UNITED HOSPITALS AND UNIVERSITY OF LONDON MOTOR CLUB

UNITED HOSPITALS AND UNIVERSITY OF LONDON MOTOR CLUB

A total of forty-one cars making 122 entries in the eight races and ideal weather combined to make the meeting one of the most successful the Club has ever held. The races were run over the manufacturer’s circuit which is just under two miles in length. Morning practice was enlivened by C. R. Ellis who drove J. G. Clarke’s Frazer-Nash backwards through the hedge at Coppice corner, luckily without any damage to himself or the car. The motor-cycles opened the proceedings at one o’clock and were followed by a scratch race over three laps for

sports-cars under 1 i-litres. The entry was limited to twelve and the cars went off in two heats of six, the result being decided on time. F. R. Gerard (1,496 c.c. Riley) ran away with the first heat, averaging 66 m.p.h. to win the event. The second heat produced a great tussle between R. D. Poore (746 c.c. M.G., S.) and C. L. Clarke (1,496 c.c. Bugatti,) who finished with only a second between them, taking second and third places in the final order. T. H. Plowman’s 30/98 Vauxhall surprised the handicappers in the three lap handicap for unlimited sports-cars, which was run in two heats. In the first C. W. P. Hampton (2,270 c.c. Bugatti S.) ran through the field from the 12 sec. mark to win from N. V. Terry (1,991 c.c. Frazer-Nash-B.M.W.). As soon as the second heat started it was apparent that Plowman had the race in his pocket. The Vauxhall was doing well over a hundred on the run down to Starkey and he finished a good quarter of a mile ahead of the next man, K. M. Petter (2,211 c.c. Alvis), who pipped R. E. Dorndorf (2,596 c.c. British-Salmson) by a second for

second place. Lieut. Home Kidston, R.N., (2,405 c.c. Alfa-Romeo, S.) could not catch the leaders from scratch but Mrs. Carson driving Marcus Chambers’s very fast unblown 4,398 c.c. Bentley gave him a good race for several laps. In this race the dynamo of J. P. Almaek’s Austin came out through the radiator and the equipe were then seen chewing gum furiously. Plowman won the race with Hampton and Terry placed. Five came to the line for the four-lap handicap for Bugattis only. R. J. T. Marston’s blown 2.3 was the only non starter. Lieut. Kidston’s ex-Charlie Martin 2.3 racing-car gave C. L. Clarke’s unblown 1 i-litre Grand Prix 40 secs. start and beat him for first place at an average of 68.4 m.p.h., winning the cup kindly presented by the Bugatti Owners’ Club. C. W. P. Hampton was third with his 2.3 touring car. Col. Giles drove his 4.9 drop-head coupe which was very

fast but a trifle heavy for quick cornering. He ran out of petrol just after the finish and Mr. Eric Giles very nobly sprinted with a two-gallon can before the course was cleared for the high spot of the afternoon—a ten lap handicap for racingCars.

Last year this race was won by an. E.R.A. and it was hoped that Embiricos would represent the marque again this year, but he was posted as a non-starter. Three other non-starters reduced the entry to fifteen. When the limit-men came round on their second lap, Kidston was still on the line with the 2.3 Bugatti. However the handicapper knew his business because as soon as Kidston went off he proceeded to overhaul practically the whole field, and it almost looked as if he might get second place from A. Brooke (4,234 c.c. Vauxhall) but the latter held out and kept it by 2 secs. There was no catching Michael May in this race and the amazing old 2-litre Alvis won by 6 secs., at an average of 66.71 m.p.h. having received a minute and a half from Kidston. The latter finished at an average speed of 74 m.p.h.—just 2 m.p.h. slower than E. B. Briault’s speed for the race last year in the E.R.A. May’s Alvis averaged

