Rail strike 'disaster’ for moto-cross

Press, 18 February 1978, Page 52

Rail strike 'disaster’ for moto-cross

By

ROD DEW

The New Zealand midgetcar championship will be held at the Templeton Speedway this evening with a full muster of drivers and cars from the North Island in spite of the Wellington rail strike which has halted the Cook Strait ferry service.

A Bristol Freighter was chartered by the Christchurch Speedway Association to take six stranded midget racing cars from Wellington to Blenheim yesterday afternoon. Two trips were necessary to move the cars and equipment but all were safely on South Island soil by 4.30 p.m.

Twenty-six drivers and mechanics were flown to Christchurch on another special flight last evening.

However, another event of national status scheduled to be held in Canterbury this week-end — the first round, of the New Zealand motocross championship — has had to be cancelled. Instead, a club meeting will be held on the championship course at Teddington tomorrow for those riders who managed to reach Christchurch "It is a disaster for us,” the secretary of the Corsair Motor-cycle Club (Mr Neville Hampton) said last evening. “We were hoping for a settlement but as the day wore on it became apparent that there was not going to be one. This afternoon riders waiting at the ferry terminal in Wellington were told that there was unlikely to be any sailings today, tomorrow, or the next day.” The New Zealand Auto

(Feilding), Rudd is the would be unfair to continue with the championship round and had stripped it of its points status. Mr Hampton said. Consideration had been given to flying the bikes of the North Island riders to Christchurch but this would have cost $llOO and the A.C.U. was not prepared to meet this. “Had there been only 20 riders and bikes, there would have been no problem.” Mr Hampton said. Instead, there were 102 riders from the North Island trying to get to Christchurch for the meeting. Some who had been waiting at the ferry terminal gave up early yesterday and returned to their homes. But about 50 riders stayed on and were given permission to spend the night on one of the ferries in Wellington. Only a few North Island riders reached Christchurch before the strike. Among these was the former Dunedin racer, Gary Goodfellow. Another prominent rider, Jeff Ballard, flew in from Australia yesterday specially for the meeting. Mr Hampton estimated that his club, which was organising the meeting, stood to lose more than $lOOO, which it could not afford. “It is a crashing blow for us. I’ve got 3000 pro-g’-ammes sitting in my office. Would you like one?” he said. The New Zealand championships will now be decider on points over the two remaining meetings, at Wellington on March 5 and Rotorua on March 18 — unless a request by the Corsair club to hold its meeting on a new date later in the season is favourably received by the A.C.U. An A.C.U. steward, Mr Len Payne, is flying to Christchurch from Hamilton today to explain the situation to those riders who have assembled for the championships. For a time, the future of the midget-car championship looked bleak. But the Christchurch Speedway Association already had more than $BOOO invested in its meeting and could not afford to lose the entry of the North Island drivers. “We are up for at least $lO,OOO and we had to get them here at any cost.” the Temnleton manager (Mr Russell Lang) said las* evening. “Everybody is now here and we are going to have a first-class meeting.” He sent a representative, Mr Rod Robinson, to Wellington to organise the airlift.

The official practice was held yesterday. However only three Auckland drivers, Kerry Morris, Dave Jolly, and John Godfrey, were able to make use of this. The other drivers will now have to restrict their practising to a few laps immediately before the championship. Difficulties over preparing the

• track make another practice [earlier today out of the question.

The six Auckland cars flown to Blenheim yesterday belonged to Barry Butterworth, Max Butterworth, Ted Tracy (the defending champion), Toby Smith, Pat Johnston, and Keith Watson. A cavalcade of cars and trailers from Christchurch brought the cars here last evening.

Jack Bryan, one of the leading Christchurch contenders, has lost his race to get his Chevy II racer repaired in time. Bryan and his mechanic, Robinson, worked in vain throughout the week in an effort to repair the motor which was extensively damaged last Saturday. Now, Bryan will drive the older Holden-pow-ered racer he raced last season.

Speedway racers travelling north for other national championships did not fare so well. Last evening the defending New Zealand supermodified car champion, Harry Pierson, of Christchurch. was stranded in Picton facing the prospect of letting his title go undefended in Wellington tonight. Other Christchurch drivers in the same situation included Peter Leversedge and Peter Annan, a former title-holder.

Christchurch’s leading three-quarter midget car drivers, on their way to the New Zealand championships in Napier, were also stranded in Picton last evening with little hope of getting across Cook Strait. Among them were Norrie Chandler, Bruce Hobbs, Ross Galt, and Gavin Parr.