Mercedes will send 7 cars

Press, 11 July 1980, Page 24

Mercedes will send 7 cars

By

JOHN FRIDD

Seven potent MercedesBenz rally cars will arrive at Lyttelton at the end of next month in preparation for the Motogard international rally in September Mercedes-Benz yesterday confirmed its entry in the New Zealand event, and announced that it would field four drivers, not three as first notified. As well as four cars for the rally proper, the German car-making giant will send three practice cars, in which its crews will get a taste of. New Zealand conditions in ai forest near Nelson before the event starts on September 13. Three of the rally machines will be 500SLC models, with newly developed four-speed automatic gearboxes and 320 b.h.p. motors. They will compete in the mildly modified group two class, and will be driven by the world rally champion, Bjorn Waldegaard (Sweden), Hannu Mikkola (Finland), and Andrew Cowan (Scotland). The fourth Mercedes, a fuel-injected 280 CE, will be driven by another Swede, In-1

gvar Carlsson, aged 32, who [this season gave up a successful circuit-racing career to become a works rally driver for Mercedes.

The crews will be supported on the gruelling Motogard Rally by 12 German mechanics, as well as 115 people from Cable Price, I the New Zealand company the big Mercedes effort here. Another German manufacturer, Opel, will not now make the trip to New Zealand. It was to have run two Opel Asconas in the event, .but a sales crisis in Europe ihas forced it to cut back its rally programme. Datsun has confirmed that it will send two works 16OJs, to be driven by the Finn, Timo Salonen, and George Fury, of Australia. The Auckland-based Masport team has confirmed that another Finn, Pentti Airikkala, will drive its No. 1 car in the Motogard.

Three New Caledonians — Jean Louis Leyraud (Datsun 160 J), Jacques Jeandot (Escort RS1800), and Patrick Cratian (Toyota Celica) — are also coming, along with several lesser-known Australian drivers.