BROADSIDING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21255, 9 February 1931, Page 3

BROADSIDING.

GOOD TIMES RECORDED. FINISHES LACK INTEREST. Good riding in practically every event characterised the meeting at the broadsiding stadium on Saturday night, and yet from the point of view of the average spectator it was probably the most unsatisfactory seen in Dunedin this season. The two Australians and the two Englishmen all showed themselves to be finished riders and daring broadsiders* while the times recorded in several of the events were remarkably fast, two races being done in under 83 seconds. The trouble, however, lay in the fact that on almost every occasion one rider was too fast for the others, with the result that he took the lead from the start, and the race developed into something of a procession. Every race on the programme was a scratch event, and this, of course, only helped to increase the tendency, the fast men being able to get out in front from the first bend. .

While this was the general rule, there were one or two brilliant exceptions. In the first heats of the Bix Six Scratch Race the result was in doubt right up till the last moment, and the winner only got home by the barest of margins. The second heat also produced a great duel between Mangham and Boyd for second place, the latter winning by three-quarters of a length. From then on the thrilling element was practically absent, although Bond and Kempster made a good race of it in the final of the same event. Until he crashed in the third heat of the International Points Race, Bishop was the outstanding rider of the night. He roared into the bends at tremendous speed, and, cornering without the suggestion of unsteadiness, he seemed scarcely t 6 alter his pace from the fail of the flag until-he passed the winning post, generally well in the lead. His very brilliance robbed the races of some of their interest, for, as has been said, he seldom left the issue in doubt. Had he been handicapped by a second or so the spectacular element might have been more in evidence and the finishes somewhat more exciting. His fall was a very heavy one, and he had to be carried from the track, his knee having been injured. Bond and Anderson both rode remarkably well, and Kempster, though eclipsed by Bishop, also collected a fair share of the prize money. In fact the four outside riders proved themselves to be in the very front rank of broadsiders.

For a number of people the absence of most of the local men robbed the meeting of a good deal of its interest. In fact as the evening wore on a section of the crowd made no secret as to its feelings in this respect, and from all parts of the stadium —generally, it seemed, from the younger element among the spectators—insistent demands were made that the suspended riders and their sympathisers should be brought back to the taack. Whatever opinions may be held as to the justice or otherwise of the demands of th<? local riders, it must be admitted that the decidedly partisan, not to say provincial, spirit which this section of the crowd displayed in its reception of the visitors can hardly be regarded as being in the best sporting taste, and it was evident that both the Englishmen and the Australians were feeling the unpleasant nature of the situation. Of the Dunedin riders who did appear, apart, of course, from Mangham, Rait was easily the best, gaining three straightout victories in the Special Points Race. The following are the results:— ENGLAND v. AUSTRALIA. J. Bishop (Australia) 1, C. Anderson (Australia) 2, F. Bond (England) 3. Also started: J. Kempster (England). Anderson was first into the bend, but Bishop ■was hard on his heels, and he took the lead entering the second lap. From then on he 'was never headed, gradually drawing away to win by 40 yards. Bond was following Anderson, with Kempster well back. The Australian passed the finishing post '4O yards ahead of Bond. Time, 85 4-ssec. SPECIAL POINTS RACE. First Heat.—A. Rait 1, A. Anderson 2. Also started: W. Blair. Blair came out of the first corner with a slight lead, which he maintained until his engine commenced to give trouble, finally causing him to fall out. Rait, who had been riding last, gradually forged ahead, and after a fairly even race with Anderson, finished 15 yards to the good. Time, 96 l-ssec. Second Heat. —A. Rait 1, W. Blair 2. A. Anderson 3. These were the only starters. Rait took the lead from the start, with Blair and Anderson behind him in that order. Rait, who was riding well, maintained his lead and won by 100 yards from Blair. Halfway through the last lap Anderson came off, but remounted and finished within the time limit. Time, no o-ssec “Third Heat.—A. Rait 1, W. Blair 2, A. Anderson 3. These were the only starters. Blair was first out of the north bend, with Anderson close behind him. Rait, however, dashed into second position, and this was the order until the end of the third lap, when Rait passed Blair. He held his lead and gradually drew away, to finish with a lead of 15 yards, Anderson being well back. Time 91 l-ssec. With three straight-out victories to his credit Rait won the series. SCRATCH RACE.

