Interesting battles promised

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 51

Interesting battles promised

Both the Pre 65 and Formula Ford classes have shown signs of revival this season, which is good for South Island motorsport, and the street saloons are becoming an established class with an interesting variety of vehicles. In the Pre 65 class the big Ford Falcon of Timaru’s Robin Laing has been hard to beat, usually heading off Jim Little’s Valiant. Little is another competitor with a long association with the Ruapuna circuit, usually at the wheel of Chrysler products.

The most interesting battles in the pre 65 category are usually found in the middle class, where hordes of Anglias and Cortinas evoke memories of past motor racing conflicts. While Paul Larsen usually shows a clean pair of heels to the Formula Ford pack with his late model Van Diemen, a good squabble over second place can be assured between some of the country’s best young driving talent. Larsen’s priority this year will be to win the national championship.

Among the rest, Chris Hyde, Dean Gullery, Blair Smith and Phil Walker could all acquit themselves well in national championship racing, given up-to-date machinery.

The powerful Viva Hemi, spectacularly driven by Dave Samson, is usually the front runner in the street saloon class, but with a number of cars still being sorted a challenge could well emerge