Mauger after his seventh title

Press, 1 March 1982, Page 19

Mauger after his seventh title

By

ALISTAIR ARMSTRONG

Ivan Manger is back on the trial of a world speedway championship.

The veteran Christchurch rider was one of two to qualify from the Australasian eliminations at the Ruapuna Park Speedway on Saturday for the next stage of the world event in Europe. This year’s world finals will be held at Los Angeles on August 28. Two Australian riders have yet to be sorted from a similar competition in that country. Joining Mauger in the Overseas Final at London’s White City track on July 4 will be another Canterbury rider, Larry Ross. Ross won Saturday’s contest with a maximum 15 points from his five heats. Mauger finished a point behind after winning four heats and finishing second to Ross in the other. The New Zealand champion, Mitch Shirra (Auckland) was third with 13 points. Mauger’s success caps off a remarkable turnabout which has occurred since the six-times former world champion was placed tenthequal at the New Zealand championships in Auckland earlier this month. Mauger’s placing at Auckland meant he had failed to make the eight-man field originally set down for the Australasian finals. But last Thursday, just two days before the Ruapuna eliminations, two Auckland qualifiers, John Goodall and Mike Fullerton, announced their withdrawal. Goodall, second at the national championships, for family reasons, and Fullerton with a knee injury. Canterbury's Steven Hann, ninth at the national championships, was an automatic replacement, while Mauger and Gavin Rhodes (Christchurch) lined up at the start of Saturday's meeting for a one-race run-off to find the other fill-in. Mauger won with apparent ease and went on to record a near-faultless five-heat series to secure his place alongside Ross. Mauger’s victories were all the more remarkable considering that the gritty 42-year-old was still in ‘Tots” of pain from an ankle he smashed badly in the world long track championships in Yugoslavia last September. Ross, aged 27, proved once again that he is virtually unbeatable on his home track. The five-times former New Zealand champion led from start to finish in each of his five heats and in his opening race, where he met" Mauger, recorded a four-lap time of 73.1 s — the fastest of the evening. Mauger finished less than a metre away, from Ross after riding close to his national representative colleague’s back wheel throughout the race. Perhaps the unluckiest rider in the field of 16 — eight of whom were local riders included to make up numbers for the 20-heat format —■ was the current New Zealand champion, Mitch Shirra. The 22-year-old Aucklander expressed fears before the programme began that Mauger’s inclusion could see the end of his hopes of reaching the world finals. His worst fears were realised. Mauger beat Shirra in heat 16 the fourth for both riders and crucial to the hopes of each. Shirra could only trail Mauger for second place after the aggressive veteran had charged to the lead within seconds of the starting tape falling. That result left the two

riders level in second place in the competition with 11 points from three wins and a second. Ross led by one point. But in the remaining heat Shirra had to meet Ross, whereas Mauger had a comparatively easy draw made up of local riders. Mauger duly won his heat comfortably from Christchurch’s Alan Mason, leaving Shirra in need of a win over Ross to have any chance of qualifying. Unfortunately for Shirra, Ross was in no mood to be headed. Once again, in what was the final heat of the evening, he led from the start and left Shirra to be content with the third overall placing. However, there may yet be a glimmer of hope left for Shirra, who in 1978 became the youngest rider ever to win an Australasian championship. After the meeting, Mauger said that depending on his level of enthusiasm later in the year, he might step down from the world qualifying campaign and allow Shirra to take his place. Results:

World championship, Australasian final (top two qualify for Overseas Final in England, June 4): Riders from Canterbury unless stated: L. Ross (15 points), 1; I. Mauger (14), 2; M. Shirra (Auckland, 13), 3; D. Bargh (Wellington, 12), 4; R. Wright (10). 5; G. Joynt (Auckland, 4), 6; S. Hann (1), 7; W. Brown (Wellington, 8), 8. Canterbury championship (held in conjunction with the above): A. Mason (11), 1; M. Brown (9), 2; G. Stapleton (8), 3; K. Browne (6), 4; T. Chapman (5), 5; G. Taylor, G. Rhodes (4), 6; L. Begbie (2), 8.

Heat 1: Shirra 1, Mason 2, Wright 3. Time: 73.8. Heat 2: M. Brown 1. Browne 2, Joynt 3. Time: 78.6. Heat 3: Bargh 1; Rhodes 2. Hann 3. Time: 74.5. Heat 4: Ross 1, Mauger 2, Stapleton 3. Time: 73.1. Heat 5: Bargh 1, Mason 2, Chapman 3. Time: 74.1. Heat 6: Ross 1. Wright 2, Browne 3. Time: 75.8. Heat 7: Mauger 1, Rhodes 2. Joynt 3. Time: 75.5. Heat 8: Shirra 1, M. Brown 2, Stapleton 3. Time: 75.5. Heat 9: Mason ,1. Stapleton 2, Browne 3. Time: 76.2. Heat 10: Mauger 1. Wright 2, Chapman 3. Time: 75.5. Heat 11: Ross 1, Bargh 2, M. Brown 3. Time: 75.0. Heat 12: Shirra 1, Begbie 2, Joynt 3. Time: 76.9. Heat 13: Ross 1, Mason 2, Joynt 3. Time: 76.6. Heat 14: Wright 1, M. Brown 2, P. McClintock 3. Time: 77.8. Heat 15: G. Stapleton 1, Chapman 2, Taylor 3. Time: 78.8. Heat 16: Mauger 1, Shirra 2, Bargh 3. Time: 75. Heat 17: Mauger 1, Mason 2. M. Brown 3. Time: 77.2. Heat 18: Bargh 1, Wright 2, Stapleton 3. Time: 75.5. Heat 19: Taylor 1, Browne 2, McClintock 3. Time: 79.3. Heat 20: Ross 1, Shirra 2, Chapman 3. Time: 75.6.