16-1-75 Wigra The drivers who began the series as favourites have been disappointing so far unless you include Warwick Brown, who some people favoured - before the series began. Graham McRae, who withdrew from the series on Tuesday, has been FIsuaded to continue and will be racing at Wigram. On paper - and on the track, for that matter McRae has everything going for him, except the GM2. If oniy he could avoid those small niggling problems and finish a few races he would almost certainly be in the first two or three. So many people have been talking about a jinx on McRae that pernaps he is starting to believe it, although he is a man who knows that preparation, and then more checking is the only way checking to win races. He has been thorough, and his attitude is as professional as one could find anywhere, but the pressure of running his own team must be severe. Last year's winner, Peter Gethin, had the support of the VDS team behind him m may be cr By RUSS and only had to worry about the driving. McRae has to worry about everything, including the weather - he doesn't have any rain tyres. Chris Amon is not as thoroughly prepared for the series as McRae. His car did not arrive in Auckland until a few days before the Levin race and he had precious little time to set it up and test it. But he is one of the best men in the business at sorting out cars and if the Talon has any potential at all he should be able to make use of it. Perhaps the trouble with Amon is that he is no longer hungry. He has had so much success - short of winning races — that he is assured of a drive and a very comfortable living for some years yet. His prestige is such that he will be paid handsomely even if he does not win a single race. Warwick Brown, on the other hand, is hungry. He has already escaped by the skin of his teeth from one bad accident and come back fighting harder than ever. He makes no secret of the fact that he wants a Formula One drive and one way to get that is to win the Stuyvesant series. He could do it. He is probably the most polishe younger driver in this part of the world, and has demonstrated his ability to learn by going to the United States, working hard, and becoming faster - and safer. Unlike Amon, and to some extent McRae, he badly wants the extra money and prestige that wins in the Stuyvesant series can give him and, buoyed up by his early successes, he should be hard to stop. Graeme Lawrence has the steadiness to win the series, especially if he can keep going when the more spectacular drivers blow up. He has the experience and organisation to win without actually being the fastest driver, and his Lola seems to be very remadle. The P.O.S.B. series helped him to get the car properiy set up and he is taking full advantage of this edge he has over some of the other drivers. Jimmy Murdoch is fast, and the Begg Ol8 is obviously a very fine car, but he is still a very JunIor member of the big league. However, there is nothing like success to make or break a driver and my guess is that Jimmy Murdoch will be a much improved driver by the end of the series. ucial race of ELL JONES) Most of the other New Zealanders must be discounted, barring lucky breaks, but one who could cause some surprises Ken Smith. His Lola is competitive and as Ken showed in the little March last year he is a very capable driver. Given a bit of luck Ken could finish the series with тоге points than a lot of other drivers. Last season's New Zealand champion, David has been given a Oxton in Maz drive Stewart's Lola T330 and should perform well on Sunday, but he will have little titne to prepare the and it would be unfair to expect big things of him. Who will win at Wigram? Form in the other two races is not reliabie guide because some drivers were still sorting out their and Wigram is not like Pukekohe or Levin. It is wide, fast, flat, and has some nasty bumps. Lola drivers have been having problems with fuel capacity. Graeme Lawrence Ian Out of fuel at Pukekohe and almost ran dry at Levin as weil. Ine Wigram race is just as long and, because the cars will be travelling faster, fuel consumption will rise. The practice day on Saturday will, as usual, be just as interesting as race day itsell. is is fascinating watching the drivers iearing the circuit and trying to bring their times down. The fight for pole position will between MicRae, Amon and Brown. Amon set the fastest lap during the race at Pukekohe - he was aimost 2sec faster than Brown and if it had not been for a pit stop to change tyres, which took longer than it should have, Amon might have been pushing Brown in that race. Ine 30-year-old former Ferrari workes driver has the most experience of the three and is used to fast, open circuits. If he can get the Talon set up for Wigram soon enough he will set a time which the others will find hard to beiter. Brown will want to be on pole, but he will want to win the race more and may consider it wiser to conserve his car during the practice. Wigram is such a wide track that passing is problem and Brown would be well advised to drive a very tactical race, seiting lor a certain third or fourth rather than going al! out from the start, I he adopts this tactic it could win him the race because the initial leader at Wigram often sets too fast a pace and suffers the consequences. But tactics probably play series littie part in Brown's calculations. He intends win the series, and if he can win every race in the process so much the better. He knows he hass a fair chance of being the fastest man the Australian circuits. which must help his confidence a lot. McRae. Well, he's been the fastest man at Wigram for four years and he will not give up the title easily. McRae doesn't need tactics, he simply sets fastest lap and then leads the race until he wins or g 10c nut disintegrates and he retires. Everyone will have their eye on Murdoch, and he will feel this keenly. Is he a driver with a one-race career behind him? The Avatralian promters don't think so because they have invited him to compete in the Australian rounds of the series. But this will have added to Murdoch's problems and Wigram will ge a severe test of his character as a driver. In my opinion Chris Amon has the best chance of winning at Wigram, with McRae second and Brown third. If VicRae and Amon fail to gain high places in this race their chances of success in the Stuyvesant series will be very slim indeed. KEN SMITH of Auckland has been a top singie-seater driver for years, but never in a F5000 car. In recent years he has tried A-cars, but has always stuck with the two-litre machine, being easily fastest small car in the last series. Smith . has been racing about 12 years and has through most of his career been close rival of Graeme Lawrence, He has already • earned four points in the present series in his Lola T332, and that's four more points than MicRae or Amon. NEIL DOYLE (Ashburton) has his Surtees TS9B going really well, and would be a threat to the top cars on the fast Wigram circuit. Doyle scored a win and some good placings in the P.O.S.B. E5000 series. ROBBIE BOOTH of Auchland showed a lot of potential last season in the old Begg FM4. Although he hasn't a Formula 5000 car of his - own, he drives for the Bill David Team in tha rebuilt Begg FM4. Aiways a courageous driver, tris pleasant young man onl needs a competitive car to begin to fulfil his potentia:. FRANK .BRAY (Auckland) has in a few short months established himself as one of the quickest F5000 drivers in the country. Unfortunately the Begg FM5 he is driving is a bir long in the tooth and would be hard-pressed to win the international series in the hands of Jackie Stewart. But with increasing confidence and increasing skill. Frank Bray could well give some of the better-known drivers a fright.