72 m.p.h. in. that race. Incidentally Kidston estimated that he was getting 131 m.p.h. down the straight into Starkey. Meanwhile Chambers in the Bentley had been chasing C. L. Clarke (1,496 c.c. Bugatti) lap after lap for fourth place. The Bentley would gain momentarily on the run into Starkey by dint of hard braking at the last possible minute (Chambers wore out a whole set of covers), but the Bugatti had superior acceleration out of the bend. The finish comes just after the corner, so Clarke was fourth and Chambers fifth, the latter having the misfortune to run a big-end in the Bentley

after crossing the finishing line. Other exciting things were happening at Starkeys—D. N. Leon (1,991 c.c. FrazerNash-B.M.W., S.) and Plowman’s Vauxhall, now rehandicapped, both gyrated on the bend and F. H. Such (SS. 100) seemed to take a longer course than was necessary. Almack’s Bentley in the hands of H. M. Lawrence caught fire just after the finishing line but luckily it was quickly extinguished. Speeds were not high in. the four-lap handicap for sports-cars under 1,500 c.c., which was run in two heats. The first three places in the final order came from the first heat because of a lapse on the part of the winner of the second heat, F. R. Gerard (1,496 c.c. Riley), who forgot about the other heat and eased off. R. Nicholson (1,493 c.c. Singer) won

finally with Miss MeOstrich second (1,496 c.c. Prazer-Nash), and E. N. R. Hewitt (847 c.c. M.G.) third. Alntack’s Austin went well for three and three-quarter laps out of the four with soap and chewing gum in the radiator, but entering Starkey’s the last piece of soap came out and the engine seized. Almack coasted round in neutral to within a yard or two of the finishing line but found the slope too steep for him. Then came the four-lap scratch race for cars over 1,500 c.c. only. High speeds were put up in the second heat which produced all three placemen. Hampton and Lieut. Kidston had a great scrap and finished in that order with Eric Giles third in Col. Giles’s 4.9 Bugatti. There was one-fifth of a second between second and third places in the four-lap handicap for unlimited sportscars—Kidston just pipped Domdorf, driving Miss Patten’s British-Salmson, and Petter brought his Alvis home into third place. However, it was the last race which produced the best finish of the whole day. The first three cars crossed the line within a second and a

half. Last year’s winner of this race, F. R. Gerard, brought his 1f-litre T.T. Riley in first followed by D. N. Leon and Lieut. Kidston one-fifth sec. apart. The latter had been driving superbly in every event and fully deserved his bag of a first, two seconds, and a third. In fact the driving as a whole had been remarkably good throughout. The whole programme was run through to schedule in 4i hours without an interruption of any kind, and that this type of event is popular was shown by the number of inquiries the Club is already receiving for its next meeting on October 9th, when, incidentally, a longer course will be available.

RESULTS EVENT I

A three-lap Saida Race for motor-cycles not exceeding 350 0.0.

1. IL Lee (348 c.c. Norton). 68.0 m.p.h.

2. W. A. Wing (348 c.c. Velmette). 68.02 m.p.h.

3. B. R. W. Turner (348 c.c. Velocette). 66.71 m.p.h.

First 250 c.c. machine : R. Hooper (246 c.c. New Imperial).

EVENT 2 A three-lap Scratch Race for Sports-Cars not exceeding 1,500 c.c.

c.c.

1. F. It. Gerard (1,4943 c.c. Riley). 66.08 m.p.h.

2. B.. D. Poore (746 c.c. 31.G., s.). 64.84 m.p.h.

3. C. L. Clarke (1,490 c.c. Bugatti). 63.90 m.p.h.

EVENT 3 A three-lap Handicap for Sports-Oars of Unlimited Capacity

1. T. H. Plowman, 45 secs. (1,234 c.c. Vauxhall).

2. C. W. 1′. Hampton, 12, secs. (2,270 c.c. Bugatti, s.). 3. N. V. Terry, 22 secs. (1,991 c.c. B.31.W.)

EVENT 4 A four-lap Handicap for a Cup presented by The Bugatti Owners’ Club, open to all of Bugattis

Bugatti Owners’ Club, open to all types of Bugattis

1. Lieut. Home Kidston, scratch (2,203 cc,, s.). 68.4 m.p.h.

2. C. L. Clarke, 40 SeCf3. (1,496 c.c.). 60.8 m.p.h.

3. C. W. P. Hampton, 16 secs. (2,270 c.c., s.). 61.6 m.p.h.

EVENT 5 A three-lap Scratch Race for motor-cycles not exceeding 500 c.c.

c.c.

1. It. Lee (348 c.c. Norton). 68.22 m.p.h.

2. M. Sunderland (348 c.c. Norton), 66.08 m.p.h.

3. B. It. W. Turner (348 c.c. Velocette). 65.60 m.p.h.

EVENT 6 A ten-lap Handicap for Racing-Cars of any Capacity 1. M. W. B. May, ha. 40s. (1,991 c.c. Aivis).

