Dundon robbed of win in N.Z. senior grand prix

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33805, 31 March 1975, Page 13

Dundon robbed of win in N.Z. senior grand prix

/ By

RUSSELL JONES

r i ! he , un ’ ucki estmanat Ruapuna on Saturday was Steve Dundon. lie rode brilJianth in the Xew Zealand senior grand prix, leading the race from the start, hut the gear-change shaft of his Suzuki 500 broke on lap 13.

This put the Wellington rider out and left the race in the hands of an Aucklander, Rodney North, riding a Yamaha TZ.350. Rain made the earlier races at the Easter meeting rather slow but by the time the senior G.P. was run the track had almost dried out. Certainly all the surface water had drained away. Dundon does most of his racing miles following riders on 750 c.c. machines, and he knew he had a grand opportunity to win the G.P. because it is limited to the outmoded European category of 500 c.c. Yamaha 3505, machines which are every bit as fast as 500 s when in the right hands, have won the senior title in recent years, but Dundon has been riding his well prepared Suzuki faster than most 350 s this season. SLOW START Dundon shot away from the line with Dennis Ireland, of Dunedin. close behind on his Yamaha .350. North made a slow start, but within four laps had passed Ireland and was circulating almost as fast as Dundon. But he seemed to be trying harder. It was a very fast field, comprising mostly Yamaha 350 machines, but with some 250 s to make it more interesting. Owen Galbraith gave his Kawasaki 500 triple an outing and went very quickly in the opening laps—no doubt because he bad just stepped off his production machine and was “in the groove”—but a mechanical failure let him down.

John Woodley, who won the junior G.P. on his Yamaha 350, held second place for three laps but withdrew on the fourth lap with electrical problems. BOOTE WINS

In the later stages of the 20 lap race there was a fierce contest for second place between

Ireland and Mari. vn Balie (Auck-' land. Yamaha 350 i. which Balie : w°n making it one f or Auckland— and Yamaha Yamaha machines were first and second in all (he grands' piix except the 50 c.c. event. I he meeting opened with an A M;ad c open event, and closed' u <?i an open 10 tapper, both of Inch gave the 750 class machhnth J! outll ;F- Gary Boote won both .aces, the first with ease. wi?h S t> COI ? d ., a f ter a 10 >ap duel «ith Paul McLachlan. Both were T7--nc four rvlmder Yamaha iZ/dOS. ra , ce Parted with a wet track and quite heavy rain fell as it was being run. but few riders fell. FAST FALL The second race, a B grade open, was also run in rain, and Alistar Mitchell from Christ-; church had a most spectacular fall from his Yamaha 250. He led lor the first two lans, but vyas challenged by R. Hewson' ‘Christchurch) on a 450 c.c. Suzuki as they flew down the main straight, plumes of sprav trailing behind them. Mitchell tried to leave hisi braking as late as possible but misjudged the slipperiness of the' track and locked up at more; than 80 m.p.h The machine slid from under him and he and the machine whirled down the track for nearly 50 yards. Fortunately' neither was damaged. The 50 c.c. grand prix had a; field of five—only three of them competitive—and Brynley Davis had a good win on his Suzuki, i The ultra light-weight grand orix. for machines un to 125 c.c... began with a great dice between Kevin McClearv. a former New' Zealand chamnion in many! classes, and David Hutchison.! Both were riding remarkably! quick Yamaha 125 twins. BAD LUCK Hutchison led McCleary for two laps on the slippery track but. the older rider passed him' and started to draw away. Hutchison had the bad luck to fall at the hairpin on the seventh lap, which gave second place to Peter Ellis, of Hamilton, also on a 125 Yamaha. By the time the production class (up to 350 c.c.) race was run the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to shine. But the track was still wet, and perhaps even more treacherous because it was a bit unpredictable. This injected much more interest than expected into the 350

