18-1-92 12 overseas drivers for Wigram drivers frem ciher parts of the ship in 1991 and was rewarded here опа learning curve. Hiro Kojima, from Japan, is By Lindsay Kerr Although he is not expected to world will be 'ining up against with third place. here with the John Crawford The international content of the best New Zealand has on Nuttall started racing in 1989 match Westwood or Nuttall, he team of three from the Walter the field is a feature of this offer. after a career in London as a will be disappointed if he doesn't Lechner Racing School, under season's Peter Jackson motor- The premier single-seater banker and broker. return home without some good the care of ex-patriate Graham racing series, which resumes this class, Formula Atlantic, has After his first year in racing, placings. Lorimer. weekend with the Lady Wigram three - Julian Westwood, Harry in Formula Ford, he made a Drivers in the ICI Autocolour Trophy meeting. Nuttall and James Taylor, all move to the Formula Renault Formula Ford championship Leading this line-up is Alexan- Once reserved for the premier from the United Kingdom. series, where he immediately never knew until last year what der Wurz, a young driver who Westwood comes with the best shone. After completing this it was like to have an overseas finished second in the Austrian single-seater class, this time the championship he will be return- contingent in the field. championship and has already international flavour encom- credentials. After serving his time in Formula 3 in England he ing home to an • offer of a From four then to seven this shown the top New Zealanders passes four classes. that he is here for more than a successfully moved up to the Formula 3000 test drive. year, the championship has taken At Wigram this weekend 12 British Formula 3000 champion- James Taylor, like Nuttall, is on a new meaning. holiday. 20-1-92 Wet Wigram race tests drivers' skill By Lindsay Kerr Motor racing in the 1990s might not be quite like the good old days, but Wigram 1992 was still a good day out for enthusiasts and casual spectators. The day dawned fine and remained so until moments before the Lady Wigram Trophy race. Here the addition of a new element made for a more exciting race and the drivers were keen to perform. For the series sake, it was a pity that Craig Baird won, but his win also proved that he is good. His car is acknowledged to be superior to the Swifts that his closest rivals were running, but the pressure put on him by the very professional English driver Julian Westwood was immense. Baird also demonstrated his talent by going around the outside of the very experienced Ken Smith with vision that would have been minimal. Smith and Radisich raced in close company for the 26 laps also, with Smith making a successful move two laps from home. Racing in the good old days was certainly no better than this. This leaves the only real criticism to be the number in the field. Eleven is really not enough, but unfortunately the answer is not simple. Racing at this level costs a lot of money and a lot of money is not available to most New Zealanders. Therefore considering this factor, we are lucky to have what we have got and with the international flavour and the quality of a driver like Westwood a bonus. To compete on the home track is a drawcard for many local drivers. This might also be the last time should the Government close the base down. With this in mind many local drivers would have gone home well pleased with their performances. After being shunted off the track in the first lap of the ICI Formula Ford race, Paul Larsen returned to win the second race, delighted that he could now say that he won a race at Wigram. The accident he was involved in also resulted in the retirement of championship hopeful Blair Smith. The hard-luck story in this class involved Alan Jones, who rolled his car for the second time in as many meetings. In a career that goes back many years, Jones has had a relatively incident-free time. After spending every night almost all week getting the car ready for Wigram, he now faces another task of similar proportions. "I'll be back," he said, "but it won't be this season." Don Grindley, with his impres sive Oldsmobile Cutiass, did his job in the disappointing Primo Tranzam class, taking two seconds and winning the final race of the day. Grindley runs a very professional unit, with a car that is more in the spirit of the Iranzam rules than the two turbo-charged units he is competing head-on with. Once the pride of Kiwi racing, this class is drastically in need of overhauling to give those with ordinary incomes a chance to compete on the same level again. Within the Tranzam class is the GTS section catering for the older style cars. Here local drivers Don Elvy (Chev Capri), John Harcourt (Starlet Olds) and Neville Agass did 30вв00з00203000000800080(0S00:30##84046020780#0#38@809KG0AHDS84A88DGEEA2GA46620X00088800340A804803038A0 Wurz's father was a threetimes winner of the European Rallycross charpionship. Also in the team is Michael Fritscher, third in the last Austrian championship, and Jochen Bauer. Adrian Masronardo, the Australian representative, comes from saloon car racing but is keen to make a mark in singleseaters. English driver Guy Smith, 17, finished runner-up in the 1991 kart series and fellow countryman Matt Aitken has come into the sport after spending much of his time running a successful recording studio. An Italian influence comes into the Group N (production car) championship, with Giorgio Saccenti in one of the Ford dealer team's Laser TX3s. Saccenti has been racing saloon cars and karts on and off since 1978. He took third place in the 1982 Italian touring car championship driving a Fiat X19. He has also spent some time racing in Formula 3 and Formula 2000. Still to come in the series is a full-blooded transtasman test in the big banger saloon car class. Now known as Tranzams, an Australian team of five will arrive in time for the next round at the Manfeild circuit, near Palmerston North, for a threemeeting challenge. their best to provide close racing. The Minis again provided a spectacle that makes them one of the more popular classes. Iney might not look quick but racing against each other in close company is the hallmark of the register's success. At Wigram Peter Black proved to be the driver to beat with his traditional rivals, Doug Drake, Robin Wilkinson and Jeff Brook all having moments of bad luck. Again catering for budgetminded racers, the pre-65 saloon fields had their biggest field for many years. The sight of local drivers Tony Jeffs (Ford Galaxie), Dave Mitchell (Falcon) and Chris Blackwood (Mustang) battling it out with Jim Little (Valiant) and Craig Gilbert (Chev Nova) was a great sight. Not to be forgotten was the small class scrap between Maurie Bone (Anglia) and Chris Glasier (Cortina). The latest in South Island motor racing was also on display and the North Islanders on hand could not believe their eyes. A mixed grid of 40 Mazda RX7s and HQ Holdens, with 10 stil missing out on a start, produced two excellent races. The RX7 class resulted in Grant Milligan and Dean Kirk fighting it out right to the line in race one, while next time out Milligan had an easier ride to the finish. Mark Milligan had a close struggle with Bob Farrell in the HQ Holden class. Next year it is hoped that these classes will be at Wigram in their own right.