First Heat. —J. Kempster 1, C. Anderson 2, B. Unwin 3. These were the only starters. This was an excellent race. Unwin had a slight lead from Kempster as the riders roared out of the first bend. The Australian rode brilliantly to hold his lead for a lap, but with his superior cornering Kempster caught him in the second lap, and Anderson passed Unwin in the fourth. Kempster appeared to have the race won when Anderson fairly screamed into the lead as they shot round the last bend. The Englishman, however, was not to be beaten, and he came with a tremendous burst to win by half a wheel. Unwin was about 10 yards back. Time, 88 l-ssec. / Second Heat. —J. Bishop 1, F. Bond 2, H. Mangham 3. These were the only starters. This race was ridden throughout at tremendous speed. From the first Bishop was in the lead, showing the way to Mangham. who was closely followed by Bond. Bishop was never headed, and after a thrilling exhibition of broadsiding he finished with a lead of 100 yards. Mangham and Bond staged a great duel almost from the start. In speed and cornering they were evenly matches, but, although there was never much between them, Mangham generally managed to keep ahead till in the last lap. Bond spurted and caught him On the final corner. They came out together, but Bond spurted again, and in a great finish passed the post three-quarters of a length ahead. Time, 82 3-ssec. Final. Kempster 1 Bond 2 These were the only starters. Kempster came out of the first bend with a lead of a yard or two. Bond challenged time after time, but could never got ahead, and Kempster finished with a lead of one length. Time, 87 l-ssec. INTERNATIONAL POINTS RACE. First Heat. —J. Bishop (Australia) 1, C. Anderson (Australia) 2, J. Kempster (England) 3. These were the only starters. Bishop had the race in his hands from the start. Kempster was close behind him, riding in second place, until the second lap, when Anderson flashed past him. The order remained unchanged, Bishop winning by 50 yards, with a similar distance between second and third. Time, S 3 l-ssec. Second Heat. —J. Bishop 1, C. Anderson 2, J. Kempster 3. These were the only starters. For half a lap Bishop ; and Kempster rode together, but Bishpo ' gradually drew away. Anderson came with.a great spurt in the second lap, and passed the Englishman, to take second place. All the riders were giving a good exhibition, with Bishop outstanding. | The order remained unchanged. Bishop ; eventually passing the post with a lead I of 35 yards, Kempster being 60 yards | father back. Time, 82 2-ssec. | Third Heat. —C. Anderson 1, J. Kemp- | ster 2. Also started: J. Bishop. Ander- : son opened out a fair lead from the start, ; Bishop being next, with Kempster bringing up the rear, This was the order until in the third lap Bishop was hurled : from his machine, leaving Anderson to finish 100 yards ahead of Kempster. Time. 85 2-sscc. i Anderson gained the victory with II I points, Bishop being next with 10 and Kempster last with 5. j FLYING THREE POINTS RACE. I First Heat. —F. Bond 1, H. Mangham I 2. B. Unwin 3. These were the only starters. For two and a-half laps Bond

