Near G.P. win for city driver

Press, 26 February 1986, Page 24

Near G.P. win for city driver

After 50 laps only one point separated the first ' two drivers in the CRC Chemicals New Zealand Sprintcar Grand Prix at the Handy Hire International Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

The North Island champion, lan Easton, just managed to hold out Christchurch’s Mike Allan.

.Both Easton and Allan were the only drivers in the field to finish all five heats, and were never more than three points apart, with the American driver, Bryan “The Bullet” Bullard finishing in third place over-all. % He was unlucky to be put out of the first heat when Noel Goodwin (Auckland) cut across his line coming out of the Town bend. This cost Bullard the event when the final points were added up. The opening heat had to be re-run after the cars of Wayne Pierson (Christchurch) and Greg Hutchison (Auckland) were badly damaged in a crash on the Prison bend.

Hutchison’s car climbed right over Pierson’s machine and landed on its roof before rolling back on the track. Bruce Hobbs (Christchurch) was also involved in the smash.

Allan took the first 10-lap heat, with Tony Allen (Auckland) second and Easton third.

Bullard returned to the track to win the second heat, leading from start to finish, with Goodwin second from Auckland’s Lyndon Kendall. This race featured a powerful

duel between Allan and Easton, with Allan sticking to the pole-line for the entire race to hold out the Palmerston North driver.

Easton made no mistakes in the third CRC heat. After starting near the back of the field, he stormed home to win, with Bullard taking second place by less than a car length from Allen.

The former New Zealand champion, Goodwin, pulled away over the final laps to win the fourth heat, with Allan again sticking to the pole-line to take second place. With both Easton and Allan sharing the same total as the final race started, the first home would win the Grand Prix title.

Allan started at the back of the field and quickly passed several cars to be on Easton’s tail. Allan tried to get by Easton, but to no avail. Bullard won, with Allen second from Easton and Allan. Easton finished with 59 points, one ahead of Allan. The Australian driver, Sid Moore, was fourth with 39 points. Goodwin and Allen were fifth equal with 38. There were several spectacular incidents in the car sections with Tony Davis rolling his three-quarter midget eight times as he threw his car into the Prison bend in the second race.

In the final midget event, Mark Williams spun his car, with most of the field managing to avoid the stranded machine before Ted Robinson, then Bob Denson and Phillip Mills, ploughed into it.