A fine race record

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 38, 10 March 1987, Page 2 (Supplement)

A fine race record

The race-winning Ford Telstar 2.0i is returning to the motor racing circuits as a strong contender for championship honours. It will be driven in the New Zealand Manufacturers Championship by Aucklander David Slater, winner of the AGC Ford Laser Championship in 1985/86 and team manager for the Ford Laser TX3i raced by the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, during the recent Christmas-New Year holiday period. The Shell-sponsored series for production saloon cars began with a one-hour race at Ruapuna in Christchurch on 8 March. It will be followed by a 1-3/4 hour race at Manfield on 22 March and then the series grand finale at Pukekohe on 5 April.

The Ford Telstar 2. Oi, introduced late last year to commemorate Ford New Zealand 's fiftieth anniversary, made its motorsport debut in the grand finale of the Benson and Hedges Series at Pukekohe. With Slater and Craig Coleman driving, the car was a clear winner of the two-litre class in the demanding six hour race finishing eighth overall in a field which included Group A cars. The Ford Telstar 2.0ii features a two-litre fuelinjected engine, close ratio manual transmission, foui wheel disc brakes, alloy wheels and low profile tyres. Its interior features include Recaro styled seats with a unique trim design, analogue sports instrumentation and central door locking. In addition to the Ford Telstar two-litre class entry,

supported by Ford and Motorcraft, a number of competitors from the justcompleted AGC Ford Laser TX3i Series are also expected to compete in the Shell-sponsored series for production cars. Ford New Zealand will be supporting Ford Laser TX3i d rivers in these demanding races by contributing bonus money of $1000, $600 and $400 to the first three Ford Laser TX3i cars to finish each race in the highlycompetitive 1600cc class. "We are delighted to be assisting a number of Ford competitors in this series," Ford New Zealand's director of saies and marketing, Mr Reyn Penny, said. "The Ford Telstar 2. Oi had a superb motorsport debut late last year and the Ford Laser TX3i cars have builtup a fine motorsport record since their debut in this series a year ago."