1972

Programme cover

16th April 1972, New Brighton (MARC)
Report from Car Advertiser and Auto News, 26th April 1972

This was the Grand Prox Midget circus first visit to the New Brighton circuit. The drivers soon found that the banking was very tricky - they had difficulty sitting upright in their cockpits , the joints in the concrete gave them a very bumpy ride and it was very difficult to pick a fast line through the steeply banked turns. A narrow 'lane' at the bottom of the slope allowed room for just one Midget. The cars on the outside line were forced up onto the banking , three abreast in some cases. There was a sensation in practice when front runner Paul Emery had a rear hub upright break, effectively putting him out of all further racing for the weekend.

Race one: There was a terrific duel for the first four places in the opening race David Niven took the lead on lap four leaving Griffiths, Brian Spicer and Tony Stubbs to dispute second spot. Niven maintained his lead to the end for a well deserved win, followed by Griffiths, Spicer and Stubbs. Peter Smith was fifth and Cliff Davis bought the Team Advertiser car home in sixth place after a very unhappy ride on the banking.

In race two Griffiths made a lightning start and was leading by lap three closely pursued by Spicer and Niven. It was a race packed with incident and cars were spinning everywhere. It was during one of these tangles that Spicer and Niven slipped by Griffiths on lap 10. Undaunted Griff took up the chase closely followed by Stubbs and repassed Niven on lap 12 as he was spinning wildly. At the finish Spicer was leading from Griffiths, Stubbs, Peter Smith and a slightly more cheerful Cliff Davis.

In the final Peter Smith leapt straight into the lead pursued by Stubbs, Griffiths, brother John Smith and Spicer. For eight laps there was some very hard-fought close racing. Then on lap nine there was a clash of wheels between Peter Smith and young Clive Carter. A rear wheel was torn from Smith's Fireball and Carter went into the safety fence very hard indeed. The front of the car slid under the wire safety rope and the brunt of the impact was borne by the roll cage. It was so great that the car's substantial driver protection was bent right back and Clive finished up with the rope hard against his neck - it was a very lucky escape. The race was stopped in the 10th lap with Stubbs leading so that Carter could be extricated from the wreck. He was taken to Victoria Central Hospital , New Brighton suffering from a damaged shoulder, facial cuts and severe shock. He was detained overnight for observation although his condition was not thought to be serious. When the race restarted the cars were in the positions they'd occupied when Carter crashed. There was immediately a terrific battle between Stubbs and Griffiths. Both drivers were trying their hardest, Griffiths taking a high line through the awkward banking and making ground on Stubbs, only to lose out to the Emery team driver on the short straights. They eventually finished with Stubbs ahead of Griffiths followed by Niven, John Smith and Cliff Davis.

In spite of his trio of second places Griff still had cause to be content. The points he had amassed during the day took him into the lead of the Duckhams National Midget Championship.

Results from raceday programme

John Holtham	Midgets on River Bend	Clive Carter's crash in race three
Clive Carter's crash in race three