (50yd) 1, G. Stapleton (50yd) 2, R. Clarkson (30yd) 3. Time: 84.0. Second race: T. Black (50yd) 1, S. Foster (40vd) 2. R. Hall .(10yd) 3. Time: 86.0. Third race: G. Stapleton (50yd) 1,. S. Foster (40yd) 2. Time: 84.5. Fourth race: R. Hall (go) 1, S. Woods (go) 2, R. Clarkson (30yd) 3. Time: 89.0. B grade—First race: G. Stewart (20yd) 1. K. Burt (60yd) 2, M. Johns (40yd) 3. Time: 86.3. Second race: G. Rhodes (10yd) 1. L. Ross (10vd) 2. Time: 2:44.9. Third race: (10yd) 1, G. Rhodes (10vd) 2, G. Stewart (20yd) 3. Time: 90.0. Fourth race: L. Ross (20yd) 1, L. Russell (10vd) 2, M. Johns (30yd) 3. Time: 90.0. Novice—First race: W. Irvine (30yd) 1. B. Dodge (go) 2, G. Morgan (40yd) 3. No time. Second race: J. Smallbon (20vd) 1, W. Irvine (30vd) 2, B. Dodge (go) 3. Time: 95.5 Solo scratch races (four laps). —A grade: R. McKinley 1. R. Herdman 2, G. Jemmett 3. Time: 86.3. Super six: G. Stapleton 1, R Wright 2, T Black 3. Time: 82.8.

Side-car events (four laps).— Opening handicap: L. Dwight, sen., and S. Unwin (100 yd 1. L. Dwight, junl, arid G. Pullen (100 yd 2. B. Kiernan and w. -Tones (go) 3. Time: 92.0. Second handicap. Dwight, inn., and Pullen* (100 yd 1. Dwight, and Unwin HOOydi 2, N. Will and B. Lynch (50vd) 3. Time: 89 3. Rex Russell feature scratch: Dwight, sen., and Unwin 1. Dwight, jun., and Pullen 2. Hill and Lvnch 3. Time: 85.9. MIDGET CARS Three-quarter midget cars.— Opening handicap (six laps): D. Harper (70yd) 1. D. Jones (90vd) 2, R, BUrt (80yd) 3. Time: 2:7.8.

Crowes Garage feature (six laps): R. Burt 1, K. Stephens 2, D. Harper 3. Time: 2:3.8 (record). John Morris Car Sales challenge scratch (six laps): R. Burt 1, D.: Harper 2, K. Stephens 3. Time:| 2:4.0. Midget cars.—Opening handicap (eight laps): M. Burt (50yd) 1, J. McKitterick (100 yd 2, R. T. Hall (100 yd 3. Time: 2:44.9. Rothmans feature scratch (eight laps): R. Clive 1, M. Burt 2, R. Jemmett 3. Time: 2:42.4. Wynn’s challenge scratch (10 laps): No placings. SUPERMODIFIED Supermodified rods.—Opening handicap (eight laps): P. Annan (100 yd 1, H. Pierson (70yd) 2, S. Everett (40yd) 3. Time: 2:50.0. Ferry Rqad Service Station feature scratch (10 laps): P. Annan 1, H. Pierson 2, S. Everett 3. Time: 3:28.5 (record). South Island championship points race (10 laps): P. Annan 1, J. Erickson 2, S. Everett 3. Time: 3:26.9 (record). ’