Crosby tops lap record

Press, 16 April 1979, Page 13

Crosby tops lap record

NZPA Bathurst | The New Zealander,] Graeme Crosby, shattered the Mount Panorama outright lap record on Saturday] to win the 15-lap unlimited international for 750 cu cm] grand prix motor-cycles. Crasby stormed around the track on his Kawasaki KR759 in 2min 13.8 s while vying for the lead with his 1 team-mate, Rick Perry. i His time was nearly 2s better than the previous ] record of 2min 15.68 s set by the Australian international, ' Warren Willings, three years :ago. Crosby and Perry fought | for the lead right from the 1 start but Perry came down in a terrifying crash two laps from the finish. His front brake failed as he came into the bottom of the main straight at 270 km/h and he threw the machine away rather than try to make the escape road and risk slamming into a safety fence. With Perry gone, Crosby cruised home to win by 16s from the Yamaha of Rob Phillis (Victoria), with the Sydney youth, Ron Boulden, only 3.3 s away in third place. The New Zealand inter-

. I national, John Woodley, rode a good pace on his 500 cu cm ,] Suzuki against the bigger 1 machine to take fourth place • 25s behind Crosby. H All four of the top riders I were under the previous 11record. The record pace of the un--1 limited international rei fleeted the magnificent conEdition of the track for the s ; meeting. ‘ New class records were 5 set in all five races on the s morning programme. / Paul Lewis (Altona, Vic,l toria) set a new record for > 250 cu cm machines to win i the Australian light-weight t| grand prix by just 0.2 s from »|a fellow Victorian, Barrv i| Smith, with the New South i] Wales youth Graeme (Geddes, 0.3 s further back ine s third place. f Warren Willings’ young ) brother, Len, also joined the > record books with a fine i performance in the unlimited i novice event. i Riding his brother’s Yamaha 750, he stripped / nearly 12s from his class s record time with a lap of -> 2min 18.55. ; He completely dominated , the event to cruise home 8s 1 ahead of Steve Fisher, with (Rod Browne another 17j -Ibehind in third place.