Team effort steers N.Z. to victory

Press, 12 January 1987, Page 24

Team effort steers N.Z. to victory

An all-round team effort by the New Zealand solo riders gave them a ■comfortable seven-point victory over their American counterparts in the fifth Sony-Continental Airlines speedway test at Ruapuna Park on Saturday evening. In front of the biggest crowd of the season, the eight-heat test produced some excellent racing, the greater depth of the sixman New Zealand team proving the deciding factor. New Zealand scored 63 points and the United States 56. Although the visiting team led for the first two heats, New Zealand took control of the test with its captain, David Bargh, and Larry Ross winning the first four heats between them. Both riders gained two wins each. Ross proved the star of the New Zealand camp and won all of his heats to

finish the meeting with a maximum 20 points. The Christchurch rider showed his class when winning the second heat from gate one in the record time for four laps of 67.8 s which lowered the old record by 1.25. Ross was the only rider to record a winning time under 69s at the meeting. In an incident-packed fourth heat, Ross led from the start, with Gary Davey, who was standing in for the injured American rider, Bobby Ott, holding second place after coming from fifth place on the first turn. A real battle developed for third place between the American captain, Scotty Brown, and New Zealand’s James Martin. Going down the pit straight for the third time, Martin passed Brown on the outside with both bikes locked together

going into the Prison bend. Half-way round the bend Brown appeared to lean on Martin and both riders fell, both bikes flipping into the concrete safety fence with one climbing over the fivemetre high wire fence. Ross had already crossed the finish line, so the platings were awarded. New Zealand gained the first three platings, after Davey had retired just before the crash. Brown was excluded and was also forced to sit out the next race for his actions. Over the next two heats the Americans dosed on the home team, with Gary Hicks, aged 17, winning the fifth and trailing home Ross in the next heat to pick up nine points for the American team. Hicks won the seventh heat to help narrow the score difference to four points going into

the final heat Ross and Bargh rode as a team to put paid to any chance of an” American victory, Ross leading and Bargh covering the remainder of the field. Just when it seemed that Ross and Bargh would finish first and second, Davey swept round the outside of Bargh to split the home pairing coming out of the Prison bend. The Christchurch pair, Trevor Chapman and Craig Monk, had good meetings, scoring 11 and eight points, respectively. The other two Christchurch riders in the New Zealand team, Mar-: tin and Darren HopeweH, played their part. Hicks was the top American rider and scored 26 pints, which included two extra rides to cover for Brown. Davey scored 10 points, with Rich Perkins and George Lazor the next-highest

scorers with nine and seven points, respectively. In the invitation series, Hicks showed why he is picked as a future world champion. He won all three races, with Monk picking up a second placing and two thirds. Christchurch’s Mark Lyndon had mixed fortunes; he fell in one heat and then picked up a fourth and third placing. RAcnlte*—— Solos (NX v. UXA.).— Heat 1: D. Bargh (NX), 1; G. Davey (UX), 2; R. Perkins (UX), 3; T. Chapman (NX), 4. Time: 11:09.5. Heat 2: L. Ross (NX), .1; G. Hicks (UX), 2; G. Lazor (UX), 3; C. Monk (NX), 4. Time: 1:07.8 (lap record). Heat 3: Bargh 1, Hicks 2, Chapman 3, Lazor 4. Time: 1:09.1. Heat 4: Ross 1, Monk 2, J. Martin (NX), 3; Perkins 4. 1:08.3. Heat 5: Hicks 1, Davey 2, Chapman 3, Bargh 4. Time: 1:09.0. Heat 6: Ross 1, Hicks 2, W. Famum (UX), 3; Lazor 4. Time: 1:09.0. Heat 7: Hicks 1, Bargh 2, Chapman 3, Farnum 4.

Time: 1:09.0. Heat ft Roas 1, Hicks 2, Bargh 3, Davey 4. Time: 1:10.1. International challenge series.— Heat I: Hicks 1, Monk 2, Lazor 3. Time: 53.7. Heat 2: Hicks 1, Chapman 2, Monk 3. Time: 54X Heat 3: Hicks 1, M. Lyndon 2, Monk 3. Time: 53.8. Three-quarter midgets.— First handicap: P. Walton I, C. Beach 2, D. Webb X Time: 2.00.0. Second handicap: Beach 1, Webb 2, G. Stone 3. Time: 1:44.4. Midgets.— First handicap: , T. MacLellan 1, G. Roxburgh 2, T. Robinson 3. Time: 1:47X Second handicap: D. Jaserse (Invercargill), 1, G. Fineran 2, Robinson 3. Time: 2:21.7. Sprintcars.— First handicap: M. Taylor 1, S. Everett 2, J. Fortune 3. Time: 1:48.4. Second handicap: B. Hobbs 1, Everett 2, Taylor 3. Time: 231.9. Sidecars.— First handicap: K. MacDonald and L. Kissell (Invercargill), 1; W. Turner and L. McMahon 2, M. Slade and L. Stevenson 3. Time: 1:17.5. Second handicap: Turner and McMahon 1, Mac- , Donald and Kissell 2, Slade and Stevenson 3. No time.