MOTOR CYCLING

Southland Times, Issue 22489, 25 January 1935, Page 11

MOTOR CYCLING

THRILLING SPORT.

MEETING AT RUGBY PARK.

Thrills and a few accompanying spills, none of which were serious, kept a large crowd at Rugby Park last night on its tip-toes with excitement when dirt-track motor cycling was given its reintroduction to the Invercargill public. Although many of the riders were novices, there was not a dull moment in the evening’s sport, and the standard of riding throughout augurs well for future meetings. The real thrills of the meeting came, however, in the bronze and silver sash events where competition is always keen. The bronze sash was won by G. Mcßae, a rider who gives promise of developing into a champion. J. Checketts, the holder of the silver sash, was unfortunate in crashing on entering the last lap, when defending his title, but it is improbable that he would have caught D. O. Wale, who was riding at the top of his form. Wale’s win was a popular one and he was given a great ovation by the crowd. A feature of the evening was the splendid work of the officials. A signboard, prominently displayed, gave the riders’ names, colours and handicaps, and the crowd was never in doubt as to the progress of a race. During the evening, J. Checketts lodged a protest at having to defend the Silver Sash without having had sufficient competition during the evening. The objection was sustained, and Checketts was permitted to start in one of the handicap races. From the success of the meeting last night it is safe to assume that the sport of motor cycle racing is regaining all its pristine popularity. The races were all run over a distance of two miles. Details of the programme are as follows:— CLUB HANDICAP. First heat: J. Hannah (Bsec.) 1, V. Nye (scr.) 2, W. Gutzwitz (2sec.) 3. Won by three lengths. Time, 3min. 40sec. Second heat: G. Mcßae (scr.) 1, G. Savoury (3sec.) 2, R. Counsell (Bsec.) 3. Won by half a second. Time, 3min. 22 2-5 sec. Third heat: W. Edmond (Bsec.) 1,

F. Fox (lOsec.) 2, J. Swift (Bsec.) 3. Won by 200 yards. Time, 3min. 35sec. Final. Mcßae .1 Hannah 2 Mcßae rode extremely well and his cornering gained much ground for him. It was on a comer that he nosed past Hannah and gained a lead of one and a-half lengths. Despite a strong challenge by Hannah over the last 50 yards he maintained this lead to the finishing line. Time, 3min. 31sec. BRONZE SASH RACE. First heat: V. Nye 1, J. Savoury 2. Won by two lengths. Time, 3min. 22 2-ssec. Second heat: J. Hannah 1, W. Gutzwitz 2. Won by 20 yards. Time, 3min. 27 2-ssec. Third heat: G. Mcßae 1, G. Savoury 2. Won by three lengths. Time, 3min. 20 3-ssec. Final. Mcßae 1 Nye 2 Mcßae took the lead at the outset and rode a splendid race throughout to win by 12 yards. Nye put in a challenge in the last lap, but could not sustain it. Hannah finished well back. Time, 3min. 12 l-ssec. PARK HANDICAP. First heat: R. Tall (7sec.) 1, W. Gutzwitz (14sec.) 2. Won by six lengths. Time, 3min. 16sec. Second heat: D. Wale (scr.) 1, J. Hannah (lOsec.) 2. Won by 30 yards. Time, 3min. 13 4-ssec. Third heat: G. Mcßae (ssec.), H. J. Munro (3sec.) 2. Won easily. Time, 3min. 20sec. Final. Mcßae 1 Tall 2 Close riding all the way. Mcßae won by a length. Time, 3min. 10 1-5 sec. SILVER SASH. First heat: D. O. Wale 1, H. J. Munro 2. Won by 10 yards. Time, 3min. 12 2-ssec. The placed men met Checketts, the holder of the sash, in the final. Final. Wale .. 1 Munro 2 Checketts 3 Checketts was the first to show out, closely followed by Munro. Wale, however, bided his time and then came away with a burst of speed to pass the other two. The positions were unchanged for the succeeding rounds, till Checketts crashed entering the last lap. He quickly remounted, but had lost too much ground to retrieve his position. The time, 3min 3 2-ssec., was excellent for the first meeting of the season. BOXING W. PASCO’S SUCCESS. KNOCKS OUT GUNBOAT SIMPSON. (By “Veritas.”) Advice was received in Invercargill yesterday morning of W. Pasco’s second success in Victoria. He met Gunboat Simpson at Shepparton Stadium recently and succeeded in winning on a technical knockout in the eighth round. This was Pasco’s second fight in Victoria, his first being a knockout victory in the second round over the Melbourne heavyweight, George Nelson. Pasco is now in line for a contest with Pietro Spagnola, the Sydney-Italian whom Ray Nicol defeated. Pasco scaled 12.4 in his fight with Gunboat Simpson who took the ring at one pound under 12st. Following is a Shepparton report of the bout:— Simpson in Hospital.

As the result of the battering which he received at the hands of “Bill” Pasco, a New Zealander, in the main contest at the Shepparton Stadium on Saturday night, “Gunboat” Simpson, a local boxer, is a patient in the Mooroopna Hospital. Simpson had never previously been knocked out in his career as a boxer, but in the eighth round of Saturday night’s contest he received so severe a battering at the hands of the visiting boxer that, after he had been knocked through the ropes, the referee stopped the fight, and awarded the verdict to Pasco on a technical knock-out.

Simpson was taken from the Stadium to the hospital, and inquiries last night indicated that he was not in a serious condition, although he had suffered from concussion.

Simpson, as usual, opened at a fast pace, with right and left swings to the body, but found it hard to break through Pasco’s solid defence. Pasco Superior.

Pasco scored well in the second round with straight lefts to the jaw and left and right rips to the body. He had Simpson on the defensive, beating him to the punch continually. The three following rounds ■ were even, both men striving hard for a knock-out..

The sixth round saw Pasco gain the advantage. With lefts and rights to the jaw, he had Simpson worried. “Gunboat” came up fresh in the seventh round, and scored with straight lefts to the jaw, but Pasco was still fighting confidently. Shortly after the opening of the eighth round, Pasco, with a perfectly timed left hook, sent Simpson down for the count of eight. Simpson came up, only to receive another battering of lefts and rights to the head, which sent him reeling through the ropes. The referee then stopped the fight, and awarded the contest to Pasco on a technical knock-out.

Pasco has now won both of his fights by the short route. His next contest will be looked forward to with interest by all Southlanders. *