radio A 15-1- Vori Promi - 86 Although it has been said before, the field for Sunday's Phillip Mills Luxury Cars Lady Wigrama Trophy race and preliminary heat really does have the makings of one of the closest races for some time. This year will see a return to the one-race system for the Lady Wigram Trophy, with a 30 lap event for the trophy being preceded by an earlier 20-lap event that will count for polms towards the New Lealand internationa series only. With the majority of the held equipped with various exampies of the ubiquitous Ralt RT4, there will not be much to choose between machinery, ang. spectators on Sunday can be sure that the winner will have overcome the competitors by sheer driving talent. Uver the years, the Lady Wigram Irophy Race meeting has attracted the cream of the world's driving talent to Christchurch to contest New Zealand's longest-surviving motor-sport event. The ultra-fast airfield circult nas proven popular with overseas and local competitors alike, despite a ¡ couple of bad dips in the suriace where the track crosses drainage chanels. Members of the organising body, the Motor Racing Club, have spent many manhours each year converting Wigram from an operational air base to a motor race circuit so that the likes LADY LARAM se of closest races for some tim TROPHY MEETING SUNDAY JANUARY 19,1986 of Brabham, Moss, Clark, Christchurch enthusiasts strives to WOrK which was being With an evenly Group Cars, own Trevor Crowe, racing the ever popular classes, for 1986, Fashion Ross from the some trophy race prospects, in тапу SOONSOr, and tory. cpriet tha Sunday's trophy race w chance of winning outright despite using outdated equipment relative to the cars of Cheever and Davy Jones. This season, MacPherson has adopted the can't beat them, join them" philosophy returning with the Graham Watson Ralt Australia team. Watson • runs the latest specification Rait equipment, so MacPherson should want for nothing in the way of machinery, and his win at Bay Park proved be has the ability. The fast Wigram circuit should suit MacPherson's charging style on Sunday, and the likeable American who made many friends here during his last visit would prove popular winner should he be first past the flag on Sunday. Two further Americans, the brothers Steve and Cary Bren, come to New Zealand as two of the most promising prospects on the American domestic motor racing scene. Coming to motor racing from a background of motor cycle racing, the Brens have been top performers in formula Ford and Super Vee racing in the United States. Super Vee cars are similar to Pacific cars in concept albeit with less powerful Volkswagen engines. Both Bren brothers are keen on maintaining a high standard of physical fitness and complete up to 160 km of trainie in preper on for marine cons inner is likely to be driving a Ralt RT4, seen here winner, Ross Cheever. üpped to : contest this sezson's prestigious International Formula 3000 series following his New Zealand foray. With a reputed budget of over $300,000 to do the New Zealand series, the Bren brothers are obviously well equipped to do it properly. Once again, the fide open spaces of the Wigram circuit should suit these Americans better than the predoninantly twisty North Island circuits, and their Garyin Brown Racing Budweiser Ralts should be among the front runners on Sunday. The final driver from the United States is another Super Vee racer, Ted Prappas. Prappas's credentials from the Super Vee series are also good, and although he had a reputation of being a better oval track driver than a road racer, Prappas has proven the critics wrong with some ecellent arives on the New Zealand road circuits to date, being aruculariy impressive al Pukekohe • Prappas races in the black colours of the expatriate New Zealander. Alan MeCall, who ran MacPherson last season. As the pole sıloo man at tesłasi • Puxekone cırcun rrappa: might prove the dark horse of the field and provide MacPherson with his toughest challenge on Sunday. To describe the Auckland driver, Ken Smith, as a vataryz manid ho to amalog In fact, it is hard io find words to describe the ability of the diminutive Smith, a driver who has been among the top in his trade for more than : 20 seasons of racing. Smith has frequently amazed visiting drivers of balf his age with his stil! quick reactions, and has constantiy set a standard for young New Zealand drivers to aim at. All this Smith does with the benefit of as little as four race meetings year, spending the rest of the year inyolved with his otber passion in life, horse racing. A past winner at Wigram and lap record hoider, Smith is possibly New Zealand's best hope for victory in the trophy race. It will be a sad day for New Zealand motor racing when Ken Smith hangs up his helmet. The 80s have seen lean times for New Zealand on the international motor racing scene. Several promising young drivers have emerged, but apart from Mike Thackwell, none have managed to make the break into single-seater racing at the top level. In 1984, Henderson's Paul Radisich appeared likely to break the drought after a promising start to his British Formula 3 championship challenge. His effort faltered, however, when the Racing for New Zealand scheme col- in the hands of the 1984 him to see out the British season. In 1986. bowever, Radisich wil return to • Britain with backing from his mentor, Rob Whitehouse, and it is in an effort to get back to race fitness, that Radisich is contesting this series, including the Lady Wigram Trophy. Radisich appears to possess the ability to lead New Zealand back to the halcyon days of motor racing when names like Hulme, Mclaren and Amon were among the foremost in formula one. A win at Wigram on Sunday would help his progress a great deal. Another New Zealand front ranger will be Brett Riley. At one stage, Riley was on the verge of making a break into Formula Ope racing, and although he now has no such aspirations, be is still a driver of considerable talent.