Pit Stops

Press, Volume C, Issue 29499, 28 April 1961, Page 11

Pit Stops

NEW TIMING GEAR

The Forces Motoring Club, with its local headquarters at the R.N.Z.A.?. station, Wigram, has already made valuable contributions to local motor sport in its relatively short existence. Now it has plans in hand to develop an impulse counter for local speed and sprint events —probably the most accurate and efficient method of split-second timing which can be adapted for this type of work. Timing has for long been a problem among car clubs throughout the country, and the recent sprint meeting on the back straight at Wigram, where the Canterbury Car Club’s timing equipment gave quite impossible results on the watches, decided the Forces Motoring Club that something needed to be done. The club recently forwarded to the Association of New Zealand Car Clubs a plan of the circuit of the proposed timing apparatus. The association expressed its interest and gave its full blessing to the plan. This equipment is simple in operation. When the shoe placed under the driving wheel of the competing car is tripped, the alternating current begins flowing through the circuit and is measured on dials. These dials actually measure the number of frequencies, and can be accurate even beyond thousandths of a second. The current is controlled by a crystal. The club has submitted its final plan to the A.N.Z.C.C., and as soon as this is approved, work will begin to assemble the equipment.

The man behind this project is the club’s president. Flight Lieutenant A. E. Ansell, whose participation in motor sport goes back before the last war.

Together with G. Easter-brook-Smith and C. F. Hansen, he was one of the, founder members of the! A.N.Z.C.C. flight Lieuten- ! ant Ansell has for long; been an advocate for the back straight at Wigram airfield being used for motor sport events, and local drivers should be grateful for his efforts on their behalf. With so few venues in Canterbury now ; available to car clubs, this ; straight provides an ideal : venue close to the city i without the dangers of; narrow public roads. ; Perfect weather graced ; the Canterbury Car Club’s ‘ hillclimb at the Rakaia ' Gorge last Saturday, and although entries were small, there was plenty of interest for spectators. Once again Ron Rutherford proved the fastest man of the day, reducing his time of 73.995ec set uo last year to 69.525ec. E. Norris < Cooper) gained second fastest time. G. McKay (M.G.A.) drove well to take first place in the sports car section. The speed which Ron Silvester is coaxing from his 1938 Chevrolet coupe has been a feature of recent Canterbury Car Club events. At the Rakaia Gorge hillclimb last Saturday, Silvester set up the fastest time for saloons in 76.945ec. On one of his runs, the battery fell out of the car and shattered into a thousand pieces, but Silvester raced on undaunted with the generator providing sufficient sparks to keep the car going.

A federation of Volkswagen Owners’ Clubs was recently formed in Wellington. » This governing body WilF promote and control the interests of club membership throughout the country. Officers elected were: President, Mr G. C. Palliser (Wellington) ; vice-presidents, Messrs R. A. Barker (Christchurch), A. F. Rodgers (Auckland); secretary. Mr W. Lester (Wellington).

The South Island beach race championship meeting. which was originally to have been held by the Southland Sports Car Club at Oreti. will now be conducted by the Nelson Car Club at Tahuna Beach over Queen’s Birthday week-end.