Three records go at Ruapuna

Press, 31 January 1983, Page 19

Three records go at Ruapuna

By ALISTAIR ARMSTRONG Three track records were broken and two more equalled at the Lucas Ruapuna Park Speedway on Saturday as Auckland's Barry Butterworth and an American, "Sleepy” Tripp, between them thrilled a crowd of about 8000 with an extraordinary night of racing. Driving as though his life depended on it, Butterworth, aged 43, created new six-lap and four-lap records for the big. VB-engined Sprintcars as well as equalling the outright single-lap best time recorded at the circuit of 17.35. The latter feat has been achieved previously only by the motor-cycle great. Ivan Mauger. and a Christchurch Sprintcar driver, Roger Gleeson.

Tripp, a former world champion who earlier this month won the $lO,OOO 50-lap Midget Car classic at Auckland’s Western Springs for the fourth time, also turned in a brilliant display as he powered his way to a new four-lap record and equalled the single lap record for Midgets. It was a feast of competitive driving made possible by the presence of several leading Auckland Midget exponents and another American. Stan Fox, as well as by the slickly-prepared track..

The visitors were at the track on Saturday especially for a challenge series of two eight-lap races between the United States, represented by Tripp and Fox, the North Island (Butterworth and Bruce Drinkrow), the South Island (Mark Williams and Rod Robinson) and the "Rebels” (Bruce Kennedy and Maurice Cowling, of

Auckland). Surprisingly, the series was won easily by Kennedy and Cowling after Kennedy chalked up a first and a second place and Cowling two fourths for a combined tally of 25 points, eight better than the runners-up. Butterworth and Drinkrow. Neither of the Americans completed the first heat but Tripp won the second race and Fox finished third so that the pair ended the series with 14 points. The South Islanders failed to score.

With a gap of only a single race since his Midget series participation, Butterworth, a veteran of 27 seasons of speedway competition, climbed into his 350 Chevrolet Sprintcar and promptly won a handicap event, slicing 2.1 s off Gleeson’s old six-lap record of 1m:47.4s in the process. The Aucklander, who lapped all but the second and third placegetters in the race, also equalled the outright single lap record. After another couple of Midget races Butterworth was back into his Sprintcar and this time it was Gleeson’s four-lap record that fell as the aggressive northerner triumphed over a field reduced by several mishaps. Butterworth’s winning time for the eight-lap event included a four-lap record time of 69.25, a whopping 4.6 s better than the former record.

Not to be outdone, Tripp, who had earlier equalled the single lap Midget record of 17.85, won the next race, a 10-lap Midget handicap, in a time that included a four-lap record of 735. The previous record of 75.1 s was set by

Williams last vear.

Tripp, a backmarker. only snatched a half car-length victory in the race after slipping inside Cowling with a characteristic burst of speed on the last straight.

Results (Christchurch drivers unless stated):

Midgets — Challenge race 1: B. Kennedy (Auckland) 1. B. Butterworth (Auckland) 2. B. Drinkrow (Auckland) 3. M. Cowling (Auckland) 4. Time: 94.0. Challenge race 2: K. Tripp 1, B. Kennedy 2, S. Fox 3. Time: 2:07.4. Race 3: Tripp 1. Butterworth 2. Kennedy 3. Time: 2:47.0. Race 4: D. Cawley 1. A. Botherway 2, Kennedy 3. No time. Race 5: Tripp 1, Cowling 2. Kennedy 3. Time (four laps) 73.0 (track record).

Sprintcars.— Race 1: B. Butterworth I. S. Everett 2. R. Gleeson 3. Time: 1:45.3 (new sixlap record). Race 2: Butterworth 1. Everett 2. M. Wilson 3. Time: 1:09.2. Race 3: Everett 1. Gleeson 2. B. Salter 3. Time: 2:30.2. Results— A Solos.— Race 1: K. McKinna 1. L. Begbie 2. R. Wright 3. Time: 81.6. Race 2: C. Blackett 1. A. Mason 2, L. Ross 3. Time 80.1. Race 3: G. Rhodes 1, M. Brown 2, M. Tobeck 3. Time: 79.4. Race 4. grade final: Ross 1. McKinna 2. Wright 3. Time: 75.6. Race 5; Ross 1. McKinna 2. Wright 3. Time: 75.9.

B Solos— Race 1; W. McClintock 1, M. Banks 2. M. Richards 3. Time: 85.0. Race 2 (grade final): McClintock 1. Richards 2. S. Marice 3. Time: 82.8. Sidecars— Race 1: W. Turner 1. A. Mitchell 2, J. Sullivan. Time: 86.2. Race 2: Turner 1. Sullivan 2. Mitchell 3. Time: 82.2.

T. Q. Midgets: Race 1: R. Hodkinson 1, R. Cawood 2, P. Yanko (Nelson) 3. Time: 2:10.2. Race 2: J. Sylvester 1. P. Yanko 2. Cawood 3. Time: 85.0. Race 3: Sylverster 1, Yanko 2. Cawood 3. Time: 2:01.