Commentary On Competition

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 9

Commentary On Competition

DISCOMBES BIKE

The Bakker - framed TZ7SO Yamaha raced by Stewart Avant in the last Marlboro international senes has been bought by Trevor Discombe, of Cambridge. Discombe, for many years the 350 “king” in New Zealand, raced a standard TZ7SO Yamaha for a couple of seasons with considerable success

before handing it back to the Yamaha importers, Mollers. Since that time, Discombe has been without a competitive machine.

But his purchase of the Bakker - framed machine should change this. In Avant’s hands, this was the fastest road racer in the country. VINTAGE TOUR The annual New Zealand vintage motor-cycle rally will be held in Blenheim on March 11, 12 and 13 and will be followed by a 1500-mile tour of the South Island. The tour will start on March 15 and end in Christchurch 10 days later. Entries close next Monday, but up to 40 machines manufactured earlier than 1955 are expected to take part. The oldest machine entered so far is a 1922 Douglas. The tour will pass through Reefton, Westport, Greymouth, Fox Glacier, Haast, Wanaka, Queenstown, Alexandra, Waimate and Timaru. It will be followed by the Canterbury vintage rally on March 26 and 27. This will include a time trial and a gymkhana.

HORSBURGH RETIRES Moto-cross racing in the

South Island suffered a severe blow, recently, with the unexpected retirement of Ross Horsburgh, who rode a CR2SO Honda into second place in the national championship last season. Horsburgh rode in the early qualifying rounds of the championship this year before deciding to stop completely and concentrate on his studies at the University of Canterbury'. Horsburgh was the top rider in the South Island and his departure will substantially weaken the southern team for the annual inter-island contest. SPEEDWAY TITLE Paul Fewings, of Christchurch, won the South Island solo speedway championship at the Oreti Speedway, near Invercargill, last Sunday. He scored 14 points. The surprise runner-up was Tony North, another Christchurch rider, with 12 points. He fell in his first heat but recovered to win all his remaining rides and was the only one to beat Fewings. North also set the fastest lap of the contest. I.Bsec outside Ivan Mauger’s track record. Third was yet another Christchurch racer, Graeme Stewart, on 11 points.