CINDER-SIFTINGS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 134, 4 December 1930, Page 26

CINDER-SIFTINGS

TEAM COMPETITION

A START IX WELLINGTON

The inauguration of team racing at the Kilbirnie Stadium Speedway should p-ovide very valuable experience ' to tlioso riders who have not previously had an opportunity of participating in this form of competition, especially in view of the tests which arc to take jilaeQ when the English team is in New Zealand. The local riders, Kihnister and Ranby, and the visiting Australians, Bishop and Anderson, know what this form of speedway competition is like in England. The interest in team racing, they say, is tremendous. "I have seen up to 70,000 people at a meeting," remarked Kilniister when mentioning to the writer that the league contests were largely responsible for keeping the speedways at Home going so well. Reports from England also 'show that much of the popularity is attributed to the institution of intertrack teams' racing. Leagues have been formed in several parts of England, to which the tracks are in a measure affiliated, and these leagues decide what are practically their teams' championships or promierships. The events are contested by teams of six each representing the tracks at which. - the men arc engaged to ride; they meet in a series of matches, the placed men scoring points, and the team with the highest aggregate of points after a busy afternoon or night's racing wins the match. The contests are carried on in an exhaustive way, somewhat similar to the premierships of football, each team rides matches on its own and on its opponents' tracks. The races are conducted in heats of four each, and each pair of riders meets every pair of the opposing team in turn. Australia is about to give inter-track team competition a trial, but New Zealand was well ahead with the date, plans for inter-provincial competition having been laid some time ago. Teams representing the New Zealand tracks will be meeting one another this season, but before those contests take place Wellington will have set the ball rolling so far as team racing is concerned. As a matter of fact, team racing is to be- a feature of the programme to bo decided at the Kilbirnio Stadium on Saturday night. Of High Standard. ' As the local speedway season progresses the performances of most of the competitors are improving, and, as was pointed out recently, quite a high standard has been set. Comparisons between times made on the Kilbirnie track and those made on similar tracks overseas show that cinder-track racing here is .of a very high order, and it is made perfectly plain from time to time that some of the local riders have little to learn so far as broadsiding—the really spectacular side of the- sport— is concerned. Some excellent performances were registered again last Saturday, and the successes gained by W. B. Harvie and C. Tonks were well merited, while D. Roberts is also to be congratulated upon being, this season's first holder of the Silver Gauntlet. J. Bishop, the brilliant Qucenslander, was looked upon as an exceedingly strong claimant for the Golden Helmet, and his success in winning this trophy was loudly applauded, tho spectators recognising that Bishop is a really great rider. Kihnister was not equal to the task, but he probably required that outing last Saturday to get into proper trim once again on his home track. C. A. (Tim.) Wilkinson had another un- : lucky spin, falls putting him out of two contests in which he promised to play a big part. With regard to performances. put up by local riders at Kilbirnie, it is worthy of note that the fastest time made in ; competition is 81 l-ssec, by Wilkinson at the afternoon meeting last month. Kilniister's best is 81 2-ssec, made last season. C. Tonks made a further improvement last Saturday when he cut ■ out four laps in 82 3-ssec. The record 1 time for competition events is 79see, made by Frank Pearce (Australia) last . season. . Huxley's Success. ■ Among the.greatest exponents.of racing on the miniature dirt speedway iii 1 any part of the world, Victor Huxley, ' a brilliant Queenslancler, returned _ to ' Sydney from a successful racing visit to England recently, and was engaged to compete at the Speedway Royal and Weutworth Oval Speedways \>y the promoters, Auto Thrills, Ltd. Huxley _is reputed to have won a handsome tor- ' tune during the past three years by his skill on the small speedways of Eng- \ land, ana was always advertised there as the world's champion. He acted as ' captain of the Australian team which 1 contested a-series of five speedway test 1 matches with the picked riders of England, and was consistently successful in ', winning, his own matches, although his team suffered: defeat. Huxley, however, won, among other important events, eight of. a series of nine important fixtures, while his services were, in such demand that he raced on an average five nights a week, and received higher payment for his appearance -than any other rider in the United Kingdom. Huxley, was offer- . Ed a big inducement to visit Buenos Aires in South America, and race there for the season, but decided to return to Australia instead. He was given a great .reception throughout England, and was showered, with presents before leaving for Sydney. Notes. Bert Jones, who arrived in Wellington this week from Australia, was a member of the Australian team which, met an English team in a speedway test match at Southampton in July. Also in the Australian team was Char- ■ lie Spinks. The. Australians won. The programme for this meeting included an individual championship, the prizes for which, were: First £10, second &5, with £I'for winners of heats and seini--1 finals. ••"•... According, to the programme' for a meeting at West Ham. on. tho 26th ' August the records for that track in England, one lap of which is 44.0 yds, as at Kilbirnie, were not nearly as good as those at Kilbrrnie. Tho following were the West Ham records: Pour , laps (flying start), 82 4-ssee, by Vie Huxley; four laps (standing start), 91 sec, by Arnic Hansen; one lap (flying start), 20sec. Three members of England's speeflway Test team are due in Wellington on the loth December, and the other three a day later. Tho standing start record for three laps at the Speedway Royal, Sydney, was reduced recently to JS 3-ssec, by Arthur Maun, one of the Australians who competed successfully ia New Zealand last season. Competing at the Ashfield Autodrome, Sydney, recently, E. Blake, who competed in Wellington last season, rod© a . machine which was stated to have i been used by the famous English motor-cyclist, Albert Denly, to break world's records at Brooklands and Monti'liery. The formation of a cinder-track with a view to speedway racing in Palmerston North, is reported to he well under way. The first meeting is to be held on Boxing fia^i, '