P.M. tussles with ‘Miss Australia’ on the track

Press, 16 November 1987, Page 3

P.M. tussles with ‘Miss Australia’ on the track

By

ROBERT LOWE

NZPA correspondent Adelaide The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, having the first overseas race of his motor-racing career, finished in fifteenth place yesterday in the Nissan Celebrity Challenge Race on the Adelaide Grand Prix circuit.

Starting at position 18 among the 24 contestants on the grid, Mr Lange made up three places during the course of the fivelap, 19km event. His Nissan Pulsar Vector SSS sedan recorded a time of 12min 18.6 s and a fastest lap of 2min 22.8 s for the 3.78 km street circuit.

For most of the race, he was seen tussling with

Balclutha-born “Miss Australia,” Miss Judi Green, who had started three places ahead of him.

Perth-based Miss Green, who finished one ahead of Mr Lange, was the best of the three women drivers in the field.

"I was dicing with ‘Miss Australia’ for a good part of the time,” he said. "I whacked her on the backside, or the bumper, at one stage. She took that very gallantly.” Mr Lange said the race itself was a fast one and he was pleased with his performance. “I made up three places, and they weren’t from people behind me and they weren’t from people who hit the wall,” he said. “It was a race which had a lot of fast cars in it. It was like Khyber Pass at rush hour.

“What happened was you charged off, and people had to go through ditches and banks and dust and things. “Eventually they broke off a bit and it was then

possible to actually start to drive.”

Mr Lange said he had only one really difficult moment.

“I had to dodge a car at one of the right-angled bends and ended up going all sorts of peculiar places on those big breaker things there,” he said. “But that was the only mad moment.”

Mr Lange said he had no thoughts of giving up motor-racing.

“It’s very exciting, it’s adrenalin-raising, it’s just a general flush-out of the emotions,” he said. “I think people who can’t do that sort of thing are extremely jealous and start saying you should be working as a Prime Minister 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” Asked who his critics were, he said: “Editors mainly, and occasionally names I can’t remember across there in Opposition.”

However, his ambitions did not extend to Formula One, he said. “You have to be the size of a jockey to drive in Formula One.”

The Celebrity Challenge : $ - ...

was won by one of two non-celebrities in the field. A Sydney resident, Mr Grant Witheridge, was one of two winners in a natinoal raffle which had participation in the race as the prize. Starting from pole position, he was not headed on his way to the chequered flag, during which he recorded the fastest lap of 2m 17.35.

He finished 5.2 s ahead of the second place-getter, Victorian-based New Zealander Eddie Rayner, who plays keyboard for the band, Crowded House, and 40.4 s ahead of Mr Lange. Third was a jazz trumpeter, James Morrison. Among those Mr Lange beat home were the America’s Cup skipper, lain Murray, the former test cricket captain, lan Chappell, the Australian Army’s Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant-General Laurie O’Donnell, and the television interviewer, Clive James;

The marathon runner, Rob de Castella, was the only driver not to finish he crashed the front of his car against a wall.