Rallycross — new kind of motor sport

Press, 14 August 1976, Page 52

Rallycross — new kind of motor sport

By

JOHN FRIDD

A new kind of motorsport —one which is within the pocket of the average car club member—will come to Ruapuna Park, near Christchurch. tomorrow with the Canterbury Car Club’s first sponsored rallycross. The sport contains all the thrills of rallying, but is held on a circuit with varying surfaces—from sealed track to slipperv grass and mud holes. Rallycross originated in Britain, and was originally designed for television. In fact, many meetings held in Britain still do not admit spectators, as they are run solely for live television broadcasts.

The idea did not take long to catch on in New Zealand, and the Mystery Creek circuit near Hamilton has

proved popular in the year or so it has been in use. The circuit often features some of New Zealand’s leading rally drivers. Many of the top Canterbury rally drivers will try their skills at Ruapuna tomorrow; and the rallycross will provide welcome practice for the Nelson rally next week-end, and the third round of the New Zealand rally series in the Manawatu area at the end of this month. Rob Gerard, the aggressive Akaroa driver, will try to harness the power of his modified Team Mazda RX3 to handle the tricky conditions, as will John Sergei, of Christchurch, in his Escort RSIBOO. Another spectacular Christchurch driver, Trevor Crowe, might also make an

appearance, in his Datsun 1200 SSS. Two more entries are Struan Gallagher, of Ashburton (Escort RS2000) and Ernie Richardson, of Christchurch, in a similar car. However, less modified cars may also enter the event, as the stringent safety precautions required for rallies are not necessary in rallycross. The only mandatory pieces of equipment are mudflaps on the driving wheels, towing eyes back and front, and fire extinguishers. Mud-grip tyres are not allowed.

Some spectacular action was seen in two trial rallycrosses held by the car club earlier this year, and cars will be sorted into groups to ensure the closest possible racing. There will be six cars in each race, which will consist of four laps or more. The organiser (Mr Bryan Hessey) said yesterday that he expected about 15 races to be run during the afternoon, giving the 30 or so cars expected plenty of opportunities to settle old scores.

Ten car clubs in Canterbury have been invited to the event. Mr Hessey believes the course, which cost the Canterbury Car Club about $llOO to bring to its present development, will provide a demanding test of drivers’ skills.

The club hoped for fine weather, which would make the course quite fast, he said. But rain would not ruin the Radio Avon-sponored event, as a little mud “could make it even better.”