RACING ON THE SANDS: GOOD SPORT AND LARGE CROWDS AT SKEGNESS.

RACING ON THE SANDS: GOOD SPORT

AND LARGE CROWDS AT SKEGNESS.

HE sands at Skegness (Lines.) presented a very

1. animated appearance on Monday, June 8th, when the spectators were treated to some very fine racing, in which some of the most prominent drivers participated with very fast cars.

We were always given to understand that ” Skegness is so bracing,” and on the occasion of the meeting, it certainly lived up to its reputation, in fact, the cold north-easterly wind which blew down the course was rather too bracing for those who had come up from the tropical south. This wind, together with the wet sand, had the effect of slowing the cars to a large extent, but nevertheless some very good times were put up.

The entries were many and interesting, including as they did the new Supercharged A.C., handled by Raymond Mays, the front-wheel driven supercharged Alvis, with Major Harvey at the wheel, Capt. Malcolm Campbell’s monster Sunbeam, and Mayner’s MercedOs.

Miss Ivy Cummings distinguished herself on the Bugatti, and according to the programme we believe it is correct for us to offer our congratulations, as she will not appear publicly again as Miss Ivy Cummings.

From a spectacular point of view, the most thrilling performance was that of Major Harvey, whose Alvis starting down the course at a terrific speed developed an alarming wobble, which this skilful driver could not entirely correct. Only those who are familiar with Harvey’s prowess could understand how he kept the machine on the course at all, and the spectators were relieved to see him cross the finishing line in safety.

As a result of this erratic performance, the large front Wheels were changed for a smaller pair, and in subsequent events the Alvis adopted the more conventional mode of progress.

The race between Harvey’s Alvis and Raymond May’s A.C. resulted in a very narrow win for the former, but in the finals neither of these cars behaved quite well, leaving Joyce to score a good win on the old A.C. Later I.. the day Joyce showed wonderful driving skill, by beating the huge Sunbeam and the Leyland in a very convincing manner.

Davenport handled Kim II. (now a weird mixture of G.N. and Frazer-Nash) to great effect, and Le Champion made two excellent runs on the red G.N. originally owned by Miss Cummings. Both of the latter machines were fitted with one overhead chain-driven camshaft, which so revolutionised the G.N. cars.

Amongst the less-known cars was a standard FrazerNash, which, considering its full bodywork and windscreen, was quite the best performer of the day. H. Aldington was at the wheel, and showed an uncanny skill at his getaways.

Another more or less standard car was Bradshaw’s Alvis, which we remember as a sports tourer in 1921. This car has covered about 80,000 miles, during which time the back axle has never been touched. We noticed, however, that an overhead valve engine has replaced the original side valve power unit.

Lanfranchi managed to win one race with only four out of his six cylinders working, but on the whole the Alfa-Romeo put up some attractive work.

Cushman’s Crossley was rather disappointing, but he succeeded in running second to Miss Cumming’s Bugatti.

The fastest time of the meeting was put up by Mayner on the little 12-40 Mercedes, a very creditable performance, considering the speeds established by Capt. Campbell on the twelve-cylinder Sunbeam. The special handicap arranged for winners of previous classes had to be abandoned, on account of the rising

tide, and the last event was a race for Chrysler cars, which was won by Le Champion. Results :

Class I.—(Open) up to 75o c.c., G. Hendy (Austin), 52.2 sec. Class II.—(Open) Sports Models up to 1,100 c.c., J. R. Sylvester (Morgan), 45 sec.

Class III.—(Open) Racing Cars up to ‘Jo° c.c., H. S. Eaton (Gwynne), 41.8 sec.

Class IV.—Touring Class up to 1,500 c.c., H. Aldington (FrazerNash), 44.8 sec.

Class V.—Sports Models up to 1,500 c.c., V. G. Wallsgrove (Riley), 44 sec.

Class VI.—(Open) Racing Cars up to 1,500 c.c., J. A. Joyce (A.C.), 36 sec.

Class VII.—(Open) Racing Cars up to 2,000 C.C., B. A. Mayner Mercedes), 34.2 sec. Class VIII.—Touring Cars up to 3,000 c.c., H. Aldington (Frazer

Nash), 44.4 see.

Class IX.—Sports Models up to 3,000 c.c., A. Lanfranchi (AlfaRomeo), 40 sec.

Class XL—Touring Cars, unlimited, Miss Cummings (Bugatti), 45.2 sec.

Class XII.—Racing Cars, unlimited, M. Campbell (Sunbeam), 33.4 sec.

Class X.—Scratch Race for Cars up to 3,000 c.c., E. A. Mayner (Mercedes), 33 sec.

Class XIV.—Handicap for cars up to 1,50o c.c., W. E. Humphreys (Amilcar), 42.6 sec.

Class XV.—Handicap for Cars over 1,500, Mrs. Christie (Vauxhall), 41 2/5 sec.

Class XVI.—Handicap for Cars, unlimited, R. T. Berton (Morgan), 39.4 sec.