66.71 m.p.h.

2. A. Brooke, 2m. 30s. (4,234 c.c. Vauxhall).

3. Lieut. H. Kidston, 12s. (2,203 c.c. Bugatti, s.). 74 m.p.h.

EVENT 7 A four-lap Handicap for Sports-Cars not exceeding 1,500 c.c.

1,500 c.c.

1. R. Nkltolson, 36s. (1,493 c.c. Singer). 58.8 m.p.h.

2. Miss P. McOstrich, 20s. (1,496 c.c. FrazerNash). 59.45 m.p.h.

3. E. N. R. Hewitt, 50s. (847 c.c. M.G.). 56.4 m.p.h.

EVENT 8 A three-lap Scratch Race for Sports-Cars over 1,500 c.c.,

over c.c.,

1. C, w. Hanipt?rn (2,270 c.c. Bugatti, s.). 66.97 m.p.h.

2. Lieut. H. Kidston (2,405 c.c. Alfa-Romeo.s.). 66.71 m.p.h.

3. G. M. Giles (E. L. Giles) (4,840 c.c. Bugatti, a.). 64.84 m.p.h.

EVENT 9 A Five-lap Handicap for motor-cycles of Unlimited Capacity

1. W. A. Jordon, scratch (490 c.c. Norton). 61.4 m.p.h.

2. B. It. W. Turner, 6s. (348 c.c. Velocette). 3. F. P. Heath, Os. (498 c.c. Vincent 11.11.1).). 59.81

59.81 m.p.h. EVENT 10 A four-lap Handicap for Sports-Cars of Unlimited Capacity

1. K. M. Pctter, 36s. (2,211 c.c. Alvis). 63.6 m.p.h.

2. Lieut. Kidston, scratch, (2,405 c.c. Alfa-Romeo s.). 67 m.p.h.

3. Miss M. D. Patten (R. E. Dorndorf) 40s. (2,594 e.c. British-Salmon). 60 m.p.h.

EVENT 11 A Five-lap Handicap for the HZEMORRHAGIC TROPHY open to all Sports-Cars

open

1. F. R. Gerard, 30s. (1,496 cc. Riley). (I1 m.p.h.

2. 1). N. Leon, 30s. (L991 c.c. B.M.W. s.). 60.33 m.p.h.

3. Lieut. it. Kidston. scratch (2,304 c.c. AlfaRomeo, s.). 0:.10 m.p.h.

For the fastest time of the day put up by an U.H.V.L.M.C. member, won by F. R. Gerard (1,496 c.c. Riley at 66.08 m.p.h.).

It is most refreshing to come across a small club with limited membership that flourishes so exceedingly as the Invicta C.C. They issue an interesting Bulletin apparently whenever they feel so inclined and hold almost as frequent meetings of a social order. Some very fine films are now shown

by the club. New members number D. W. Bishop of New Guiana and A. E. Low, a eine-camera expert.

J. Read contributes a useful article on trussing an L.C. frame in No. 5 of ” The Gauntlet,” weak side-members being one of the Invicta’s principal shortcomings.

Hon. Secretary : D. Monro, 4, Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, W.C.2.

NEW SAFETY TYRE Special 500,000 Mile Test

Well over half-a-million tyre miles have been run from Fort Dunlop by test cars trying out a new safety tyre, details

of which have been announced. It has six rows of teeth, three on each side, and slots across the studs to enable it to hold the road. To increase its safety the casing has been improved to resist the strain of high speed work on modern fast cars. “The general lay-out • of the Fort ’90’ remains” said a Dunlop official in an interview “with the important addition of serrations along the three

outermost pattern edges. These offer a much greater effective length of edge against both forward and sideways skidding.

“The slots are specially designed to retain the anti-skid advantage when the tyre is well worn, and at the same time to avoid rapid or irregular wear. The casing improvement is based on our experience of Dunlop giant tyres which are particularly subject to heavy usage. ” The extra low pressure range has specially tied-up shoulder pattern blocks designed to stop uneven wear and to reduce tyre noise still further.”

The tyre is finished in a semi-mat even black surface with a medallion in gold and the idea of the teeth has been patented.

INVICTA CLUB C.C.

PRESIDENTS TROPHY