Get yourself trackside at the Barry Butterworth Classic

17 February, 2016

 

If you’re a lover of speedway, then you’ll want to make sure you’re sitting trackside at the upcoming Barry Butterworth Classic at Western Springs on Saturday, February 20 (rain date February 21), with racing kicking off at 6.15pm.

Image: supplied

The event is a tribute to one of the greatest drivers at the venue of all time, and the race is designed to be just like it was back in the good old days. The fastest qualifier starts at the rear of the field, and selects the person he/she wants to have start beside them. This ensures all the fast guys end up at the tail, and they all have to fight to get to the front — just like Barry did. 

The night will also see the sidecars back, running round three of their series, and it will also be another round of the Champion of Champions Series.

For more info and tickets, visit springsspeedway.com.

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.