24-1-53 24-1-53 Racing Sum Drivers Found ner Circuit Easy VeCormack's Bay-Sumner C Racing Club's meeting in aid Fund last Saturday. vers, Frank Shuter, Hee Green, loore, made mincemeat of the auseway circuit at the Motor of the International Air Race The lap times speak for themselves. • Shuter in his T8 Special ripped around the one mile and fireeighths course in Imin 25sec. averaging 68 miles an hour. • Green in the R.A. Vanguard and McLean in his 1000 c.e. Cooper cut out the distance in lmin 29sec. Moore, with the Keift, which went really well for the first time. registered Imin 3lsec on his fastest lap. There were really no other drivers in the sixty miles an hour a lap class. but at no stage of the racing did the fast men look likely to get into difficulties, and from the point view of the spectators the circuit could not be bettered. The thousands of people that dotted the hills surrounding the circuit had an excellent view. of the racing. Fast Driver Since Shuter first made his appearance in car racing in Christchurch he has always been regarded as a fast driver, although in many events luck has not always been with him. If there were ever any doubts about his ability, they must have been wiped away last Saturday, for he turned on an exhibition of motor racing thạt has seldom been equalled in Christchurch. It was unfortunate that there was not a chance of a race between him.. and his old rival Hee Green, but Green, after winning one scratch race, was out for the rest of the day for the distributor drive of the PA. Vanguard broke in the latter stages of the face and Green coasted home a winner with a dead motor. The racing alse showed that the standard of driving has improved in many cases since last season. First-class exhibitions were turned on by Pat Hoare (it Fauxhall), Winterbourne_ (TC NEG.), Des Wild (alta), Jack Tatton (XH 120 Jaguar), and several others, not mention the fastest drivers. The only roman competitor, Miss Nola Blackburn, performance wined nose ing and was unlucky not to get à major i place. This improvement in driving augurs well for the future and drivers with two big races in the offing-the 150 mile Mairehau road race on January 31, and the Lady Wigram Trophy race on February 31~should have profited from the / McCormack's Bay meeting. BIG CROWD AT MOTOR-CYCLING RACES TO-DAY flocked to the crowd of about three thousand Royal New Zealand Air Force Station, Wigram, to see the first events of the Combined Motorcycle Club's meeting in aid of the International Air Race and Kiwi Restoration Fund this• afternoon. The weather was cool and there was! some rain, but the 2.1. mile circuit had dried out before lunch. Fastest time in practice went to Tom McCleary (Christchurch), who averaged 74 miles an hour for one lap on his A.J.S. 7R. No rider looked as though he would beat thei lap record of Hee Green Lady TVig- the racing driver. who in the last ram Irophy race lapped the circuit at 82.8 miles an hour. The programme opened with series of scratch races and riders who stood out in the big fieids were McCleary, J. Kennedy (Triumph, Christchurch), D. Soanes (Triumph, Christchurch, and - the Oamaru rider, L. Lamb (Norton 500). Results:— • Two-stroke Scratch Race (two laps) R. Parkinson (James) I, L. Reynolds (Excelsior) 2, S. Harrison (James) Time-4min 30 4-5sec. 250 c.c. Scratch Race (three laps)-T. Glassenbury (Triumph) 1, G. Struthridge (Ariel) 2, R. Entwistle (Velocette) Time 6min 5sec. Glassenture pace me Smit 350 Scratch _(three laps)-T McCleary (A.J.S.) I, Fabian (A.J.S.) 2, N. Rush (B.S.A.) 3. Time 5min 30sec. c.C. Scratch Race First heat: J. Kennedy (Triumph) I, D. Soanes (Triumph) D. MeLoughlin (Norton) 3. Time 5min 21sec. Second heat: L. Lamb (Norton, Oamaru) I, R. Proctor (Norton) 2, B. Benke (Norton, Ashburton) 3. Time 5min 42 4-5sec. 24-1-53 24-1-53 GOOD SPORT AT WIGRAM SPEED MEETING Although rain marred -the day, about four thousand people enjoyed some thrilling racing and entertaining novelty events when the Christchurch Combined Motor-cycle Clubs held a series of seratch and handicap races on the taxi-strips of the Royal New Zealand Air Force station, Wigram. Heavy rain led to the cancellation of the last event—a ten-lap handicap race. Profits from the meeting will be donated to the International Air Race and Kiwi Restoration Funds. Best race speeds to-day were little short of 70 miles an hour, and some riders a ppeared to have difficulty handling the fast uncambered bends. The only rider to suffer fall was M. McLaughlin and, although came down while travelling fast, he was uninjured. Most thrilling_racing was seen in the final of the 500 c.c. scratch race, which J. Kennedy, riding a Triumpn, won comfortably after a stern tussle with D. Soanes. (Triumph), McLaughlin (Norton) and the Oamaru rider, Les Lamb (Norton) in. the eariy stages. Soanes led from Kennedy, with McLaughlin third at the end of the first lap. In the next lap, Kennedy passed Soanes and drew away from then on to win comfortably Mcleary Wins Easily The 350 c.c. scratch race resulted in an easy win for McLeary, who returned a time of 5min 30sec—the fastest race time of the day. MeLeary rode a fast, steady race and looked untroubled from start to finish. The winner of the one-lap motorassisted cycles' event Allfrey, averaged about 30 miles an hour from a standing start. Taking into account the nature of some of the bends, he must have reached almost 50 miles an hour on the longeri straights. The side-car race attracted only three entrants. Results: Results:— R. Parkinson (James) Tearsinson Scrame Face Reynolds Reynolds (Excelsior) 2, S Harrison (James) 3. Time- 4min 30 4-5sec. 250 c.c. Scratch Race (three laps)-T. Glassenbury (Irumph) L, G. Struthridge (Ariel) R. Entwistle (Velorette) Time min sec. 350 Scratch Race _(three laps),T. 5. v.c. Scratch Race (three laps)- First heat: J. Kennedy (Triumph) 1, D. Soanes (Triumph) D. icLoughlin (Norton) 3. ' Time: 5min 21sec. Second heat: L. Lamb (Norton, Benke (Norton, Oamaru) 1, Proctor (Norton) 2, Ashburton) 3. Time 5min 42 4-5sec. Final_Kennedy 1, Soanes 2, Lamb 3. Time5min 36 4-5sec. First Handicap (three laps)-D. Brownlee 10sec, 1; J. Ledgard (B.S.A.), 75sec, (Excelsiot) z: S. Harrison (James), 60sec, 3. Time 8min 3 2-5sec. Second Handicap (three laps) -B. Stewart (Triumph), go, 1; P. Phillips (B.S.A.), 40sec, '2; E. Mclaughlin (Norton), 5sec, 3. Time-6min 48 4-5sec. Side-car Race (two laps)—R. : Burns (Rudge) -1, K. Lipscombe (Rudge) 2, R. Entwistle (Rudge) 3. Time-5min 11sec: Motor-assisted Cycle Race (one. lap)- L. Allfrey 1, H. Harris •2, C. Weaver Time-4min 47 4-5sec. Motor-scooter Race. V. Wilson 1, M. Marshall 2, R. Marks 3. Time-4min Women's Race W. 1% pilver (B,SA.) go; 1; la. "Horgari "*Royal Enfleia). 2; S: Robinson ( James), :40séc, '3." Time: 3min 47gec.