Annan in sparkling form

Press, 6 March 1978, Page 21

Annan in sparkling form

by

MURRAY OLDS

Annan capped 20 ’-ears demotion to Christcnurch speed *■>> m fine style on Satuiaay evening when he led the Canterbu.y a team to victory in inier-provincial super-modified match against a Wellington team. Xr.nan, who will emigrate to Australia in May, was in spa: Kling form as he won all three of tile challenge races with ease, and scored a maximum 18 points. W th Mike Allan contributing 13 points from two thirds and a second. Canterbury A won with a total of 31. Both the B team and tne Wellington selection scored lo points to tie for second The Wellington team of Richard Waddington and Date Barrow was in difficulties even before it went on to the track for the evening's racing Barrow blew the clutch in his supermodified machine in a warm-up. and completed the meeting in Gar> Jemmett's 283 Chev. a gesture that won for .Jemmett the Mutual Travel award for the aportsman of the night. Annan showed the visitors, and the B team of Selwyn Everett and Peter Leversedge, a clean pair of wheels in the first challenge. He had taken the lead t >e back grid by the end of the first lap. and maintained his position in spite of some firstclass driving by Waddington The Wellington driver pressed Annan hard throughout the race, but could not get past him Mike Allan was third and the Canterbury A team had already established a handy lead It was further increased in the second challenge event. Annan again dominated the race to win. closely followed by Allan and I.eversedge Waddington and Barrow. who compete in a modest field of six super-mods in Wellington. appeared a little out of their depth on the Templeton circuit, and finished fourth and fifth respectively. Waddington was forced to retire in the third challenge race on the programme, putting paid to his team’s chances of finishing in second place. Annan led from

tne flag to win. Leversedge coming second, and Allan, third, s Everett and Barrow were i engaged in a close tussle tor th< > minor money until tne very last ’• bend when the Christchurch n» driver spun out and allowed Barci I row t slip into fourth place. i. Waddington must have o adjusted to the unfamiliar track by the first scratch race of the f evening, for he won it with ease. :. Hanging the tail of his car out in >. ever bend, he kept out an agSlgressive Leversedge to the line. >. Allan again finished third. ri The final super-mod feature ol ci the evening went to Leversedge, d He had promised as much throughout the competition, and . won the race in fine style Saturday s meeting, the nin- >. teenth of the season, was unforr tunately punctuated by several c- spectacular, but fortunately not . serious, accidents. The efficient , St John Ambulance Brigade ser--i sice was kept busy driving on . and off the track. . James Moore was the earliest p casual when he tipped the back wheel of another machine in the t first lap <»f the opening solo t scratch race. He came off his A machine to tumble round the . Town Bend. d The same spot claimed another e victim in the first three-quarter 5 midget iace. won by . Geoff Stone. Gavin Pan and B Bruce Hobbs tangled in the third lap. but both drivers were unint injured ? Yet another solo crash oc- .. cur nd three events later, as a 1 trio of riders crashed in a cartwheel of arms. legs, and bikes. e i Charmed lives can only explain a • the lack of serious injury , for ' the accident appeared a serious j one. But the most ‘•impressive’ spill t i of the evening was reserved for . Barr Reid, who rolled his TQ fiend over end in the final three--quarter midget race. The acci--1 dent looked nasty, but Reid was helped from his car relatively (unhurt e ' Stone, with his win in the j opening race, and subsequent j I fourth place in another event. — captured the Canterbury TQ championship for the highest ■ number of points accumulated lover the season. The two other I TQ contests on the evening were ‘won by Gavin Parr, who drove j his Triumph-powered machine with skill and panache to his I brace of firsts. i Only two midget events were [staged on Saturday, the first i being won in excellent style by I Terry Curtis and Kevin Proctor the second. Curtis had a good -j meeting, finishing second behind Proctor in the last race after he had denied Alan Palmer the S. chance to sneak through on the . inside with a skilful display. Les Dwight jun. and nis ■ swinger. Graham Pullan. cons' tinned their side car struggle — with the Turner brothers. Each t combination won a race, Dwight Min the fastest time of the night, el but the Turners’ win Was y achieved from a handicap of ’ som 50 yards, and involved sev- , era! sweeping turns on the -bends. Once again. Larry Ross dumb mated the solo motor-cycle .’events winning three races He j was forced to retire with mechanical troubles from an- ’ other when in a handy position, ’i Another rider to impress was — Patrick Pawson. while Roger ’Wright enjoyed bis best meeting for some time ? CARS Results.— vV'ellington v. Canterbury Supermodified chalilense 16 laps),— Race 1: P. Annan

i-11. R. Waddington 2, M Allan 3. Time: 2:2.7. Race 2: Annan 1, e Allan 2, P. Lexersedge 3. No < time. Race 3: Annan 1, Levert sedge 2. Allan 3. Time: 2:2.4. i, Ferry Road Rub-A-Dub supermodified scratch.: <8 laps).— Waddington 1. Leversedge 2, e I Allan 3. No time. k! Supermodified feature.— e Leversedge 1. Annan 2. Allan 3. Time: 2:39.2. i Raynox Midget car handicap (6 3 [laps).-T. Curtis 1. G. Rox- . burgh 2 K Proctor 3. Time: I 2:3.6. 1 Phillips Mowei Service midget i 'handicap— Proctor 1, Curtis. 2’ i A. Palmer 3. No time. i Raynox TQ handicap <6 laps).— G. Stone 1, R. Sladen 2. R. Galt 3,! -[Time: 2:7.8. -! Russ Noble Motors TQi 1 Scratch.— G. Parr 1. B. Hobbs 2. 1 t N. Chandler 3. Time: 2:1.0. I ’ Geoff Stone TQ Feature.— Parr 1. Galt 2. D. Woolf 3. No i time MOTOR-CYCLES t Sidecar Handicap <4 laps' —l. < ; Begbie 1, B Beadle 2, H. Jones 3.' ?I l ime: 85.2. i Everetts Auto Sidecar handis cap.—- B Tinner 1. H. Askev 2. e L. Dwight 3. Time: 86.5. The RCA Records sidecar I i scratch - Dwight 1. Turner 2, r Beadle 3 Time: 82.0. Solo Handicap.— Heat 1: P -Pawson 1. G. Reid 2. K. Fletcher■ 1 3 Time. 83.3. Heat 2: J. Brown l.j - R. Selby 2. K. Brown 3. Time:' 84.6. Heat 3: G. Wells 1. T. Ealam i 2 Time. 86.4. First Semi-final: I * Pawson 1, Reid 2. J. Brown 3.! • Time: 83.3. Second semi-final: i Selby 1. K. Maxwell 2, Fletcher 3.1 i iNo time. Final: R id 1. Maxwell' r 12. Fletcher 3. No time. s Consolation handicap.— T. I i Black 1. A Mason 2. A. Bryce 3. I No time. r Novice scratch.— K. Browne 1,; e l. Adams 2. No time. Solo scratch.— Race I: L. Rossi - 1 R. Wright 2, Pawson 3. Time:! s | 77.0. Race 2: Wright 1, M. Brown ! ' 2 G. Welles 3. Time: 77.5. Race I 13: Ross 1. Wright 2. M. Brown 3 J - ■ Time: 77.8. I ’ > - -