Marshall has good win in second stage of rally

Press, Issue 33846, 19 May 1975, Page 3

Marshall has good win in second stage of rally

(New Zealand Press Association)

DUNEDIN.

Auckland rally champion, Mike Marshall, powered his Escort R.S. 1600 to a convincing win in the second round of the $20,000 Marlboro championship in Oamaru yesterday.

The 32-year-old sales! engineer, who failed to finish in the first round! of the vent, revelled on the fast shingle and sealed back roads of North Otago, finally, finishing 7.4 minutes ahead of second-placed Colin Taylor, of Wellington, also in an Escort. Marshall, with Aucklander Arthur McWatt as crew, is one of New Zealand’s most experienced rally drivers, having competed in events such as the East African Safari and 1973 and 1974 New Caledonian rallies. Trevor Crowe, of Christchurch, perhaps better known for his antics in a V 8 Corvette-powered Corolla, took third position overall and first in his class in his near standard Datsun 1200 SSS. With exactly the same placings in the first event held in Canterbury, Crowe heads the championship points table. Next is Aucklander Dave Simpson, fourth in his Escort R.S. 1600, followed by three Mazda R.X.3s of Bob Gerard, Rod Millen, and Trevor Tapper.

i Millen, who won the first;: ( round, was perhaps one of' 1 j the unluckier drivers. Hard ; I pressed for .essential funds, i ! Millen last week landed a (new sponsor, the tiny Raini bow Cafe in Kurow, but did| (not fare too well at the start. ■ J He steadily worked his way Hup through the field to third position, 30 seconds behind ' Taylor, only to have his brakes fail completely at stage eight. He continued in j the speed section without] 5 ! brakes, losing five places, but! L finished sixth overall. The young Aucklander,] ’; Steve Emson, seeded thirty-1 ’I sixth, followed the Mazdas] I home in his Datsun 1600 to take eighth place. Next in line were Allan J Mitchell (Escort RS 1600), | Quentin Phillips (Mazda ,’|RX3), John Metherall, John] . Sergei and Jim Richards, all; ’ in Ford Escorts. J Conditions testing t Conditions tested both men ’ and machines over the 950 km >[event, half of which com-] ] prised special speed sections. -! At first, drivers struck t near gale-force winds and L thick dust. Then as they -] moved inland to the Lake] r ] Benmore regions drivers 1 were confronted with heavy

ram, high winds, surface! flooding, and, in some places, j snow. The ruggedness of the' event was borne out by the> high drop-out rate. Of the 107 starters only 66 managed to complete the course. Tokoroa’s George Kuttle destroyed his Ford Escort in a 100 m.p.h. barrell roll crash in the rugged Hakataramea area. Fortunately both he and his co-driver, I Terry Fitzpatrick, escaped] (unharmed from their slo,ooo] I car. ] The Auckland based Escort! jtrio of Paul Adams, Blair i Robsen and Jim Donald, all {seeded within the top 10, I were unable to throw off the (bad luck of the first Marlboro round and were all early victims in the North Otago event. Adams struck problems in | the first of the 14 stages and (failed to complete stage two.! I Robson, who had an unhappy! (time in Christchurch, blow-] Sing a head gasket in Ashley!

| Forest, sheared an axle in I (this event, forcing his retire-; ; raent. He was holding second j! (position. Donald ran the]! ! bearings in his Escort after : hitting a hump at 100 m.p.h. ]i plus, severely damaging the!; sump. A 'similar plight befell] Timaru’s saloon car ace, Leo Leonard. He consistently held third or fourth place until | the half-way point when the ! clutch gave out in his Datsun 1200 coupe, forcing his retirement. Leonard was leading the Christchurch rally until understeering off the Port Hill road put him out of contention.

Visit to Iraq.—The Minis-!, ter of Trade and Industry (Mr Freer) has arrived in (Bagdad for a short visit. He will discuss with Government (leaders the strengthening of (commercial relations between (Iraq and New Zealand.— I(P.A.)