Crowe wins saloon series

Press, 21 April 1984, Page 16

Crowe wins saloon series

The versatile Christchurch driver, Trevor Crowe, has emerged as the winner of this season’s Arbuckles Open Saloon Car Association championship, after the final round at Timaru last Sunday. Crowe has won the championship twice previously. The combination of the experienced Crowe and the

excellent power-to-weight ratio of the agile Zagato Starlet Olds proved more than a match for the bigger six-litre-class combinations om most occasions. In spite of the use of ageing engines the Starlet generally ran reliably throughout the season, although overheating problems caused some worries

and a broken oil pump belt forced the car to be scratched from the racing in an early round. Crowe scored five outright wins on the way to amassing a total of 130 points throughout the season, 12 ahead of another Christchurch driver, lan Munt on 118, whose Waterbed World Capri Chev was struck by a bout of engine unreliability mid season.

An Ashburton driver, Mike Johnston, finished only two points behind Munt with 116, and although his 4-litre-class Escort turbo was no match for the more powerful VB-engined machinery, he drove consistently to finish in the points. The spectacular Clyde Collins Commmodore Chev

was not completed in time for the first two rounds of the series, but scored a sensational debut victory in the hands of Avon Hyde at the November Timaru meeting. The car suffered new-car problems at Wigram as could be expected, but by the end of the season the team had developed the car into the most potent sixlitre contender on the track. Had Hyde been able to start the season earlier he would surely have scored more points than the 113 that gave him fourth place in the series.

The six-litre section of the series was an extremely close-fought affair, with three drivers in with a chance of winning going into the final round. O.S.C.A.

stalwart Munt eventually won the class with 61 points from the relative newcomers, Steve Vigurs, 58 points and lan Shrimpton, 52 points. Crowe was an easy winner of the four-litre category, gaining 70 points to the 57 of Johnston; another Ashburton driver, lan Wilkins, was third in the class with 52 points. Mike Johnston’s brother, Eric, top scored in the smallest class, for under 2litre cars, taking 71 points after some aggressive driving in his Avenger. Christchurch’s Austin Cole took second placing with 63 points to the 57 of Don Elvy. Although overshadowed by the bigger machinery, this class often produced the most exciting racing.