Can Spencer Stratton Beat Percy Coleman?

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 223, 9 December 1927, Page 3

Can Spencer Stratton Beat Percy Coleman?

MOTOR-CYCLE RACING BIG DAY AT ALEXANDRA PARK Can Percy Coleman, New Zealand’s champion motor-cyclist, beat Spencer Stratton, Australia’s champion? The race to decide this will be the big feature at the motor-cycle races promoted by the Auckland Motor Racing Club, to take place at Alexandra Park to-morrow. Stratton has been doing big things recently and on Muriwai Beach the other day he managed 98 miles an hour. He will be riding a 3£ h.p. machine, while P. Coleman, the New Zealand champion, will be astride his usual 7 h.p. motor. Both men will start off the scratch mark and on the six-fur-long track it is thought in official circles that the smaller machine may be more than a match for the bigger. To make the racing still more attractive, each competitor will be required to establish his best time on a trial during the morning, and on this test his handicap will be declared. Competitors will then be granted a small margin to allow for improvement, but will be disqualified if their times show any marked discrepancy during the afternoon’s racing. The entries for the various races have been exceptionally heavy for this

meeting and it has been necessary to run off many of the heats beforehand. The finals will therefore contain only the best of machines and the racing and finishes should be very keen. The Auckland Racing Club is donat-

ing the procee\; of the meeting to the Mayor’s Unemployment Fund. The first race will start at one o’clock.