26-1-89 ADVERTIING FEATURE DEP BENSON& HEDGES International Motor Racing Series Lady W igram January Trophy M / 28 and 29 eeting Castrol HE KERI Card Airlin PHILIPS 14 Car Stereo s.vž.…- Swift cars like this have dominated the Peter Jackson Formula Pacific series. They will compete this Sunday at the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. Brisk By JOHN HAWKINS From the moment Dean Hall's Swift swept past Paul Radisich's stricken Ralt to win last year's Lady Wigram Trophy Race the two drivers seemed destined to meet again in a head-to-bead duel for honours in this Sunday's race. The race, together with the prelimiinary event, will comprise the seventh and eighth rounds of the Peter Jack- Son Formula Pacific championship. For Hall last year's race marked a turning point in his career. After struggling to find form in earlier races he was right on the pace at the fast Wigram circuit and with new-found confidence following the win he was able to dictate the terms in his home championship upon his return and win the American West Formula Atlantic titie. The race, too, marked & change in fortunes for Swift cars and this year they have returned the dominant marque, honed to perfection by expertence gained during their New Zealand campaign with Hall. For Radisich the turning point was of a different kind, having blitzed the opposition in the previous rounds and taken the preliminary race with relative ease. Gearbox problems intervened in the main race to put paid to his chances. His campaign at Timaru the following week was also plagued with problems, but his early successes had been enough to clinch the championship. This year Radisich, at one stage thought to be a cut above the rest of the field entered for this competition season's series, paid the American a compliment by making a change to one of the Swift cars so as not to be disadvantaged against his rival. With Hall now having snatched victory from Radisich a number of times on home soil, the battle to redress the balance will be on this Sunday. Not that these two will have things all their own way in the two Peter Jackson heats. A Japanese driver, Hiro Matsushita, who finished runner up to Hall in the American series, has Shown glimpses of star quality and he should be at home on the fast Wigram circuit with his Panasonic-(his family's firm) backed Swift. Two other drivers, both Smiths from opposite ends of the age spectrum, Ken from New Zealand, aged 47, and Mark, from the United States, aged 21, are sure to pose serious threats. Ken won the 1976 trophy race and has scored several top three placings since, and although he constantly surprises the unwary younger competitor, be is handicapped this year by driving one of the suddenly unfashionable Ralts. Reinforcing the emergence of Japanese drivers on the international scene is Kenji Mamoto who will drive another of the very competitive Swifts. A driver to watch in one of the stronger fields seen in the main race at Wigram in recent years is the young Hamilton driver, Craig Baird. Last season's Formula Ford champion, he has made a brilliant transition to the more powerful Pacific cars and at only 18 years of age looks to be New Zealand's best prospect for international honours for many years. Other competitors in the trophy race field will include another two Americans, Scott Gibson and Stuart Crow, and the ex-patriate New Zealander, Mike Finch. These three can be expected to have benefited enormousiy from the competition in the series to date and could well strike top form at Wigram on Sunday.