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MOTOR SPORT
by Ken Blair
I First round of Craven
hill climb series
Last Sunday's hillclimb at Lakeview and Greg Cusack's fine win in the 12-hour race at
Surfers Paradise are the main news this week while the Goulburn 600 Trial next Saturday and a
meeting at Warwick Farm on Sunday hold plenty of interest.
Sunday's hillcJimb was
conducted as the first round
of the Craven Filter Series
and 37 cars competed.
The battle for the fastest
time was close with honours
finally going to John Part
ridge with his last run in
a Lotus XI.
Partridge's time for the
half mile was 33.04 sec
onds. Until Partridge's run
late in the day the fastest
time had been recorded by
John Sedaitis in a Morris
Cooper S in 33.18 seconds.
Also involved in the bat
tle for fastest time were last
year's Craven Filler Series
winner Bob Tanner in his
VW Special and the Broad-'
speed Mini of Dave Hansen.
Tanner's fastest time was
33.30 with Hansen on
33.38.
These four cars together
with the E-lype Jaguar of
Bruce Powell and the
Triumph TR4 of John
Christian formed the fast
car class on the day. .
With placings. decided on
the average of the best two
times recorded it was Bob
Tanner who gained first
place from Partridge, Han
sen, Sedaitis, Powell and
Christian.
Other competitors to gain
class wins were Bill Nor
man, Terry Margules, Vic
Adams, Peter Quayle, Max
Bauman and Bob Twine.
This leaves seven drivers
on equal first placings in
the Series and a keen tussle
is expectcd in the second
round on September 17.
Goulburn
T rial
The Goulburn 600 Trial
will be held on Saturday as
part of the NSW Trials
Championship and the
event has attracted a strong
field including a contingent
from Victoria led by Harry
Firth in a Cortina.
All the top NSW trials
crews are included in the 35
car field which contains sev
eral Canberra drivers.
Among them is Mrs Jenny
Marshall who has competed
in most of the NSW Trial
Championship events this
year, gaining for herself a
good reputation in a tough
game.
The trial will start from
Goulburn at 4pm and is re
garded as a driver's trial.
Being one of the oldest
open trials in the NSW
calendar it commands a
good deal of popularity
with crews.
Rally
championship
In 1968 an Australian
Rally Championship will be
conducted on the basis of
six rounds, 2 in NSW, 2 in
Victoria, and 1 each in
: South Australia and Queens
land.
Information available last
' week indicated that the two
i NSW events will be the
Snowy Rally organised by
the Sydney-based Australian
Sporting Car Club, and the
1968 Canberra 500 organ
ised by the Canberra Sport
ing Car Club.
The latter would be the
first Australian Motor Sport
Championship of any recog
nised value to be conducted
in the ACT.
Planning for the Austra
lian Championship started
about ~S weeks ago but the
latest news has aroused a
good deal of interest and de
tails are expected to be
available shortly.
Gallahet
Trophy
The feature race at War
wick Farm on Sunday will
be the Gallaher GT Trophy
Race which has attracted
much of the machinery that
took part in the Rothmans'
12-hour race at Surfers
Paradise last Sunday.
The details of the entries
will remain uncertain up to
the start because of the
preparation needed after the
12-hour race.
The Lola T 70 Coupe of
Jackie Epstein, to be driven
by Paul Hawkins, is attract
ing great interest.
Paul Hawkins was bom
in Melbourne and went to
England in 1960 after hav
ing some success in an
Austin Healey 100S, the
highlight being his fourth
place in the 1956 Austra
lian Grand Prix at Albert
Park.
He has had a varied
career and prior to switch
ing to sports cars he made
world headlines by going
off the Monaco circuit into
the harbour during the
1965 Grand Prix.
This year he has had
two major wins, the Targa
Florio in a Porsche and the
Austrian Grand Prix in his
own Ford GT 40.
Twenty-eight entries have
been received for the trophy
race including Brian Foley
in a new MG Midget Fast
back.
In supporting races
Graham Lawrence bom
New Zealand will take
part in the 15-lap event
for racing cars where the
field looks like a short dis
tance Gold Star race.
The 10-event programme
which comprises five sports
car events, two open
wheeler events and three
touring car events will com
mence at 11.30am.
Cusack
ivins
Prior to the Rothmans
12-hour Sports Car Race at
Surfers Paradise the elderly
Ferrari LM 250 of Scuderia
Veloce was not given much
of a chance against faster
and more modern cars.
However Greg Cusack
had his best win lo date
when he and Bill Brown
won the event in comfort
able fashion ahead oif sev
eral overseas teams.
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