28-2-53 RON ROYC SECOND ROFT IN BIG CAR RACE WIN TO-DAY RA Romeo, of Auckland, driving his Girmid Pree • Alfa Romeo, romped away 1o an easy win in 38min 42sec for the fifty-mile Lady Wigram Trophy race at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Station, Wigram, to-day. He was followed home by another Auckland driver, George Smith (Gee Cee Ess), less than a minute later. The local driver, Frank Shuter (V8| Special) was third in 40min 40sec, and the two Timaru competitors, Ernie Sprague (Mercury Special) and Doug Haigh (Citroen Special) were fourth and fifth respectively. It was Roycroft's day out. He gave a flawless exhibition of motor racing just as he did in the 150-mile Mairehau race a month ago. From the drop of the flag, he worked his way to the front within a quarter of a mile, and then drew away from therest of the field. Lapping at about 80 miles an hour and driving as only he can, drifted through the fast bends in Iour-wee ses, always under perfect control and never looking dangerous. - Snith drove a steady race for second place, never further back than third, but it was evident that his Gee Cee Ess could not foot it with the Alfa Romeo. Shuter drove his usual forceful race for a well earned third, but from the point of view of the nine thousand spectators perhaps the most interesting feature of the race apart from Roycroft's performance was the Sprague-Haigh duel. The Timaru men raced all the way nose to tail and proved themselves! in the top ciass. For the local contingent it was! not a good day. Hec Green took Bod 210% 9 second place for a time with his R.A. Vanguard, but had a pit stop / after two laps. He got going again only to retire in the tweifth lap. Des Wilde (Alta) Les Moore (Kieft) and John Jacobson (V8 Special) da not start at all-the preliminary races proved t00 much for their cars. Don Ransley (Ransley Riley) retired after five laps and Pat Hoare (R.A. Vauxhall after three laps. The Nelson driver, Halsey Logan, drove well in his H.R.G. for fifteen laps but then he went out of the contest. Bob Gibbons of Wellington, of whom so much was expected with his Cooper 1100, never raced really fast and dropped out after thirteen laps. The Start .:At the drop of the flag it was Shuter who showed out hrst, 101owed by Sprague and Roycroft, who had weaved through the field Then came Smith followed by Green and McLean. It was apparent that no one was going to spare his car. They raced into the hanger bend in close formation, jockeying positions and all driving considerably faster than they had done in the preliminary races. Roycroft passed Shuter in the long : back . straight and so did Smith and Green, so when they came round the first time Boy: croft led Smith, Green, Shuter, and liciean with Sprague and Haigh close after them, and Logan showing out too. Roycroft completed his second lap at an average speed of 19.2 miles an hour, and Green moved up to second place, only to stop at the pits. when they came round again Roy. croit was in front from smith, Shuter, and McLean. The major positions did not alter for a time, and Roycroft settled down to lap at about 80 miles an hour, gradually drawing away from the rest of the field. By the time Roycroft had done thirteen laps he was half a minute in front of Smith, who had 12sec on who followed McLeat sprague, and Haigh. Shuter, Driving from the min 25sec mark A. Moffatt of Ealing won the twentyfive-mile handicap for sports and saloon cars in his S.S. 90 in 26min 33sec. He was followed home by A. N. Stuart (Christchurch) who started from the 15sec mark in a Morris Minor. The Invercargill driver, W. E. Crosbie;. drove his T.D.M.G. into third place trom the 3min 25sec W. R. Willmott, of Timaru, who drove & Morris Minor. 28-2-53 3-3-53 7-3-53 All the major place-getters drove good steady races, and particularly was this the case with the winner, Moffatt, who is a comparative newcomer to motor-racing The handicapping was good, but it. was evident early in the twenty-ive mile race that some of the cars lacked pace and some of the drivers lacked ability. Green Retires Green, who had started again, retired on his twelfth lap. In the next. McLean dropped out temporarily to let Shuter back into third place behind Smith. Sprague was running fourth with Haigh very close to him and in fact the two changed position several times at this stage. Roycroft put in his sixteenth lap in 1min Wiser-an average speed of 81 miles an hour-and after that appeared to ease up, for he then had the race well in hand with eight laps to go. In the twentieth jap he left Shuter, and on the tweny-first he was 44sec in front of Smith, who was doing all he knew to bridge the gap. So they raced to the end The order then was Roycroft, Smith, Shuter, Sprague, and Haig. The pace had taken its toll and two who profited by it were b. Holden (XK 120 Jaguar) and H. O'Neill (Chevrolet Special) two Christchurch men, who came home in sixth and seventh places after driving steadily. Eighth man in was McLean, whose little Cooper had given him a far from trouble-free run, and who had driven an outstanding race in these circumstances to win the D. W. Wilde Trophy for the first car home in the up to 1500 c.c. category. Results: Results: Under 1500 Preliminary • Race.