24-2-61 17-10-61 1-17-01 One of the most reliable home-built specials is the beautifully prepared R.A. Zephyr owned and driven by the Christchurch man, Butherford. Rutherford has shown considerable skill this season with the car and on several occasions has beaten home much larger, factory-built machines. At Waimate, be piloted the Zephyr-engined car into third place in the race for New Zealand specials and racing cars behind D. Lawrence (Cooper) and D. Young (C-type daguar). He covered the 21 miles. slightly more than 21 minutes, a creditable effort on a very greasy track. Rutherford also managed a third place in the Motor Racing Club championship at Wig- On this occasion he beat bome Young (D-type Jaguar) and W. Gardiner (Tojeiro Jaguar), again in the wet. * Some of the best news heard around the race tracks of the country this season was a whisper, now confirmed, that last year's saloon car champion, Hatold Heasley, of Rangiora, might be seen at the wheel a single-seater in the near future. Heasley has for long been toying with idea forsaking saloons and trying his luck in grand prix races, but opportunities have not offered previously. If Heasley does make the change, he should reach the top very quickly, for he has consistently beaten leading drivers in more potent saloons and shown a standard of driving seldom seen in this country. Heasley's Humber 80 is believed to be producing close to 100 miles an hour in its tuned form. RACING CLUB BEATS SALOON CAR PROBLEM HE Christchurch Motor Racing Club will cater for the increasing popularity, with spectators and competitors alike, of saloon car racing at its Lady Wigram Trophy meeting nest January by running two events each of 25 miles-for these cars. One of the problems associated with saloon car racing in country has always been the question of modications. Rules permit extensive mechanical modifications, but no alterations to bodywork. The result has been that some of the saloons have lapped circuits faster than sports cars, but sports cars fitted with hardtops of either a permanent or removable nature have been excluded from saloon car events. With the Gran Turismo style of car beginning to appear on the New Zealand motoring scene, there could be some bitter arguments on the conduct of saloon car racing this season. Wisely, the Motor Racing Club has decided to sort things out. • One of its two races will be for mechanically modified otherwise standard saloons while the other event will be an open one for both categories. By including this additional race the club feels it will give much greater number of drivers an opportunity to race and at the same • time provide spectators with a thrilling spec tacle. WIGRAM CAR RACE ENTRY LISTS SOON NTRY lists for New Zealand racing drivers for the five car racing events carded for the serenth international Lady Wigram Trophy meeting will open on Monday, when the sponsor, the Christchurch Motor Racing Club, will send out its prospectus. Six of the world's leading Grand Prix driversstirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Ron Flockhart, John Surtees and Roy Salvadori-have already been signed up for the 130-mile classic. Selected N.Z. Six The club has reserved the right to invite six New Zealanders to line up on the starting grid along with the overseas men, irrespective of their practice lap qualifying times. Other entrants to make up the maximum of a 24-car field will have to earn their places in the qualifying sessions which will held prior to race day, January 20. In adopting this system the club is following the procedure of most European promoters of world championship events this year of "seeding" drivers proven ability. For Saloon Car There are other inno vations. There will be two 21-mile saloon car races. The first will be for cars with standard bodywork but running gear in any degree of development. If there are sufficient entries a special engine capacity class cars up to 1000 c.c. will be included in this race. The club's intention in this respect is to cater for competitors mith the British Motor Corporation's "minicars," and the Ford New Anglia. The other race will be open to saloons eligible for the first race as well as those with modifed body work In other words will be "come one, come all" event for saloon hoi-rods, Grand Touring class cars and sports cars fitted with hard tops. AS usual the club will conduct its own championship race. This time it will be run over 36 miles and cars not entered for the Lady Wigram • Trophy or those that fail to qualify for the trophy race will be eligible. Prized Award In previous years the prized Archie Scott-Brown Memorial Irophy nas been awarded to the driver of the first sports car to finish in the Lady Wigram Trophy. Now this race has developed to the stage where sports car driv ers seldom contest the race. At this meeting it will be awarded to the winner of the. 36. mile sports car race. Scott-Brown won the trophy _race in 1958 with a Lister-Jaguar sports car. Subsequently he was killed when he drove off the Spa- Francorchamps circuit in Belgium to avoid another competitor and his mother returned the trophy to the club for annual award at a Wigram event. The other two events on the programme will be motorcycle races which, by invitation of the Notor Racing Club, will be sponsored and conducted by the New Zealand Auto-cycle Union. Entry Change In previous years the Motor Racing Club has been subjected to some criticism because of inaccuracies In Its programme. Inis has largely resuited from its policy, of taking entries up to the last minute. For the next meeting in the series entries wil open on Monday and close on December & Late entries will close on January 8 and entrants who avail themselves of the margin will • forfeit their automatically entry fee. Those who meet the first deadline will have their fees refunded if they come to the start. By adopting this new pro edure the club believes that it will be in a position • to publish accurate and really informative programme.