THE ALPINE TRIAL

THE ALPINE TRIAL

THE Alpine Trial which prescribes that 100 cars of the same type shall have been produced by the factory before the model shall be eligible for the Trial, which thus excluded the 1934 models of some of the small firms, Great Britain will be well represented with a total of 43 entries. A last minute alteration in the rules, strictly speaking not permissible under A.I regulations, but welcome to many worried drivers, is that fans and spare petrol and oil tanks may be fitted even though not embodied as standard equipment on the model concerned.

The total distance to be covered is about 1,800 miles which is covered in six days without a break. The Trial begins at Nice on Tuesday, August 7th, and the drivers are taken over the French Alps to Aix les Bains, climbing six passes over 6,000 feet high. The summit of the famous Galibier Pass is actually 8,380 feet above sea level. The second stage leads to Interlaken over the small and great St. Bernard Passes, St. Moritz is reached by a route which takes in a further six over 6,000 feet, while the highest point on the St. Moritz Venice run is the summit of the Stelvio, which is given as 9,042 feet. 30 miles outside Venice on the Pad ua-Mestic autostrada, a speed test is to be held in which cars over 2 litres will be required to average 68.75 m.p.h. over 10 kilometres, no easy task after scrambling about the Alps for four days. On the third stage of the trial incidentally the large cars must average 26 m.p.h., and 32.5 m.p.h. on the other five days.

The fifth day takes the competitors over ground not hitherto included in an Alpine Trial, through Fiume to Zagreb, the capital of the western part of Jugo Slavia, with a final stage across Austria to the finish at Munich. Talbot ” 105 ” cars which are to be driven by Couper, Eaton and Wisdom have neat four-seater bodies with tapering tails, similar to the one which was entered in the R.A.C. Rally this, year, and which Gunnar Poppe drove at

Shelsley Walsh. With fairly high compressions, these cars are capable of well over 100 m.p.h., and the fact that they are official Works entries encourages the belief that the Talbot Company may once more take part in motoring competition elsewhere. The list of British entries is as follows:

GROUP 1.-Individuals.

A. E. Dobell, 41-litre Lagouda.

R. L. Richardson, 4,168 c.c. Railton Terraplane.

Teams.

Riley (Coventry), Ltd. ; Cecil Riley, A. Farrar, and

T. C. Griffiths, 1,633 c.c. Rileys.

c.c. GROUP 4.-Individuals.

Mrs. Arline Needham, 1,496 c.c. Frazer Nash.

T. L. Thomson, 1,496 c.c. Frazer Nash.

H. J. Aldington, 1,496 c.c. Frazer Nash.

H. E. Symons, 1,287 c.c. M.G. Magnette.

Capt. Ct. H. Frost, 1,184 c.c. Lancia.

c.c. Teams.

Frazer Nash Cars : A. Marshall, L. Butler-Henderson, and Hon. P. Mitchell-Thomson, 1,496 c.c. Frazer

Nashes.

GROUP 5.-IndivIduals. R. P. Gardner, 972 c.c. Singer.

GROUP 2. F. W. 2,663 c.c. S.S.

F. W. Morgan, 2,663 c.c. S.S.

N. Black, 2,663 c.c. S.S.

Miss M. D. Patten, 2,511 c.c. Alvis.

F. H. Lye, 2,969 c.c. Talbot.

Teams.

Clement Talbot, Ltd.: W. M. Couper, H. Eaton, and T. H. Wisdom, 2,969 c.c. Talbots.

S.S. Cars, Ltd. : C. Needham, A. G. Douglas Clease, and S. H. Light, 2,663 c.c. S.S.

c.c. GROUP 3. Individuals.

Individuals.

J. Twecdale, 1,660 c.c. Frazer Nash.

Miss D. C. N. Charnpney, 1,633 c.c. Riley.

Mrs. K. Petre, 972 c.c. Singer. F. S. Barnes, 972 c.c. Singer

A. G. R. Alexander, 1,089 c.c. Riley.

J. Carr, 746 c.c. Austin.

V. L. Seyd, 746 c.c. M.G.

I. Connell, 972 c.c. Singer.

M. A. Newnham, 1,087 c.c. Triumph.

D. M. Healey, 1,087 c.c. Triumph.

Miss J. Richmond, 1,087 c.c. Triumph.

” A. Vincent,” 972 c.c. Singer.

” A. c.c. Teams. B. A. B.

Singer & Co., Ltd. : W. J. B. Richardson, A. B.

Langley, and H. M. Avery, 972 c.c. Singers.

Triumph Co., Ltd. : Lt.-Col. C. V. Holbrook, J. C.

Ridley, and V. E. Leverett, 1,087 c.c. Triumph.