race, because on form and odds it had to be a benefit for the Yamaha RD3SO. This machine, with its sure handling, high top speed and reliable power has dominated the class for three years. But on the treacherousi bends at Ruapuna on Saturday the Yamahas were beaten by a machine made four years ago —a Kawasaki 350 twin. The Kawasakis were fast in their da>. but not as fast as the Yamaha. On Saturday P. Davison tossed his machine around as though quite careless of the consequences. Every lap, in the S bends at least, the: front and rear wheels were sliding independently but Davison was correcting the slides in-stantly—-and staying aboard. INSPIRED It was an inspired bit of riding —one that will be remembered bv the few people who attended the meeting. Gary Boot, this time riding 9 Yamaha 250. walked away with : the lightweight G.P. (up to 250 The junior G.P. (up to 350 c.c.)! was a Yamaha benefit, with, Woodley leading from start to; finish. North and Ireland had a battle for second and third, which North won. The production feature, over! 20 iaps. was won, as usual, by; Galbraith on his Kawasaki 750. j lan Miles, on a similar machine: and riding in a very similar' style, kept with him for four| laps, but could not keep thepressure on and Galbraith had a; fairly 7 easv win. CHARACTER Five sidecar combinations had two five lap and one eight lap race, which proved to be very! entertaining, especially when the! track was slippery. Hopefully; the fields will be bigger next season because there is certainly a lot of spectator interest in this branch of the sport. In what has become a regular feature of the Piaster meeting, five machines of the Cust era were wheeled out for a few surprisingly quick laps. Modern machines may be fast, but they're very noisy and they don't have something the old machines have in abundance—character. Results:— A grade open. 10 laps: G. Boote (Christchurch, Yamaha 700. 1; S. Maxwell (Tauranga),

Yamaha 350. 2; D. Ireland iDunedim, Yamaha 350. 3. B grade open, 10 laps: R. Heu--1 son 'Christchurchi. Suzuki 450. I; B. Wylie (Christchurch'. Suzuki 250, 2; R. McCarthy (Kaiapoi) 8. NZ. 50 c.c; grand prix, four lapN. B. Davis 'Christchurch). Suzuki. I: T. Carkeek 'Blenheim). ' Y amal?a. 2; A. Holtham (Nelson), Suzuki. 3. N.Z ultra-lightweight grand prix. 8 laps: K McCleary 'Christ- ; church'. Yamaha 125, I. P Ellis , (Hamilton). Y’amaha 125. 2 R. ’ Pearce 'Taranakii Yamaha 125. 3. ! Production machines up t<> 350 . c.c.. 8 laps.: P. Davison (Christ- [! church), Kawasaki 350. 1: N. ..Saigou ‘Christchurch). Y’amaha 350, 2: A. Brown (Christchurch). Yamalra 350, 3. Radio Avon veteran feature ■ race: R. Harris, 1962 A.J.S. 7R, 1; !iT. Dunning. Norton Manx. 2; A. ! Bramwell, 1960 Norton Manx. 3. .' N.Z. lightweight grand prix, 15 1 ; laps: Boote. Yamaha 250. 1: A. J Bower (Christchurch). Y’amaha ‘ 250. 2; Wylie 3. N.Z. junior grand prix, 20 laps: J. Woodlev (Blenheim). Yamaha i 350, 1; R. North (Auckland). Yamaha 350, 2: Ireland. 3. Production feature race. 20 laps: O. Galbraith (Chch), Kawasaki 750. I: I. Miles (Chch). Kawasaki 750. 2; Woodiev, Kawasaki I 750. 3. i N.Z. senior grand prix. 20 Japs: North. 1: M. Balie (Auck- ■ land) Yamaha 350, 2, Ireland 3. I Ruapuna open grand prix, 10 Japs: Boote, Yamaha. 700 1; P. ; McLachlan iChristchurch). Yamaha 700. 2; Ireland. 3. Side cars. 5 laps: P. Corbett and S. Forbes (Blenheim), Suzuki i 750. 1; I. Clarke and A. Boyle JTimarui. Joss Time Special 750. ,2; C. Olson and G. Watson (WelSuzuki 750. 3. J Canterbury side car championship, 8 Japs: Corbett. 1; Clarke. 2; Olson. 3. Side cars, five laps: Olson 1, . Clarke 2. Corbett 3. Tennis.—ln the second round of the men’s singles at the Monte Carlo International open tennis tournament Adriano Panatta (Italy) beat Onny Parun (New Zealand), 6-2. 7-5. Bowls.—The former inter-state player. Keith O'Farrell, from Kensington, won the twenty-fifth City Masters tournament in Sydney.