Sweden no match for N.Z. in final speedway test

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32846, 21 February 1972, Page 16

Sweden no match for N.Z. in final speedway test

New Zealand completely overwhel med the Swedish touring team, 74-33, in the third and final motor-cycle test at the Templeton Speedway on Saturday night.

Obviously jaded after their long tour of Australia and New Zealand and with their machines in need of attention, the Swedes never looked like matching New Zealand. Their 41-point loss was the greatest losing margin experienced by an overseas team in New Zealand.

Before the match, the visitors appeared to have only a slight chance of gaining the victory needed to win the series—New Zealand lost the first test when it had to compete without its three world champions, I. Mauger, R. L. Moore and B. Briggs—but few expected them to be utterly anihilated. Right from the start, New Zealand was in full control. After only three heats, the home team led, 14-4, and although the Swedes rallied slightly in the middle stages, the New Zealand representatives were rarely extended. At the half-way point, New Zealand was ahead, 39-15, and five heats from the end it was certain of victory in the test and the series.

Honours in (h e New Zealand team were fairly well shared. However, the top scorer on the night was the four-time world champion, B. Briggs, with 16 points, two short of the maximum. For a time the New Zealand captain, I. Mauger. seemed r. y . to score the maximum but after four unbeaten rides he was ?JL ate <l by f h S. top scoring Swedisn rider, J. Simonsen, and then in his last ride his motor spluttered to a halt 50yds from the nnisn.

ai-. 1 r ?. n out of Petrol, of all things, the triple world champion said afterwards. Individual scores were:— z « a, an<* 74: B. Briggs 16, G. Peterson 15, I. Mauger 14. R. L- Moo re 11. R. Wright 9. B. Cribb 9. Sweden 33: J. Simonsen 14, O. Nygren 8. B. Persson 8, B. Larsson 2, B. Jansson 1, S. Sjosten 0. TOP PAIRING New Zealand’s most successful pairing was that of Moore and Peterson. Between them they scored 26 points. Peterson generally went for the front whfle Moore held back the Swedish challengers but on occasions they were so superior to their rivals they were able to cross the finishing line side by side. Their combined total would have been even greater had the motor of Moore’s Eso not failed him while he was leading the

twelfth heat. Peterson turned on some great rides but it was noticeable that he looked much more vulnerable when Moore was not there to help him. Wright proved a very useful second string in his pairing with Mauger. He scored a fine win in his final ride and made the most of his chances as Mauger kept the challengers at bay. Earlier in the night, he scored some fine place points without any assistance from the gifted former world champion. The Swedes were handicapped in some instances by machine troubles. One of their highest scorers on tour. Sjosten, was unable to score, a point and he missed his last three rides because of mechanical failure. The captain, Nygren, was also pulled up short in at least two of his rides by an ailing motor.

Yet another member of the team, Persson, had the misfortune to puncture his rear tyre while holding second place to Moore in the fourteenth heat. He rode the last lap with the tyre nearly flopping off the rim and even then was only just edged out for second in a fighting finish with Peterson. Persson’s bike was at right angles to the track as he swung across the finishing line but his determination to score points was admirable. FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE

Other members of the Swedish team also showed flashes of brilliance. Nygren, a veteran of more than 20 years of racing at international level, defeated Briggs with a fine ride in the fourth heat and Simonson retrieved considerable honour for himself and his country by winning his last three rides. On the night, he was by far the most outstanding member of his team. The fastest time of the night was shared by Mauger and Briggs. Mauger won the first heat with a commanding display

in 77.25ec and Briggs equalled this with an equally impressive win in the second heat.

There was plenty of excitement in the supporting events. Four cars driven by D. Harper, K. Stephens. G. Parr and D. Packer tangled during the South Island three-quarter midget car championship points race. Harper, Stephens and Parr were flung into the safety fence with considerable force. Fortunately, nobody was injured. Earlier. L. Dwight, sen., and S. Unwin had crashed into the safety fence during a handicap side-car race. Both were badly shaken but were able to walk away from the scene.

