New Zealand wins speedway test
PA Blenheim The New Zealand team fought back to clinch a 63-57 victory against the United States in the speedway test at Blenheim on Sunday evening. The New Zealanders now have a 3-1 advantage in the test series. The Americans notched up several victories early on and it was obvious the Kiwis had a real fight on their hands. The Americans are ranked second in the .world but though they dominated the early races, the Kiwis displayed depth to come through and take the test by winning the last three races. Two of the Americans crashed heavily and were
unable to continue the racing. Walt Famum had a heavy fall in heat three. Bobby Ott injured his hand after his handle bars snapped and he hit a fence. Both riders were dazed and suffered grazing. The American ace, Garry Hicks, rode in most of the heats substituting for his injured team-mates while Rich Perkins, who also had a heavy fall in heat one, took over some of the extra racing duties. Hicks went on to take five victories with spectacular but calculated riding. Larry Ross was the Kiwis’ most successful rider with two victories. Alan Mason
rode exceptionally well to take heat seven.
The turning point for the Kiwis came in heat six when Ross gave everything to get to the front and stay there. On the final bend he went very wide and just kept the bike going in a straight line.
The next test will be in Christchurch on Saturday. Hicks was the top visiting rider with 18 points. George Lazor gained eight and Scott Brown six.
Larry Ross topped the rating for the home-side with 18 points, Alan Mason took 16, while David Bargh and Trevor Chapman both accumulated 10.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19870106.2.120.1
Bibliographic details
Press, 6 January 1987, Page 21
Word Count
298New Zealand wins speedway test Press, 6 January 1987, Page 21
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.