H.A.R.T. target not coming

Press, 29 November 1977, Page 36

H.A.R.T. target not coming

The attempt by the Halt All Racist Tours movement to have the outstanding South African motor-cycle racer, Kork Ballington, scratched from the New Zealand Marlboro international series has been badly timed. “Ballington is not coming,” an executive member of the New Zealand International Grand Prix Society, Mr Kevin McCleary, of Christchurch, said yesterday. “The society has not received an official entry from him and as far as we know he is not coming.’ Earlier in the year, Bal-

lington had expressed interest in racing in New Zealand and there had been an exchange of letters between him and the society. There had been nothing since, said Mr McCleary, a former New Zealand roadracing champion. An organisation such as H.A.R.T. should check first to see whether its facts were up to date before making statements. Mr McCleary said. The original announcement that Ballington might be coming to New Zealand had been made months ago and no move had been made at that time to oppose this by any organisation. “There wasn’t even a murmur.”

Ballington, who scored several fine wins in the 350 cu cm class of the world road-racing championship series in Europe this year, has now returned to South Africa, where he intends staying until the start of the next European season. The Japanese Yamaha test rider, Hideo Kanaya,. who recently confirmed his entry, received a shoulder injury in the Indonesian Grand Prix and this forced him out of the Macau Grand Prix, near Hong Kong, last week-end. He is one of the favourites for the Marlboro series, and. it is not yet known how serious his injuries are. Kanaya was being sent

out by the Yamaha factory in a bid to end the domination of the rival Suzuki factory. Suzuki has won the series every year so far. One of the visiting internationals in the 1974-75 series, Piers Forester (England), was killed recently in an end-of-season meeting at Brands Hatch. Forester rode a TZ7SO Yamaha in New Zealand but finished out of th? major placings. The 1977-78 series opens at Auckland on December 18 and will end at Ruapuna Park on January 8 after five rounds. H.A.R.T,- statement, page 14.