A large proportion of the supermodified rod field was away in Auckland competing at the New Zealand championship. A. Davies took advantage of their absence to break the sixlap record for the class by a tenth of a second. His new time is 2min 4.9 sec. Results were:— MOTOR-CYCLES N.Z. v. Sweden (each heat 4 laps).— First heat: I. Mauger (N.Z.) 1, O. Nygren (S.) 2. R. Wright (N.Z.) 3. Time, 77.2. Second heat: B. Briggs (N.Z.) 1, B. Cribb (N.Z.) 2, B. Persson (S.) 3. Time, 77.2. Third heat: G. Peterson (N.Z.) 1, R. Moore (N.Z.) 2, J. Simonsen (S.) 3. Time: 78.0. Fourth heat: Nygren 1, Briggs 2, Cribb 3. Time, 78.0. Fifth heat: Peterson 1, B. Persson (S.) 2, Moore 3. Time, 78.3. Sixth heat: Mauger 1. Simonsen 2, Wright 3. Time, 78.8. Seventh heat: Moore 1. Peterson 2. B. Larson (S.) 3. Time, 80.0. Eighth heat: Mauger 1, Wright 2, Persson 3. Time, 79.0. Ninth heat: Briggs 1. Simonsen 2, Cribb 3. Time, 78.1. Tenth heat: Mauger 1, Nygren 2. Wright 3. Time, 79.8. Eleventh heat: Briggs 1, Cribb 2. Persson 3. Time, 79.0. Twelfth heat: Simonsen 1,

Peterson 2. Time, 80.0. Thirteenth heat: Briggs 1, Cribb 2, Larsson 3. Time, 80.0. Fourteenth heat: Moore 1, Peterson 2. Persson 3. Time. 80.0. Fifteenth heat: Simonsen 1. Mauger' 2, Wright 3. Time. 79.4. Sixteenth heat: Peterson 1, Moore 2, Nygren 3. Time, 81.2. Seven-; teenth heat: Wright 1, Persson I 2, Jansson 3. Time, 80.9.' Eighteenth heat: Simonsen 1, Briggs 2, Cribb 3. Time. 79.9. Novice solo scratch events (4 laps).—First race: L. Chatterton 1, E. Lewis 2, D. Reid 3. Time, 98.4. Second race: Reid 1. Chat-; terton 2, Lewis 3. Time, 90.3. Side-car events (4 laps).—Open-; ing handicap: I. Begble and B. Counsell (go) 1. L. Dwight, sen., and S. Unwin (60yd) 2. Time, 88.1. Second handicap: N. Hill and B. Lynch (40yd) 1, L. Dwight, jun., and G. Cox (70yd) 2, Begbie and Counsell (go) 3. Time, 88.3. Rex Russell Wrecking Company Scratch.—Dwight (jun.), and Cox 1, HUI and Lynch 2, Begbie and CounseU 3. Time, 84.0. CARS Three-quarter midget racing cars.—Opening handicap (6 laps): D. Packer (go) 1, A. Palmer (100 yd 2, K. Stephens (120 yd 3. Time, 2:7, Crewes Garage feature (6 laps): A. Palmer 1, R. Burt 2, N. Chandler 3. Time, 2:3.4: John Morris Car Sales scratch (6 laps): Stenhens 1. Palmer 2, R. Burt 3. Time, 2:5.5. Midget cars.—Open handicap (6 laps): R. T. Hall (80yd) 1. R. Clive (100 yd 2, R. Jemmett (20yds) 3. Time, 2:3.4. Rothmans feature (8 laps): Clive 1, M. Burt 2. Hall 3. Time. 2.40. Wynn’s Challenge Trophy event (8 laps): Clive 1, Hall 2. Time, 3:8.4. Supermodified rods.—South Island chamionship points race (6 laps): A. Davies 1, R. Gleason 2. J. Grimwood 3. Time. 2:5.4: Ferry Road Service Station feature (6 laps): Davies 1. Gleason 2. Grimwood 3. Time, 2:4.9 (record).