THE MANNIN RACES

THE MANNIN RACES

HIGH SPEEDS ON NEW ISLE OF MAN “ROUND THE TOWN” CIRCUIT.

pROFITING from the experience gained in last year’s rapes, the Mannin Races, which were run at Douglas. Isle of Man, on the .30th May and the 1st of June, proved an unqualified success. The stands were well placed, the roads bridged at several points and full provision was made for spectators to move ablaut freely, while the course was shortened to 3.7 miles.

.Starting from the centre of the Promenade, the new route turned sharp up Broadway, an ascent of about 1 in 10, and forked left half-way up into York Road. A change of road-level at this point threw the faster cars into the air. and a number of them threatened to post themselves in the letter-box which stood on the edge of the pavement. Over the crest of the hill, the course dropped sharply down Stony Road, at the bottom of which the cars had to negotiate a sharp hair-pin. Bray Hill is another 1 in 10 climb, and from the top of tild t the course led past the Motor-cycle T.T. Stands along a bumpy stretch to Governor’s Bridge. Here there was a sharp dip, with unpleasant bumps on the bridge itself. From that point the same roads are used as in last year’s races, with the Onchan hair-pin bend, the narrow 1 in 7 descent of Summer Hill rendered more hazardous by telegraph poles, and the fast stretch along the Promenade with its tramlines.

There were only two days of practising. on which the roads were closed from 5 to 7 a.m., and the majority of drivers put in an appearance on the first day. The chief interest was Centred in the 2. Monoposto Alfa which Noel Rees had borrowed from the Scuderia Ferrari, and which was driven by the Hon. Brian Lewis. After some experiments in tyre pressures and other adjustments, Lewis started lapping in fine style, his best time being 2m. 51s., or 77.01 m.p.h. Rose-Richards was only one second slower, while Staniland, at the wheel of Mathieson’s Bugatti, lapped in 2m. 49s. or 77.82 m.p.h. Raymond Mays was out on the 1,500 c.c. E.R.A., but Was troubled by faulty carbaretion. Amongst the Mannin Beg entries, Dixon was the most spectacular, turning round on two occasions at Bray Hill hairpin. His time improved as he steadied down and his fastest lap was 2m. 58s., while Charlie Dodson, the motor-cycling

star, and Hamilton, on his special singleseater Magnette, took respectively 3m. 3s. and 3m. 4s.

Hitting a bump at the top of Bray Hill, Horton broke the front axle of his Magnette, but was fortunately able to bring his Car to rest without further damage.

Gloom was cast on the second day’s practising by the news that Kaye Don had crashed his Magnette when testing it the previous evening, and his mechanic, Frank Taylor, died of his injuries. Don escaped with cuts. A. P. Hamilton therefore tOok over the Alfa Romeo in the senior event. Dixon was in possession of his Mannin Moar car, which had .bored out to 1,800 c.c. and lapped at extraordinary speed, his time being 2m. 44s. (80.3 m.p.h.),

the highest figures on the speed table, and Brian Lewis recorded the same speed. C. J. H. Dodson took Over John Cobb’s Alfa, as the latter was suddenly recalled to England owing to the illness of his brother, and managed 2m. 51s., while the E:R.A. showed terrific acceleration and a useful lap time. Amongst the smaller cars, Handley reached the terrific speed of 74.8 m.p.h. on his Magnette.

It was generally agreed that the new course was a great improvement in interest both to driver and spectator, the only criticism being that it was rough in places. The fast stretch from the top of Bray Hill was too rough to .allow full throttle on Lewis’s Ntonoposto Alfa, and all the cars, especially the Rilevs, were much thrown about on the Governor’s Bridge section. The remainder of the roads were in good condition.