4-11-89 89 - 11 ~ 8 9 Ruapuna as race Christchurch's round of the Peter Jackson international motor racing series is secure after the signing of an agreemen: beiween the Motor Racing Club and the Canterbury Car Club this week. The agreement will allow the Motor Racing Club, the traditional organiser of the Lady Wigram Trophy race meeting, to transfer its meeting to the Canterbury Car Club's Ruapuna circuit. The move was made necessary when the Wigram airfield became unavailable because of reconstruction work being carried out on the runways. A number of improvements are required to be carried out on the Ruapuna circuit before the named venue Peter Jackson round on January 28. The main work will centre on a new pit lane. A concrete base 4 m wide and some 165 m in length will be put down parallel to the existing drag strip return road. The exit of this is expected to be in front of the main spectator banking. The Motor Racing Club's existing pre-fabricated pit wall will be used in conjuction with this to form the new lane. The president oi the Motor Racing Club, MT Don Craighead, said that the club was particularly pieased to have been able to reach an agreement with the Canterbury Car Club as it would enable them to uphold the tradition of the Lady Wigram Trophy Race, which Will be the feature event at the meeting. Ruapuna Lady Wigr to host am race One of motor racing's worst kept secrets was confirmed last week with the official announcement that the Canterbury Car Club's track at Ruapuna will host the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting for the next two years. Because of resealing to the track at the Wigram Airbase, the promote. the Motor Racing Club, was put in a no-win situation. Either it negotiated a deal with the Canterbury Car Club or the meeting would have been taken away from Christchurch. The early knowledge of the cancellation of Wigram as a venue did not interfere with any agreement and the president of the Motor Racing Club, Mr Don Craighead, was a relieve man when he announced that all systems were go. "To get Ruapuna was not as simple as many people thought" he said. "In addition to getting tne Canterbury Car Club to agree there was also the matter of the FISA track inspector giving it the ok." On this score some alterations io the set up will be necessary. the most important being a proper pit lane. The racing will also return to the original track, primarily for safety reasons. The new section of track is too close to the main straight and also the old section gave extra area for passing. Speaking on behalf of the Peter Jackson Series promoters, Global Sports and Promotions, managing director Mir Keith Jones said. "We are very pleased that the Motor Racing Club and the Canterbury Car Club have agreed to work together so that Christchurch can experience its traditional international motor race meeting in January. "Ruapuna will provide a very dilferent challenge to the drivers and should encourage some very close racing on this much tighter circuit." The Ruapuna round of the 1990 Peter Jackson Series will be rum on the weekend of January 27 and 28. The series starts at Baypark on January 6 and 7, moves to Pukekobe on January 13 and 14, Manfeild on January 20 and 21. After Ruapuna the final will be at Timaru on February 3 and 4. OD Top driver in series An Englishman, Rod Birley, is the first confirmed entry for this season's Peter Jackson international motor racing series, which begins at Bay Park on January 6. Birley, aged 33, is a former British Hot Rod (speedway saloon) champion and is one of the front runners in the British Thunder Saloon series, finishing runner-up in the British national series in three consecutive years in 1986, 1987 and 1988. The car Birley will use to contest the five Peter Jackson meetings is a Cosworth RS500-powered Mitsubishi Starion. He will compete against the current nationai champion, Wayne Huxford. in the Thunder Saloon series. This will be Birley's first visit to New Zealand as a competitor, although • the seeds for the venture were sown on a previous visit as a spectator. The Starion will be looked afer by a crew led by New Zealand sports car ROD BIRLEY and sports sedan driver, Bob Homewood. Competition in the series appears to be growing, with Kayne Scott's new former Paul Newman Nissan and Robbie Francevic's Sierra Cosworth challenging the front runners from last season. including Huxford and Rodger Freeth.