Steve for a Millen Ralt - i drops Ch with big su eurons CCeSS Penfolds, the winemakers, are sponsoring Steve Millen for the Formula Pacine series this year. Millen will drive a Chardon Ralt RT 1. In true sponsorship style, the deal was announced in a sensational manner, with the racing car on top of tonnes of ice in an Auckland hotel. "Chardon" is the name of a new wine from Penfolds. Millen has raced Chevrons for five years, but he now says the cars are uncompetitive. "I spent most of the year . following European and American championship results, and after Ralts won the American Formula Atlantic championship, the British championship and choice of car was obvious, the Macao Grand Prix, my he said. In his first test session, Millen lapped faster in the first few laps than he had ever gone in the Chevron Millen is best known as the 1977 South-East Asia champion, and one of the top New Zealanders in the International Series over the past three vears. He is a very versatie driver, having won races in single-seaters, saloon cars, rally cars, rallycross cars, and speedway midgets. The 29-year-old Aucklander is a professional driver from Auckland, who started his career in hillclimb. and sprints more than 10 years ago. hardon The His first single-seater drive was in a Formula Ford at the 1973 Singapore Grand Prix, where he won his class. He then went into a Formula 2 Chevron, and took first in class in the 1975 Stuyvesant Series. Millen has come second in the now-defunct Heatway Rally, and won the South Pacific • Saloon Car Championship. . The Ralt he will be driving is one of the fastest and most reliable racing cars of its class in the world, even though it does look a bit chunky. The car is deceptively efficient aerodynamically and very fast along the "Chardon" Ralt on the trac straights. To obtain even better aerodynamics, the team has developed sidepods. They are bolted to each side of the car and result in a greater downforce, giving more stability at high speeds. Po It will be a very close race for points at Wigram this weekend. Only four points separate the first and third placed drivers, so racing should be very exciting. A Dutchman, an Australian, and a New Zealander are scrabbling • for honours in the Formula Pacific series. Huub Rothengatter (Holland) is in the lead, with 49 Ints points, followed by John Smith (Australia), with 47 points, and third is New Zealander Steve Millen, with 45 points. Points for other drivers Brett Riley, 31; Dave Mc Millan, 25; Ken Smith and Andrea De Cesaris, 22; David Oxton, 19; Larry Peskins, 16; Ian Flux, 13, Grant Campbel, 12. 23 - 1-80 Oxtor David Oxton 'letting dust settle? David Oxton is being sponsored by Pye for the next iwo years. The company will be highlighting its Driving Force car radios during its involverent with motor racing. For this season anyway, Oxton has decided to continue racing his Chevron B34. "We felt no better car could be offered at this stage," he said. • "Cars are going through an evolutionary change from previous principles of road-holding, to ground effects which use aerodynamics to give the car greater grip on the road" "We want to let the dust settle and see what types of cars are successful in this New Zealand series or during the early part of the European season before committing : ourselves in a new vehicle." Once that is established, the team will buy a new car, and keep the Chevron as a spare chassis. Oxton, 33, has been racing for 16 years, which included a trip to the United Kingdom for the Formula Ford final. He has won the New Zealand Gold Star singleseater title three times, won the sports car championship, the Formula Ford championship twice, and has been a consistent frontrunner in Formula Pacific. His racing has included stints in a Daimler SP250, a Formula Ford, Begg Formula 5000, and a March Formula One. He got into single-seaters in 1968 in a 1500cc Brab- ham, finishing runner-up for the series that year and the following one