26-1-56 31-9-56 2-56 British Motor Racing Stars' Fine Exhibitions Whitehead, is making a The English racing motorist Peter winning on the Wigram (Christchurch) circuit. His success in the i 150-mile Lady Wigram Trophy race last Saturdar was a repetition of his effort in the same event in 1954 That ne had to stage a brilliant pertormance to finish in front of Tony Gaze, also of England. ensured the crowd of a first-class demonstration of hard, fast driving. Apart from the smooth skill of the several English stars. the occasion provided more evidence that the leading New Zealand drivers have developed ability that compares excellently. Their disadvantage is that their machines lack the speed of the competitors from overseas. Outstanding Control Last Saturday's race. in which there were 22 starters. was a battie between Whitehead and Gaze, both driving Ferraris, for the lead from beginning to end. Together with Reg Parnell, in an Aston Martin. and Leslie Marr, in a Connaught, the nair headed the field from the start. and only Marr was able to keep within striking distance of them. He lost iis chance by spinni? at the start of the tenth lap and was half a lap behind Gaze, who trailed Whitehead by 10 lengths, at the halfway mark. Pa:nell was racing fourth at that point. i with Syd Jensen. of Palmerston Worth. driving his little Cooper hanasomelv at the head of the others. Ron Frost. of Wellington, also in a Cooper. was a constant challenger to Tensen. Whitehead and Gaze maintained an outstanding exhibition of cornering and easy confidence in their driv-! ing. and their Ferraris clearly took i the honours from the Coopers. which are renowned for their quality in this type of racing. The fourth man, Parnell. was lapped by the tiro lead-! ers and Marr by the fifty-sixth lap, and as it became apparent that onl an accident could prevent them from finishing in that order, interest grew in the tussles for the minor placings. | The Jensen-Frost duel was interrupted when the former pulled in! to refuel and then Frost stopped for the same reason. The latter lost more time than the Wellington driver, and was kept at bay until there were only two laps to go. Then misfortune overtook Frost. A chain breakage brought him to a halt near the end of the front straight, and although a fast repair job was done. he had to be satisfied with a creditable eighth placing Jensen took over from him in fifth place. Frank Shuter, in his well-known Special, completed a consistent performance in a car that was not the easiest in the race to handle by clocking in sixth, with Roy Roycroft, in his Bugatti-Jaguar, behind him. It was an impressive exhibition off grand prix driving by the Englishmen, and a satisfactory day for the New Zealanders, but the Australians had a different story to review. The veteran Tom Sulman had his hands full against the more power-i ful cars as well as the form of the top New Zealanders, and was forced out of the race by crown wheel and pinion trouble halfway through the race. David McKay lost ground through a tyre check early in the race and again at a later stage, and uitimately retired with transmission trouble. Exciting Interest There is no doubt of the interest which this exciting sport is claiming from crowds wherever the important events are held. New Zealand is seeine some of the world's most famous cars and drivers in action. There will be more thrills from the overseas and Dominion stars when the New Zealand road championship is raced here on Saturday. INJURED AMERICAN GRATEFUL TO NZ. 65 WOULD like to go on record as saying that I've never been treated finer in my life than I have by the people of New Zealand, and I want to thank them most sincerely," said Commander G. R. Robert Oliver, the squadron engineering maintenance officer for "Operation Deep Freeze," who was injured in the Antarctic nearly six weeks ago, in St George's Hospital to-day. "You people have done everything to help me regain my health and keep my morale as high as you could" he said. Commander Olliver was a passenger in a de Havilland Otter when it crashed a few moments after taking off from Cape Bird on December 22. His left knee cap and lower right leg were fractured. He lay for four hours and a half on