16-1-68 14th Int ady Wigran No. it's not another astronaut about to go into orbit, but national sports-car champion, Andrew Buchanan, in fireproof overall and face mask, settling down behind the wheel of his Australian-built Elfin 400 sports racer. 1 Trophy Race Supporting Events Should be Exciting ALTHOUGH the doings of the overseas drivers and details of their cars tend to dominate the conversation among motor-racing followers during this Wigram Trophy race week, there is no doubt whatsoever that the supporting events on the programme frequently provide much of the excitement on race day. The fields for saloon and ports car events, as well as he Motor Racing Club Championship event, are the best to date and probably greatest interest will centre ipon the saloon car events. In previous years saloon car racing has been domina- *ed by the all-comers' category in which were hybrids of every shape and size which were really full-blooded racers, thinly disguised and bearing no resemblance to stock models. Now the all-comers' category has been dropped in favour of what is known throughout the world as Group saloon car racing. Broadly speaking, Group 5 saloons must conform in appearance with regular production models although they can be extensively modified mechanically. Faster For example engines can be enlarged to the maximum capacity of each class, brakes and suspension systems can be modified in the interests of safety and, provided the original casings are retained. gearboxes can also be modified. While many followers of the sport deplored the abandonment of all - comers' the fact remains that the Group 5 saloons have already proved to be faster in most cases than the hybrids. On top of that the standard of appearance is much better and the category has the: added advantage of making! the cars identifiable with those seen on the streets. Group 5 now comprises the national saloon car championship series. There are classes for cars up to 1000c.c.; 1001-1300c.c.; | 1301-2000c.c.; and 2001c.c. and over. The highest points scorer, irrespective of class, will be the 1967-68 champion. Top Drivers Well to the fore at present are Aucklander Rodger Anderson, in the smallest class. : Christchurch driver, Robert stewart in the next class and former champion, Paul Fahey, in the big car category. They will all be competing on Saturday in fiercely competitive fields and these races should have the crowd on its toes. Although sports-car racing probably lacks the appeal of the saloons. the new Austra- Lian-buiit. Elfin 400 it is powered by a big Chevrolet V8 lengine-driven by the 1967 Isports car champion, Andrew Buchanan, is a crowd pleaser. At Wigram Buchanan may have his work cut out by local driver Geoff Mardon in the Stanton brothers' Stanton- Corvette, acar that is tremendously fast and probably more suited to Wigram , than Pukekobe, where it was headed home by the Elfin. New Cars The Motor Racing Club Championship brings back nos talgic memories of wigran and the days of more or less stock sports models and homebuilt specials. This year's field is as good as ever and there are some interesting new cars in it which once again testify to ¡ibe enthusiasm and ingenuity! of New Zealand racing fans. With a national motorcycling championship series his been more than usual in at stake this season, there terest in the two Wigram! races. one of which will count for points in the series. • All New Zealand's top riders have indicated that they will be at Wigram and these events will afford spectators the opportunity of seeing leading contenders for championship honours in a really fast i circuit. Early Events Opening events on the pro- ; gramme are the two heats for trophy race cars. One heat is for the Tasman Formula cars, while the other is for the New Zealand 1.5litre drivers. This heat is a points-scoring event in the National Formula Championship series and should provide some keen competition. Current leader is Wanganui's : Graeme Lawrence, but he certainly does not have everything his own way and with the 1967 champion Roly Levis in the field. as well as the young former sports-car driver, David Oxton, and several others. who are knocking at the door, this 11-lap race could provide an exciting pipe-opener at the meeting, coming as it LADY WIGRAM DRIVERS ARRIVE Bruce MeLaren and Pedro Rodriguez (Mexico) on their arrival at Christehurch International Airport from Wellington yesterday afternoon. McLaren said he had no predictions for Saturday's race-"except I hope McLarens come in the first three like last time."