20-1-56 CAR RACE WILL END YEAR OF PREPARATION FOR thousands to-morrow's Lady Wigram Trophy car race at Wigram will be just a grand day's outing, but to members of the organising club, the Motor Raçing Club, it will be the culmination of a year's planning. • Unlike race organisers in / other centres, the Motor Racing Club is forced to do much lastminute work, all carefully worked out to the last detail. Because Wigram is an operational station of the Royal New Zealand Air Force it is not pos-: sible to suspend flying operations to allow for bales, banners. control towers, and pits to be erected. This vear, the club is more fortunate than in other years in that it has the use of the aerodrome circuit from noon to-day and will therefore be able to erect much of its equip. ment today instead • of morrow morning. Pride in Work The club is proud of the planning and work that goes into what has been described in the past by overseas drivers as New Zealand's best-run car race. Every member of the club not competing has a job to do, and he is well trained. The man who will control all the racing to-morrow as clerk of the course is the club's president (Mr Harvey Croft). He will have with him as assistant Mr Norman Crompton. 20-1-56 20-1-56 20-1-56 HOW TO GET THE CAR RACING Although crowds at the Lady Wigram Trophy Race on Saturday are expected to be larger than in the past, there will be no repetition of the congestion that took place at Ardmore prior to the running of the New Zealand Grand Prix - provided motorists obey the instructions of Transport Department officers. The two best entries to the airfield, as recommended by the Transport Department, are off Middle Lincoln Road. The Chief Traffic Officer of the Transport Department (Mr E. Wilson) today said that motorists using those entrances_should proceed along Lincoln Road to Annex Road, turning into Middle Lincoln Road where officers will direct them to the two entrances. The other entrances are the main gate to the Royal New Zealand Air Force Station, and from Vickerys Road. Motorists using Riccarton Road should turn sharp left and then sharp right after crossing the railway, he said. Leeston motorists or those: approaching from the Main; South Road will be permitted to use the main gates if clear. They will also be required for official use and southern motorists may be directed on to Vickerys Road. After the race motorists will. be permitted to return only by the same way they entered. They will not be allowed in Haytons Road. Another Racing Car Damaged. Practically every overseas driver, here for the Lady Wigram tropny race to-morrow, has had his car damaged or delayed during transhipment in New Zealand. Latest victim is Australian, Tom Suman, who crossed to Lyttelton on the steamer express Hinemoa from Wellington last night to find, when his car was unloaded, that the exhaust system had been badly damaged. Both exhaust pipes have intricate curves and the force of the damage is such that much hard work will be needed if the car is to practise this evening. Explaining Jesterdar the complicated network of control necessary for a successful race meeting, Mir Croft said that all communication from all branches were ted inte a nerre centre, sitaated near the finishing line. under Mr Les Oswell. • landline telephone and radio. Without moving from control, Mr Croft will have full information of the progress of the race or of any incident around the track within seconds of that incident happening. One of the most exacting tasks is that of timekeeping and lap scoring. Two large, welltrained teams are needed for both jobs. To them, the race will be one of figures only and, while they will be within feet of the circuit, they will actually see very little of the racing. Both teams are co-ordinated under the charge of Mr John Trevor with Mr Angus Laurenson as assistant. Strict Control Because of strict rules, the control of cars in their pits and mechanics must be equally i strict, and pit control to-morrow will be in the care of Mr! Jack Brewer. Flag marshals provide the: only means of communication with the drivers while the race 1s on. From the marshals, by the use of different coloured flags, information of possible danger on the circuit will be relayed. The marshals, controlied by Mr Trevor Woodfeld, will work in pairs at many points around the 2.1-mile circuit. In addition to the organisation provided by the club be provided by supervising stewards will the governing body of motor TACing in the Dominion, the Association of New Zealand Car Clubs. This year the stewards will be the association's president (Mr P. Lupp), the secretary (MI C. Gordon),_ and Messrs L. Lester and E. Hanbury. 24 Cars Entered In Lady Wigram Trophy Race Twenty-four brilliantly col oured and powerful cars will face the starter to-morrow afternoon in the South Island's pre mier car race, the Lady Wigram Trophy Race. For seventy-one gruelling laps they will battle around the circuit at Wigram aerodrome. Favourites are Peter Whitehead and Tony Gaze, both driving Ferraris. Gaze was robbed : of almost certain victory in the 1954 race, and many think because of that he will be trying really hard to make amends to-. morrow. Not Entirely Happy Next in order of favouritism at present is Reg Parnell in his Aston-Martin. He has a different motor than the one he had hoped to use, and he is not entirely happy with his prospects. Leslie Marr, in the Connaught, is rated in the current car circles as being next in line, although it is possible that he could surprise. In the 'sports car race, most interest will centre the H. W.M.-Jaguar of Tony Gaze and the Cooper-jaguar of Peter Whitehead. Both cars are capable of speeds nearer Grand Prix than sports car class. N.Z. Driver Has Chance Most prominent New Zealander in i this race should be Ray Archibald, of Christchurch, : in his Jaguar X*120.