Chch driver overcomes atrocious conditions

Press, 25 October 1982, Page 26

Chch driver overcomes atrocious conditions

From

JOHN FRIDD

Trevor Crowe, of Christchurch, handled the atrocious conditions well to win the main Open Saloon Car Association event at Levels Raceway, near Timaru. yesterday. The southerley rain that lashed the track made the surface so treacherous that most of the big car drivers opted not to race, but Crowe threw his Zap Starlet V 8 around spectacularly to win the Osca final from the tiny Starlet 1300 of Warren Burt (Timaru).

Rod McElrea, of Ashburton, found his big VB- - Cortina a real handful on the wet track and had to be content with third place, ahead of Don Grindley (Christchurch, Mazda RX3). Inky Tulloch, of Mataura, normally races a fiery VB- - Capri on the track, but contested the Osca races in his rally car, a two-litre Datsun Stanza. Such is Tulloch's skill that he held third place for three laps before being reeled in by McElrea and Grindley. The Osca “Big Banger" drivers, who kept their cars

on their trailers included three Christchurch men, lan Munt, Steve Viggurs, and Avon Hyde, who slid off the track at high speed in his Capri Chev during practice and. came to rest against a bank.

Grindley won the combined Osca class race from McElrea, Burt, Tulloch, and Crowe, who took some time to get to grips with the track conditions.

Barry Dryden, of Wanaka, broke the Levels stranglehold of Jim Little (St Andrews) when he won both South Island production saloon car races in his new V 8 Commodore. Little’s Charger could not match the fine handling of the Holden in the first race and then Little spun while leading the second race, giving . victory to Dryden. During the first race, the Datsun 1200 s of two Dunedin drivers, Kelvin North and Kevin Hodgins, collided on the start-finish straight, resulting in a messy crash when North’s car hit a marshal’s post and rolled. North was taken to hospital with consussion.

Robin Laing (Dunedin) was the fastest B class driver in his Capri V 6 and lan Begg (Wyndham) was top C class man in his Golf GTI. lan MacDonald, of, Christchurch, won the first inci-dent-packed Formula Libre

race in his Bowin. John Crawford, also of Christchurch, was the first casualty when he spun on the front straight and his Valour slammed into a safety wall at high speed, fortunately not damaging the car or injurying himself. Then the top Timaru driver, Alan Dunn, careered off the end of the main straight in his Titan and smashed throungh a fence. The car was virtually unscathed, but a fence wire snapped back Dunn’s head and he was taken to hospital for a checkup before being discharged.

Barry Robinson (Wyndham, Chevette 2.3) capped off his win in the Spring Rally by taking the first rally car while his co-driver, Geoff Lange, won the second heat in the same car. In the reverse grid final Clark Rabbidge, (Timaru), took his Datsun Stanza to victory ahead of Grant Goile (Christchurch. Mazda), whjje Lange retired when the Chevette collided with another car.

Darryl Pyke (Timaru, Cortina) won the first pre-65 saloon race while Peter Swaney (Timaru) took the second in his Minx. Bob Driver (Timaru) won the final in his Anglia. Trevor Crowe won the Flying Farewell in his Zap Starlet .from Rabbidge and Robinson.