—H. R. Nelson, 21min 52sec, 1; church, 21min 53sec, 2; W. Logan (H.RG) (FA. Vauxhall: Crosble M. Hoare Christ- (A40 Speclal),, Invercargill, 22min 52sec, 3: M. S. Winterbourn (M.G.), Christchurch), 4. Over 1500 c.c. Preliminary Race—R. Roycroft (Alfa Romeo) Christchurch, 20min 18sec, 1; G. C. Smith (Gee Cee Ess) Auckland, 20min 35sec, 2; F. Shuter (Ford V8 Specie! Christchurch, 20min 49sec, 3; H. S. Green (R.A. Vanguard) Christchurch, 21min 25sec, 4. 25-mile HandicapA. Moffatt (S.S. 90), Lating, 26mm 33sec, 1; A. N. Stuart (Morris kinor), Christchurch, 27min 12sec, 2; W. E. Crosbie (M.G. T.D.). Invercargill, 27min 52sec, 3; W. R. Willmott (Morris Minor), Timaru, 28min 3sec, 4. Lady Wigram Trophy Race R. Roycroft (Alfa Romeo), Glen Musray. 38min 42sec, 1. G. C. Smith (Gee Cee Ess), Auckland, 39min 38 3-5sec, F. Shuter (Ford 8 Special), Christchurch. 40min 403sec, 3. F. E. Sprague (Mercury V8 Special), Timaru, 41min 44sec, 4. D. J. Haigh (Citroen Special), Timaru, Wellington Driver Established New Wigram Car Record ine moto hit one 100; established a new lap record for the wigram circuit in the preliminaly race for cars under 1500 c.c. at the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting on Saturday. Gibbons completed one lap of the 2.1-mile course in 1mir 33sec — an average speed of 81.9 miles an hour. • This was announced by the sponsors of the racing, the Motor Raeing Club, this morning. Previous lap record of Imin 34sec was set up by the local driver, Les Moore, driving a Grand Prix Alfa Romeo, in the 1952 race. The time was equalled this year by the Lady! wigram Tropay winner, Ron Roy-i rod driven the pd, ve us car Moore Both the Auckland driver, George Smith (Gee Cee Ess), and the local driver, Hec Green (RA Vanguard), covered laps in 1min 35sec in this year's trophy race to equal the times they put up in the 1952 event. Roycroff Raises P s Wigr roblem am Win tor His Opponents in Future HE runaway vietory of Ron Roycroft in the Lady Wigram Trophy race last Saturday must give rise to a certain amount of thought about the future of New Zealand motor- racing. It is evident that unless a vene, there is little likelihood providing dangerous oppositi Aucklander and his Grand Pri Competent observers did not have to tax their brains or fund of experience a great deal to forecast a Roycroft win in the 50 mile trophy They could look back on two previous wins for the big black ear n ine hanas oi the local driver, Les Moore, and, much closer at hand Royeroft's untroubled and unruffled fine drive from the back mark to victory in the Canterbury Car Club's 150 mile Mairehau road race at the end of January. Wide Margin The experts also knew the 2.9 litre P3 monoposto Alfa Romeo to be a car capable of speed about the 160 miles an hour mark in its heyday, and they could point without fear of contradiction to the fact that there is not a New Zealand-built car in the game today that has been omicially timed at 120 miles an hour. Unless some of the wealthier members of the motor-racing fraternity take it into their heads to import high-class overseas racing cars, it is safe to predict a continua- Lion of the Roycroft-Alfa Romeo winning run for some years to come. As one highly-skilled engineer and driver put it after last Saturday's race: « The mien racing locally-built cars cannot expect to win against a car that has been developed at the cost of thousands and thousands of pounds and dozens of races." This view is a valuable one, for it is that of a sarge part mane development a New Zealand-made cars which sometimes in practice, and always in theory, have been race-winners. He the technical knowledge and skill to build race-winning cars but be admitted that he is convinced in future that the successful drivers will be the ones who race imported factory-built cars. He says it does not matter much if they arrive in this country in a dilapidated condition, for they have " the stufi " in them and they can be made to go quickly and reliably. Among the men racing to-day there are two schools of thought. Some favour scratch racing, while óthers favour handicap events. there are encugh evenly matched the odds are in favour erceptional circumstances inter- - of any locally-constructed car ion in scratch races for the ix Alfa Romeo. I scratch racing, both from the point of view of spectacle and from the point of view of the drivers. On the other hand, unless there are the cars, handicap racing is the only alternative. The Motor Racing Club, which sponsors the annual Wigram event, favours scratch racing; but unless it can be assured of strong opposition, it might in its own interests be wise • to comsider a change to handicap rac ing, in future. Handicap racing might not provide Roycroft with many worries next season, for those who saw him race last Saturday came away from Wigram feeling that if necessary he could have taken the Alfa Romeo around . the circuit faster than his best three laps at slightly more than 81 miles an hour. There is only one man who knows just how quickly the Alfa Romeo will go. That man is Roycroft, and it is highly unlikely that the Domintion's foremost racing motorist will be giving any secrets away.