26-1-89 A "PRESS" ADVERTISING FEATURE BENSON& HEDGES International Motor Racing Series BERSOL & HEDGLS tisi *xi3. Lax.z Ri •TAN CERALACSHID ANE QUALIT TRAMI C TIRS Join Andor foall The experienced Robbie Francevic driving a Ford Sierra Cosworth will be difficult to beat in the Group A touring car event at this Sunday's Lady Wigram Trophy meeting. Crowd For many, the supporting events at the Benson and Hedges international meeting at Wigram on Sunday will provide as much if not more excitement as the main race itself. Heading the list of crowd favourites will be the Hansells Sun Valley sports sedans, the likes of which have stirred the imagination of Wigram spectators for many years at the daunting airfield circuit. Kieran Wils' Epworth RX8, basically a Chevrolet- engined Mazda RXT, has been in devastating form in the North Island events and there are rumours of a telephone number budget for this car. Wills is a capable driver who has been around for a number of years, but this year has provided him with a vehicle in which he can exploit his talents to the full. Another front runner has been the Capri Chev of Wayne Huxford, a car that dates back several seasons, but one that has always been close to the front running pace. Other competitive North Island cars have included the space-framed Corvette and Mazda MX6 of Peter Meadows and Brent Willis respectively. Lady - favou Back on their home ground the top O.S.C.A. drivers will be out to prove that they are far from a spent force. John Osborne, in the Spirit of Christchurch Mazda RX7, is always quick at Wigram, while Don Grindley will be keen to prove that the potential he showed last season can yet be fulfilled. The IMSA Corvette of Steve Dymand should also be a strong contender at Wigram. Group A saloons have struggled somewhat to survive in New Zealand outside the Nissan Mobil races. The domination of the Ford Sierra RS500 model world-wide has been bad for Group A, but the class remains popular with the public. Two sensible moves to increase competition have been employed this season, firstly extending the homologation of some existing cars, which enables older cars to still compete, and secondly reducing the race distances. In the North Island races the vastly experienced Robbie Francevic, the 1967 New Zealand champion, has been the fastest contender in his Sierra with a relative new- comers, Gary Croft, shadowing him in another of the bulbous Fords. Be- Wigram Trophy January 28 and 2 rites line up hind them some lively battles between BMWs, Nissans and Commodores have provided some excellent racing. Although the Formula Ford class is sometimes overlooked, probably because the cars are small and do not make a lot of noise, the class invariably provides some very close racing. This is particularly true at wigram where some fascinating slip streaming battles have been fought out in past years. This year the Swifts of 17-year-old Mark Pedersen, the son of one of New Zealand's former top sports car drivers, and the evergreen Grant Campbell have challenged the formerly ubiquitous Van Diemens for the top placings. Pedersen looks set to join Baird in New Zealand's quest for international honours in the future, but the Motorcraft title would be a great boost for the Christchurch man, Paul Larsen, who is making his strongest bid yet for the national championship in his Avon City Ford Van Diemen. Although the Ford Laser TX3i class is absent from the Benson and Hedges series this season their turbo-charged brothers are dominating the new Shell saloon car championship for Group N production saloons. Although this championship is in its infancy it should hold special appeal for those who remember the tyre-squeeling production car races of days past and should provide an interesting insight into the relative performance of different models virtually off the showroom floor. Top drivers in this class include Dave Slater, Ray Wilson and Lou Vandermeer. Finally, the Mini 7 class which has a strong following in the South Island always turns on some close racing with large numbers of these evenly matched little machines expected to take part in Sunday's racing. Meeting 161.Nº: