Brown included in speedway team

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32803, 31 December 1971, Page 14

Brown included in speedway team

(By

R. O. DEW)

The 1970 New Zealand test rider, A. Brown, has unexpectedly been named in the Canterbury motor-cycle speedway team to meet Auckland at the Templeton Stadium on Monday night.

Brown received a knee injury when he crashed heavily in his first meeting of the season in November.

He has been unable to race since. His leg is still bandaged and there is some

doubt as to whether he will last the meeting. However, the meeting is being regarded as a trial for the New Zealand test team to compete against Sweden and Britain later in the season and Brown cannot afford to puss the opportunity of attempting to impress the New Zealand selector (Mr D. Tomkins, of Auckland). Mr Tomkins is being brought to Templeton at the expense of the Christchurch Speedway Association in an effort to avoid the farcical situation which developed last season. Then, Brown was overlooked by the selector for the early tests. The world champion, I. Mauger, intervened and Brown finally won his place for the final test and finished second highest scorer behind Mauger. This was the only test New Zealand won. UPHILL BATTLE Having been on the sidelines for so long, Brown faces an uphill battle to retain his place. Although a rider of considerable natural ability with a background of English league racing, he cannot hope to be match fit for Monday’s clash. Standing by as a replacement if Brown’s leg fails will be the former South Island champion, T. Black. The captain of the Canterbury side will be the reigning New Zealand champion, F. Shuter. He recently sold his racing machine, but has managed to borrow a replacement from another young Templeton rider, K. Burt.

The other two members of the team are R. Wright and G. J. Stapleton, both leading contenders for test honours. Shuter and Wright have been chosen as the heat leaders for the eight-heat contest. Stapleton will pair with Shuter and Brown with Wright. Although Stapleton has had an edge over Shuter at Templeton this season, the national champion had been chosen as heat leader because of his considerable experience of teams’ racing, the solo motor-cycle representative on the Christchurch Speedway Association (Mr A. Nesbitt) said last evening. “There is not a lot between the whole four, but when you look at their backgrounds Shuter is the obvious choice. He has raced extensively overseas and can turn it on when it needs to be turned on,” Mr Nesbitt said.

The Auckland team will consist of B. Cribb, G. Peterson, B. Andrews and R. Adlington. All except Adlington have represented New Zealand at test level and should prove a good match for their Canterbury rivals. Cribb and Andrews, two riders who have made their marks overseas in recent years, will be the heat leaders. “I think it is going to be a fairly torrid battle,” Mr Nesbitt said. “Sometimes these Aucklanders come down and they don’t make it at all, but now the new track surface is so slick it should suit them. They should have no difficulty adapting.” On their home track, the Canterbury riders should prove superior, but with Brown’s fitness in doubt and Shuter on a strange machine, the outcome is wide open. The home side might have to rely heavily on the skill of its two least experienced members, Stapleton and Wright. These two will certainly never have a better opportunity of forcing their way into the New Zealand team.