SA Losue Bi Caste: *Beaurepaires. CRE beaurepant Castrol Ba Heavy metal: Rodger Freeth kitted out to lead the charge with his Nissan 300ZX. Dramatic changes to tradit By Lindsay Kerr Tradition has dictated that the feature single-seater formula in New Zealand's annual international motor racing series is the one that lives up to the name of being truly international. Next month's Peter Jackson series will, however, see a change in that tradition, with the supporting Formula Ford and Tranzam cars providing an exciting mix of overseas drivers. The Formula Ford - the coun try's oldest motor racing championship, having been around since 1972 - appears to be as relevant now as it was then. Last season's racing was in many instances the best seen from any class and the races building up to the January series indicate that it will again be a thriller. The races have witnessed five locals doing battle for the lead each time out. Add six overseas drivers that are coming and the recipe for success is almost guaranteed Heading the list of overseas competitors are two Austraian drivers. Alexander Wurz, runnerup in this year's Austrian championship. and third-placegetter Michael Fritscher. Both drivers will be in New Zealand courtesy of the Walter Lechner Racing School. ional format champion in Formula Ford and Super Vee. He has driven many races in the world sports car championship and has contested the Le Mans 24-hour endura?ce race driving for the Brun Porsche team. From England comes an exciting 17-year-old schoolboy Guy Smith. Along with Max Aitken, he will be under the care of expatriate Graham Lorimer, a team leader, who created considerable controversy during last year's championship. Two Australians, Adrian Mastronardo and Gerard Manion, both from Sydney. will also be lining up. The rule changes for the popular all-comers type saloon car racing made for largely disappointing racing in 1991. This time, however, things should be a little livelier, with the appearance of five Australian drivers who in the North Island rounds will appear in a transtasman test series. Here in the south, however, the three meetings will comprise rounds towards the Tranzam championship. On this score the outright contenders look to be no ditterent from last year. Hamilton's Kayne Scott. won the 1991 championship in his American-built turbo Ford Cosworth. and Kerin Wills will be driving his locally-built Chey- Scott had little difficulty on winning on the faster circuits and on all but Ruapuna on the tight tracks. Behind them were Don Grindley (Christchurch) in his new Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Rodger Freeth driving his locally-built Rover-powered Starlet special. This season Scott will again have the same car as will Wills, although he is contemplating an American import as well. Grindley has added horsepower to his unit and will hope to seriously challenge the two northerners. Freeth will run an American 700 horsepower turbocharged Nissan 300ZX Coupe. It will be Freeth's first taste of turbocharging and he will also have to get used to driving from the left side of the cockpit. The series will also see Kaiapois Don Elvy campaign the ex-Avon Hyde and John Fisher Ford Capri. Elvy, who is a former South Island open saloon car champion, will not be a front runner but if he can gain a degree of reliability, he stands a good chance of being chosen with the four mentioned to be part of the New Zealand line-up in the transtasman series. Other supporting races throughout the series will include Group N (production cars), pre-65 saloons and Minis with Holden HQs and Mazda RX7s making a bizzare mint dobut at the Wigram meeting. 18-12-91 US drivers blocked out By Lindsay Kerr The first leg of New Zealand's annual international motor racing series will once again kick off at the southern venue of Teretonga on January 5. In a break with tradition, the international flavour will this time switch from the premier singleseater Formula Atlantic cars to the Formula Ford and Tranzam saloon. This is not by design either. Promotors Global Sports and Promotions have been eageriy negotiating with American drivers but at the time of writing they had been unable to lure anybody for the six-meeting Peter Jackson championship. 1wo weeks "We have discovered that the 1992 American series begins in the middle of February, only two weeks after ours finishes. This consequently does not give the drivers much time to get home and organise. said Brian Lawrence the motorsport manager irom Global. "We have therefore been forced at this late stage to turn our attention to Europe. Hopefully we will get at least two drivers by the time the series commences." While the appearance of the Americans has added to the flavour of the series, in recent years their performances have been disappointing. Most have come with high hopes but have returned dejected after being comprehensively dealt with by the three leading New Zealanders. The fortheoming series again looks likely to see a showdown between these drivers - defending champion Craig Baird, veteran Ken Smith and the internationally experienced Paul Radisich. Baird. 21. left after winning the New Zealand Grand Prix and the series with high hopes of securing a ride in European Formula 3. Regrettably, like many before him, he was unable to come up with a budget that was big enough to do the job. He did, however, remain and worked as a race car driving instructor and did some Formula 3 test work. But he did pick up an attractive deal with • Reynard cars and will in this series run their latest model. Ken Smith has been the New Zealand motor racing scene for well over half his life. But at 50 and with a triple by pass heart operation three years ago he is still very competitive and will continue to carry the tag of "one of the favourites" Smith, who won the series in 1990 and then took Baird right down to the wire in 1991, has demonstrated that he again means business by getting in some race mileage by running in the recent rounds of the ICI Formula Ford championship. He will again be at the wheel of a Ford-powered Swift. Radisich, although haying made his name in single-seater racing; has recently had some success at the wheel of saloon cars. Unlike the last two seasons, where he has raced a Reynard chassis, this time he will be at the wheel of a Toyotapowered Swift. Next year will also witness a name change for the class. Gone is Formula Pacific in favour of the internationally accepted name of Atlantic. In 1977 when the Formula was first introduced into New Zealand as it was not possible to use the label because of the existence of the Atlantic oil. The 1992 series starts at Teretonga near Invercargill on January 5 before moving to Levels raceway at Timaru on January I2 Then follows a return to Wigram on January 19; Mansfeild, Palmerston North, January 26; Bay Park, Tauranga, february 2: Pukekohe, February 9.