the ice before receiving medical attention. Then he was flown to Hut Point, where he remained for six days, during a blizzard that blew the tent down twice. Commander Olliver was next placed aboard the icebreaker Edisto, then transferred to the Wyandot for an operation, stay ing there till January 18. Then went back to the Edisto, which in turn transferred him to a helicopter. Flown fifty miles tO McMurdo Sound. he was placed aboard a Skymaster, and about eleven hours later transferred to an ambulance at the Royal New Zealand Air Force \Station, Wigram, and taken to the hospital there. Last Thursday, Commander Olliver was taken to St George's Hospital. Bones in his lower right leg were set, and the knee cap of his left leg removed. It will be another four to six months before he can use his legs again, but Commander Oliver expressed the hope that there would not be a limp, but only a restriction of movement. If I am able at some future date to reciprocate in any way, I will," he said. "I don't know how, but I will if I can. "I would like to come back in October and see this operaton through, " said Commander Olliver. "It all depends on my condition, though." Going Home He will shortly be flown home. Commander Olliver is stationed at Patuxent Air Station in Maryland. He has three children-Mary, aged 22; Robert, Junior, aged 1e; and Nancy (Mrs Stanley Nimitz). Commander Olliver has been in the United States Navy for thirty-three years. After relating his experiences as a car driver in his youth, Commander Olliver was asked if he saw the Lady Wigram race. "I sure did!" the Commanded grinned. "One of my doctors, bless him, wrapped me up in a wheel chair and hid me behind a hangar to get a birds-eye view of the main turn. just sat right there for two hours, and boy, did I enjoy myself!" In his own I words, the commander has also been "fooling, around with aircraft since 1927, and speedboats as well. He met Sir Malcolm Campbell, much to his joy, at Daytona Beach on the great driver's first visit to the United States. MOTOR Rakaia Doma RACING in Sat. Next FIRST RACE 11.30 A.M. Track Well Oiled to Combat Dust. • ADMISSION: Adults 2/6, Cars 1/.. Children under 12 years Free. Ice Cream, Soft Drinks, Hot Water at Domain. BRING THE FAMILY - IDEAL SURROUNDINGS PROMOTED BY RAKAIA CAR CLUB. 10-2-56 8-656 Car Racing Sir,-It is time someone raised a protest against the growing number of international car races in this country. Ine charmed life that the organisers have had regarding major accidents like Le Mans last year should not allow them to take their trust in providence too far. Mechanical failure of machines close to large crowds can only mean terrible injuries to spectators packed about the circuit. I think that machines are inclined to test drivers beyond their capacities, and furthermore there can be no justification for car racing as a means for the technical improvement of cars. One must also stress the incongruity of public campaigns for safe driving, and the promotion of these races which excite passions that can cause fatalities on the public highway.—SAFE DRIVER. 7-6-56 Motor Racing Club Elects Officers Officers elected at the annual meeting of the Motor Racing Club were: Patron, Mathison, M.P:; president, Mr C. H. Croft; vice presidents, Mlessrs I. Daikee and P. M. MacShane; secretary, Mr J. A Brewer; treasurer, MacShane; librarian, Mr Dalkee; committee, Messrs J. O. Trevor, L. Oswell, #. G. Bandy, C. McIver Laing, jun, D. S. Drewery, N. Alexander, B. Williams, D. W. Wild. MOTOR RACING CLUB The annual general meeting of the Motor Racing Club was held last evening. The following officers were elected:- Patron, Mr J. Mathison, M.P.: president. Mr C. H. Croft; vice-presidents, Messrs I. Daikee and . P. M. McShane; secretary. Mr J. A.. Brewer; treasurer, Mr P. M. MacShane: librarian, Mr I. Daikee: Messrs J. O. Trevor, L. Oscommittee G. Bandy, well, C. Mciver, W. Lars, jun, D. Drewery, N. Alexander, B. Williams, D. W. Wild. 4-10-56 MOTOR RACING CLUB (INC.). In conjunction with RANGIORA BOY SCOUTS' ASSN. Present MOTOR-CAR RACING on Property of Mr Spencer-Bower, SOUTH EYRE ROAD SATURDAY, OCÍOBER 6 (If wet, October 13) Admission: Adults 2s 6d, Children 11s. Hot Water Available. 3202