Brighton Jottings.

Brighton Jottings. — The best joke of the day occurred while I was waiting my turn to start in Hyde Park and was handed a leaflet offering me number plate A 10 in exchange for a transfer number and the sum of E15,000 ono. . . .1 The most popular make in the Run was De Dion Bouton, 69 of which were entered this year. It took Hugh Smith 25 years to restore his 1901 model, after he had found the engine in a local laundry and a body for the car a week later, in a building about to be demolished. Ripley’s 1903 De Dion was once left in a garage for nearly 30 years, after its owner had forgotten to collect it. Racing drivers have appeared in the Run quite frequently and this year Derek Warwick drove Renault UK’s 1900 voiturette, with which Stirling Moss took part in 1973. The only surviving Type-C, its original 31/2 hp engine has been replaced with a 41/2 hp De Dion engine. The publicity hand-outs made great play of Warwick coming from a 200 mph Fl Renault-Elf Turbo to this little single-cylinder four-seater that cruises at about 71/2 mph, and is apparently flat-out at 15 mph. Steam cars are always an attraction, such as John Patterson’s 1899 Locomobile, said to consume a gallon of water every two minutes. While en route with the NMM De Dion I overtook the two oldest cars, of which Garrett’s 5 hp Benz Victoria seemed to be somewhat faster than Mrs Moore’s ill-fated 2 hp Panhard. R. S. Miles’ 1899 31/2 hp Benz dog-cart has been an entry in every Run since 1927, in spite of its upholstery being destroyed by a flying-bomb during the war, and Caffyn’s sister-car has failed to finish only once since its first attempt in 1932. Ex-racing drivers taking part were Phil Hill on a 1903 Peerless and Jack Sears (1904 Mercedes). HRH Prince Michael of Kent had Prince Paul von Metternich, President of the FIA, and the Archduke and Archduchess Geza von Hapsburg with him on the Wolseley. There were 59 overseas entries, 19 of them from the USA. First to finish was Pickvance’s 1900 Darracq taking just less than three hours, next in being Dr Lustig’s 1902 Benz from the D-B Museum. Eastmead’s 1900 Stephens was third to arrive. Mrs George Lanchester, 85, was in Pilmore-Bedford’s Lanchester. Provisionally, 210 cars finished within the time-limit, the non-arrivals being: Mrs Moore (Panhard), Sharman (Gladiator),

Ferrier (Landry-Beyro.), Briggs (Peugeot), Crabbe (Delahaye), FoulkesHalbard (Orient-Express), Miles (Bear), Jeal (De Dion), Nichol] (Rot:min), Moor (Benz), Mingolia (De Dion), Smith (Locomobile), Sweeney (Sturmey), Richer (Deauville), Heminway (Renault), de Ballester (De Dion), Presinger (Lux), Wakefield (Conrad), Leake (Ford), Watson (Gladiator), Lipton (Humber), Aston (Miniature Velox), Hubbard (Oldsmobile), Carter (Orient Buckboard), Science Museum (Peugeot), Ralston (Pierce), Van Ackeren (Bayard), Mrs Langton (Cadillac), Erskine (Cadillac), Hassan (Cadillac), Collings (Darracq), Briggs (Darracq), Brunet (De Dion), Simons (Humber), Hornsby (Humber), Hearne (Humber), Mrs Harris (Humber), Warner (Lanchester), Akehurst (Peugeot), Jude (Phoenix Trimo) and Henley (Turner Miesse). — W.B.