and Manghaxn rode almost shoulder to shoulder, the spectators standing on tiptoe to urge on the riders. First one forged ahead a foot or two and then the other, until what was apparently slight engine trouble in the third lap caused the Otago captain to fall back. Despite his utmost efforts he could not make up the difference again, and Bond finished with a deal of 40 yards, Unwin being 50 yards further back. Time, 85 4-ssec. Second Heat.—F. Bond 1, H. Mangham 2, B. Unwin 3. These were the only starters. The race speedily resolved itself into a procession, Bond showing the way to Mangham and Unwin, the Australian being last. The order was never changed, and although the pace was fast, the absence of anything approaching a determined duel, robbed the race of a good deal of interest. Bond finished with a lead of 20 yards from Mangham, Unwin being 30 yards further back. Time, 86sec. Third Heat.—F. Bond 1, H. Mangham 2, B. Unwin 3. This race also lost in interest owing to the difference in the speed of the riders. Bond was never headed, and was followed for three laps by Unwin and Mangham, in that order. In the last lap, Mangham spurted, and rode into second place. Unwin, however, put ii* a desperate challenge, and was only beaten by a length, Bond being 60 yards ahead. Time, 86 l-ssec. Bond won the series with 15 points, Mangham secured nine and Unwin three. SPECIAL MATCH RACE. First Heat.—R. Ranby 1. Also started: J. Young. The two men were together as then came out of the first corner, Young taking control halfway through the first lap. Ranby, however, was riding well, and he came to the front in the second. This was the order till Young came off in the third lap, leaving Ranby to finish alone. Time, 90 4-ssec. Second Heat.—R. Ranby 1, J. Young 2. These were the only starters. Once again Young took the lead, but again Ranby shot‘to the front, passing him in the second bend. Young was showing up in some furious bursts, but he was very unsteady, being almost thrown from his machine on several occasions. Ranby kept in the lead, and won by 100 yards in the time of 92 2-ssec. . With two clear cut victories, Ranby was in an unassailable position, and it was unnecessary to hold the third heat, Ranby being declared the winner. INTERPROVINCIAL CONTEST. WON BY AUCKLAND TEAM. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, February 8. Keen competition marked the interprovincial broadsiding match _ at Western Springs Speedway last evening, when the Auckland team defeated the Wellington men by 29 points to 24. In the course of nine races W. Kilmister, the Wellington captain, and A. Mattson, Dominion champion and Auckland captain, met twice. In the first race Kilmister won by 15 yards, making the fastest time of the evening—Imin 21 l-ssec. On the second occasion Kilmister fell while behind Mattson, who stopped in the next lap and sacrificed a certain win, as the Wellington captain was out of the running. Results:— WELLINGTON v. AUCKLAND. First Race. —W. Kilmister (Wellington) 1, B. Bray (Auckland) 2, E. Naylor (Wellington) 3. Time, Imin 24 4-ssec. Second Race. —A. Way (Auckland) 1, W. Herbert (Auckland) 2, W. Harvie (Wellington) 3. Time, Imin 26 l-ssec. Third Race. —A. Mattson (Auckland) 1, C. Tonks (Wellington) 2, W. Allen (Auckland) 3. Time, Imin 24 4-ssec.. Fourth Race.—W. Kilmister (Wellington) 1, W. Herbert (Auckland) 2, E. Naylor (Wellington) 3. Time, Imin 23 Fifth Race.—C. Tonks (Wellington) 1, B. Bray (Auckland) 2, F. Day (Auckland) 3. Times, Imin 25sec. Sixth Race.—A. Mattson (Auckland) 1, A. Manger (Wellington) 2. W. Allen (Auckland) 3. Time, Imin 23 4-ssec. Seventh Race.—C. Tonks (Wellington) 1, A. Way (Auckland) 2. Herbert (Auckland) finished third, but the point was not awarded. : Phillips fell. Time, Imin 26 2-ssec, Eighth Race. —F. Day (Auckland) 1, A. Hunger (Wellington) 2, B. Bray (Auckland) 3. A great race. Time, Imin 27 l-ssec. Ninth Race. —W. Kilmister (Wellington) 1, A. Mattson (Auckland) 2, W. Allen (Auckland) 3. Another exciting contest. Time, Imin 21 l-ssec. B GRADE HANDICAP. J. Cormack (Norton), 7sec, 1; B. Cairns (Douglas), 61sec. 2. Time, Imin 34 3-ssec. PETONE AKARANA HANDICAP. T. Butler (A.J.S.), 3Jsec, 1; F. Day (Royal Enfield), 2. Time, Imin 35sec. NEW ZEALAND TEAM CHOSEN. (Per United Press Association.) WANGANUI, February 8. The following riders have been selected to represent the New Zealand Cycle Union in test matches against the English riders at the Dunedin Stadium ou Saturday next, and at the Christchurch Stadium on February 21:—Kilmister (Wellington), A. Matson (Auckland), H. Mangham (Dunedin), C. Blacklock (Christchurch), E. Tonks (Wellington), and P. Phillips (Wellington). DIRT TRACK RACING. MEETING AT CHRISTCHURCH. fPer United Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, February 8. Great improvement in the form of many of the local siders was shown at the dirt track motor gycle races at Monica Park on Saturday evening. Three times during the evening the track record for a rolling start over a mile by a local rider was beaten. A. J. Smith met with an accident, and suffered a nasty gash on the head and a broken collarbone. Results:— FIRST DIVISION HANDICAP. Final.—Norman Gray (ssec) 1, P. Lunn (Isee) 2. Blacklock and Marsh, the other starters, had machine faults. Gray won easily. Time, Imin 29 3-ssec. CHEVROLET GOLD HELMET MATCH RACE. One mile. Rolling start. First Race. —C. Blacklock (holder) beat E. Marsh (challenger). Time, Imin 22sec. Second race: Blacklock beat Marsh. Time, Imin 23sec. OVERSEAS MATCH RACE. One mile. Rolling start. R. Frogley (England) 1. Time, Imin 24 2-ssec. Stichewich (Australia) and Evans (England) had machine trouble and failed to finish. FEBRUARY SCRATCH RACE. Final. Frogley (England) 1, Lunn 2, Pye 3. Time, Imin 24 l-ssec. Won easily.