20-9-93 Wigram part of history By Lindsay Kerr Forty-four years of racing at Wigram might have come to an end last Sunday and with it will be a chapter in the sports history that will remain firmly entrenched in the pages of publications when the great days of the sport are recalled. The 1933 Lady Wigram T been the most memorable, drama to ensure that, should driver, had a comfortable w Kadisich and a bunch of scrap his mark on the Lady Wigram one of the world's great drive Junmy Clark, to win the race o Only one other driver h times — Graeme McRae in 197 "It is a race that I have b hy race might not have it contained sufficient race be moved to Rua- Wigram will be remem- en, now a tull-time racing in over fellow Kiwi Paul ping Americans and made Trophy records by joining ts trom the 1960s, the late n three occasions. as won the trophy more 1, '72, '73 and '75. ten aware of all my life," Baird. "E • drivers alw t nature and rd won tha r Ruapuna in 1990 w sion because of re-se he second pla victory on the old cir For the oldest mr ingly ageless Kenny: 1976 and 91, this standard, finishing in Smith, however, 1993 tor his lugh-spe House Formula One The sight and s long Wigram straig less motor racing orie If Wigram Is по goodbye in a manner seeing Smith circulate Atlantic record? pay knows that it is something speays look forward to Wigram because the history that goes with it." ace at Wigram last year and also at hen the airfield was out of commis- alng red driver, Radisica, has also tasted cuit, winning in 1987. ember in the 1993 line-up, the seem- Smith who has won the race twice in ime he was well short of his high a disappointing eighth place. - will be remembered at Wigram in sed demonstration, in a 1989 Leyton bund of the 3.5 litre V8 car on the its must have impressed even the ntated spectators. more, then what better way to say which it deserved and in doing so 2.3sec faster than the new Formula Local drivers pick up points By Lindsay Kerr Local drivers were to the fore in most classes of racing Wigram on Sunday, with the exception of the feature Formula Antlantic class. Don Grindley crashed his Oldsmobile Cutlass into one of the many tyre barriers that line the Wigram circuit on Saturday, but was back on Sunday in the Tranzam class and duly recorded two fifths and a fourth placing. The Mazda RX7s saw predominantly Christchurch drivers to the fore with former rally champion Roger Townshend finally gelting his hands on a couple of wins after many minor places earlier in the season. •In the international filled Fornuia Ford championship, Shell scholarship winner Nigel Wilkinson haå a better day as he struggled to compete in a car that did not appear to be as good as those of his predecessors. was, however, on hot the l hit to ofe day aligned Mini 7s and the running i round one of the New Zealand championship. In all three races the action at the head of the field was hectic but in the end two Christchurch drivers ended the day with wins. Jeff Brook will go north with a one-point advantage over his longtime rival Robin Wilkinson after they botn posted wins - Brook two and Wilkinson one. Also in the action was 16-yearold Justin Neil, who with three handy places joins his older rivals at the head of the pack. Not so fortunate was the leader in the South Island series, James Daniels, who crashed his car into a tyre barrier during practice, badly damaging the car and ending up in hospital with a broken collar bone and ribs. 22-1-93 Baird PA Palmerston North Defending champion Craig Baird will create New Zealand motorsport history at Manfeild on Sunday if he wins his third New Zealand Grand Prix title in succession. Bruce iclaren, Stirling Moss and Sir Jack Brabham have all won three New Zealand Grand Prix titles but since the first grand prix in 1950 no-one has won three in a row. Other drivers to share Baird's feat of two consecutive wins have been Brabham (1959 and 1960), Graham Hill (1965, 1966), Caris Amon (1968, 1969) and American Ross Cheever (1985 and 1986). The opening two rounds of the Peter Jackson Formula Atlantic series were frustrating for Baird, winner of the Peter Jackson may c series for the past two years, but he stamped his authority on the series at Wigram last weekend with two emphatic wins. In the opening round of the series at Timaru, Baird managed only a third placing in his two outings. At Teretonga he was clearly the fastest car in qualifying and was leading the first race until he was disqualified for exceeding the noise levels. It was the first time a car had been blackflagged in New Zealand for being too loud while leading a race. Two weeks after the incident, Baird is still unhappy. "We're annoyed that we lost 30 points by stree points in le have had a 33-point lead," he said at Manfeild yesterday. reate history Baird responded to the setback in the best possible way at Christchurch with his two wins, including victory in the Lady Wigram Trophy race for the third successive time. His aim in the remaining two rounds of the series is to win the final four races and secure his third Peter Jackson series title. He is confident he can stamp his dominance on this weekend's proceedings. Baird spent the New Zealand winter contesting the British Formula 3000 series in an outdated Japanese-designed Dome chassis, finishing sixth in the series. He has the chance to contest the series in a new chassis this year but first needs to find another $600,000 to do the full 10 rounds of the championship. CRAIG BAIRD