FULL DAY FOR FANS

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33384, 16 November 1973, Page 13

FULL DAY FOR FANS

The premier saloon car race at Ruapuna Park on Sunday will be the Coca Cola Bottlers Southern 800. Leading saloon car drivers from all over the country have entered the race, and one interesting addition is 51-year-old Ray Archibald, of Christchurch, in a Z2B Camaro. He will form part of a four-way battle for the race with Nev Brickley, of Palmerston North, in a Torana XUI, Leo Leonard, of Timaru, in a Bathurst Charger, and Dave Baker in another Camaro. All four are expected to be lapping the circuit in the low fifties. Last meeting, Baker and Brickley won the “Dice of the Meeting” prize, and the four of them may have to split the money this time. But there is a powerful supporting crew in the race, .too. Paul Moynihan will be there in a E 49 Charger, Jim Little has another, and John Gillard will be there with a Falcon GTHO. All these cars are big, fast and similar. They will provide stern opposition to Baker, Archibald, Leonard, and Brickley. Class A in O.S.C.A. will welcome the return of the Cortina-Mustang of Clyde Collins. This will be Collins’s first meeting in the South Island with the red car. An Australian driver, John Dymand, is bringing a Cologne Capri to the meeting. Although it does not have the Capri motor (it was substituted for a Mustang) this car is still decked out in Ford’s works colours: silver and blue. Graham Baker will be there, a much chastened man after his 140 mile-an-

hour shunt at the new North Island course, Manfield. The accident had such an impact that the seats were ripped from their mountings, and the body folded around the roll-cage. A new car will be appearing in Class B of O.S.C.A. Masterton’s Ron Condon has a Mazda rotary-engined Escort in with the Kirk Viva-Buick, three XUl’s, and an Escort VB. O.S.C.A. Class C might be described as an Escort benefit. Among the entries will be eight Escorts, right through the range. In this class, Lin Neilson’s Escort and Grant Aitken’s superfast Mini Clubman are expected to provide the closest racing. Patten and the two Ryans will also be right up with the leaders. There will be 12 races: two rounds of the Black and Decker championship, three motor-cycle races, four rounds of O.S.C.A. two production saloon-car races, and one sports-car race. Both rounds of the Black and Decker are sure to attract a large following. This race will have the largest field of opewheelers seen in the South Island, barring the Tasman series (now known as the Peter Stuyevesant series). O.S.C.A. will give Clyde Collins fans a chance to see him in action, and he is expected to be very fast after redoing the engine. He blew it up in practice for the last meeting. The motor-cycles always attract many people, and most will be pleased to see Dale Wylie restored to full fitness. As is usual, he is expected to dominate all the races. He is the one

race! among them who has had a large amount of overseas experience. Class B of O.S.C.A. will also see the return of Alec Bickie’s VictorCorvette.