Manger, Ross in pairs bid

Press, 21 June 1980, Page 60

Manger, Ross in pairs bid

By ROD DEW

The New Zealand representatives, Ivan Mauger and Larry Ross, will be watched with considerable respect by their rivals in the final of the world best pairs speedway championship in Yugoslavia early on Monday morning (New Zealand time). Mauger, the reigning world champion, and Ross, the New Zealand champion, easily won their semi-final round in West Germany a fortnight ago. Mauger scored a brilliant 17 points and Ross proved an ideal support by scoring eight. The strongest rivals for the New Zealand pair are expected to be Poland and England, which finished first and second in that order in the other semifinal in Czestochowa. Two very capable riders, Edward Jancarz and Zenon Piech, are Poland’s representatives, and they scored 25 points in their semi-final. However, they were riding on home ground and in Yugoslavia they will not have this advantage.

England, represented by Dave Jessup and Peter

Collins, might provide the real threat to New Zealand’s chances. Jessup, who recently won the British championship for the first time, has been widely tipped in England to succeed Mauger as the next, world champion.. Collins was only fourth in the .British event, but he

is a former holder of the world crown and an extremely talented rider.

The other finalists are Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Both Denmark and Sweden will field former world champions in Ole Olsen and Anders Michanek, and should not be taken lightly, in spite of the difficulty they had in qualifying for the final. The surprises of the semi-finals were the elimination of such strong speedway countries as Australia and the United States. The American team of Scott Autrey and Bruce Penhall was regarded as a possible winner of the pairs crown before it was eliminated in the semifinal.

If New Zealand wins the title, it will be for the first time in almost a decade. Mauger and an other former world champion, Ronnie Moore, were the world’s best pair in 1971. That was Mauger’s second win in the contest. He shared New Zealand’s win in the late 1960 s with Barry Briggs, and he is particularly keen to add a third pairs title to his remarkable collection of world championships.