Brady outstrips the bunch

Press, 14 April 1980, Page 30

Brady outstrips the bunch

By

PETER BRITTENDEN

Chris Brady, the leading 125 cu cm rider in Christchurch, was a clear winner in his class at the first round of the South Island motocross championships at Teddington yesterday.

Brady, who rides a Suzuki, comfortably won all three heats in the 125 cu. cm class. In the first race he was closely pressed by Paul Nicholl (Nelson) on a Honda. Nicholl lead for the first lap but fell and let Brady through. ■ In the other two 120 cu. cm heats Brady was a clear winner. He lead from the start in the second heat, with only Barry Nuemann (Timaru), on a Yamaha, and H. Buckenham (Christchurch), on a Kawasaki, providing the competition. Brady extended his lead by about 10 metres each- lap and finished 200 metres in front. In the third heat Brady started well but Nuemann and Nicholl both pulled out the stops and remained close behind. However Nuemann only matched the pace for two laps and dropped back. Nicholl’s Honda then broke down and this left Brady untroubled. He finished about 1000 metres ahead. Competition in the 250 cu. cm. class was a little closer. John Nicholls (Christchurch), on a Yamah'a, was a reasonably comfortable winner in the first and third heats and was a likely winner in the second before falling on a tight part of the circuit. In the second heat Nicholls

fell on the first lap and from this there developed a real battle between Murray McIntyre (Gore), on a Honda, Rod Selby (Christchurch), on a Suzuki, David Filer (Wakefield), on a Honda, and Warren Timpson (Christchurch), a Suzuki rider. Selby looked to have the race sown up but he stalled and lost four places. However Selby fought his way past two riders and was back pushing the leader, Mclntyre, on the last lap. The open class was straight-forward but extremely exciting. Martin Wadsworth (Blenheim), on a four-stroke Honda, won all three heats by considerable margins. Wadsworth, whose fame in several- branches of motorcycle sport has spread throughout the South Island, easily handled the demanding course without allowing the extra weight of his machine to impede him.

Wayne Muckle (Ashburton), and David Boyce (Christchurch), who both rode Suzukis, were second and third respectively in all three heats. The margin between those two riders and Wadsworth was never less than 500 metres. Another Honda rider who made' a tremendous impact,

this time in the support classes, was Paul Sayle (Gore). Sayle rode a Honda hybrid — an XR2SO motor fitted into a CR2SO frame. He easily won the support class races in spite of being matched against machines strictly designed for motocross. The course yesterday was run on farmland and used both sides of a steep valley. The water jumps provided most of the problems for riders, and there were several dramatic front-wheel-first crashes into the water. After the meeting Mr Bill Campbell, the South Island motocross selector, announced that the annual North Island-South Island motocross races would be held at Paraparaumu on June 1. The South Island team will be announced on May 5. Results were:—l2s cu cm. — heat 1: Brady 1, Nicholl 2, Buckenham 3. Heat 2: Brady 1, Buckenham 2, D. Allan (Parnassus) 3. Heat 3: Brady 1, A. Rangi (Nelson) 2, Buckenham 3. 250 cu cm. — Heat 1: Nicholls 1, Selby 2, Filer 3. Heat 2: Mclntyre 1, Selby 2, Filer 3. Heat 3: Nicholls 1, Timpson 2, Mclntyre 3. 500 cu cm. — Heat 1,2, and 3: Wadsworth 1, Muckle 2, D. Boyce 2.