Woodley storms to motor-cycle win

Press, 16 April 1979, Page 6

Woodley storms to motor-cycle win

NZPA Bathurst The New Zealand champion, John Woodley, took the Australian motor-cycle Grand Prix meeting by storm during the i week-end. The meeting was held on the 'Mount Panorama circuit at i Bathurst, 210 km west of Sydney, j Woodley scored his third Australian Senior Grand Prix title I in the third year he has con;tested the event, and was also placed third in the Australian (Unlimited Grand Prix. In spite of being outpowered by 750 cu cm bikes on the famous mountain track, lie recorded the fastest lap for the Unlimited race at 2min 15.6 sec — the equivalent of 164km/h. The race was won by a local teen-ager, Ron Boulden, on a Yamaha 750, with a New Zealand-born Sydney resident, Graeme Crosby, in second place on a Kawasaki KR7SO. I The three riders battled for [the lead for the full 20 laps; [they were never separated by more than a second, Woodley first saw his bike, a brand new works RGSOO, when he arrived in Australia on the Wednesday before the race, and it was not until Sunday morning that he had it working to his satisfaction. In the Unlimited Grand Prix he was able to stay with Boulden and Crosby on the climb up the mountain and often swept past both of them in the tight and demanding run from the top of the circuit to Forest Elbow, at the start of the main straight. | However, down the 2.3 km Con-; rod Straight he simply did not i

have the speed to stay with the] bigger bikes. lie worked the Suzuki so hard that the front discs were com-j pletely worn out, and by the end j of the race he had to use the metal backing plates to slow the! bike. Woodley had earlier set a new 1

j | lap record for the 509 cu cm iciass of 2min I9.9sec in cruising 11 to an easy victory in the Senior [Grand Prix. Lj His new lap time was three H seconds faster than the next ; rider, and he won the races by 20sec from a West Australian, • I Graeme Si gley.