Eight clubs Silverstone

The first of the season’s Club Silverstone meetings to include a qualifying race for the Motor Sport Silverstone Trophy took place on June 11th. Organised by the Eight Clubs (or, rather, the Seven Clubs as the Lagoada C.C. have dropped out), a large entry of 166 contested 16 races throughout a long day which fortunately remained sonny.

Competitors do not enter for specific races at the Eight Clubs meeting bee:lase of the great diversity of machinery. They just tell the organisers what car they will drive and how many races they would like to enter and the organisers then sit down anti sift out the entries into 16 races, with the cars in each race having as near equal performance as possible. Thus a 3.8 Jaguar saloon is not put in a saloon-car race with as bunch of A35s which it would run away from but is made to race with the faster sports/racing cars. It sounds odd hut very few people complain.

A series of half-hour high-speed trials commenced proceedings, giving novice drivers a chance to learn the circuit and the more experienced a chance to improve their lap times round the Club circuit, which has been resurfaced in many places.

In one of the early scratch races an XK140 aroused interest as it was being cornered very “extravagently” with bags of smoke and wbeelspin being apparent at Woodeote, while a number of vicious slides nearly turned into spins. This was D. Hobbs, whose car is fitted with the Hobbs automatic transmission and disc brakes. However, later in the day he began to get the hang of the XK140 and managed to win one of the handicap races to qualify for the Motor Sport Trophy race at the end of the day, in which he finished fifth.

Air Vice Marshal Bennett showed the tremendous acceleration of his new Fairthorpe Zeta with Raymond Mays-converted Zephyr engine using six Amal carburretters in another scratch race, pulling out a big lead in the first lap, but he overdid things at Copse Corner on his second lap and ruined the front end of the car. This left A. R. Aubrey in the lead in his Lotus 7 with Climax engine; which cornered impressively and earned hint the fastest lap in three of the day’s races.

Peter Gammon and his wife drove an incredibly noisy Ford 80-bore Anglia in various races as a change from last season’s Lola-Climax. The noise was more than eompenated for by the speed, as Mr. Gammon managed to lap in 1 min. 27.8 sec. (65.93 m.p.h.), while Mrs. Gammon was almost last, getting an impressive amount of wheelspin coming out of Woodcote. Bob Yeats, also driving a new Ford Aitglia, circulated at the back of the field, probably wishing that he had not been mentioned in a programme advertisement in connection with tuning kits for the 105E engine!

Other drivers who went impressively quickly throughout the day were R. P. Wrenn, who drove his Lotus Seventeen with verve to record the day’s fastest lap, at 78.65 m.p.h., but who was handicapped out of the prize money; P. Rhodes, who won two races with his 1172 Special which looks like a cross between a Lotus 7 and a Terrier, and A. R. Pilkingten and B.T.J. Cooper, both of whom went quickly in their A35s.

The handicapping was up to its usual high standard and a pretty close finish was seen in the Motor Sport qualifying race, the first five in which are eligible for the Final at the North Staffs M.C. meeting on September 24th. Butcher’s aged but still spritely Singer Le Mans had a lap start plus 20 sec. over scratch man Aubrey and he kept his lead for three clear laps, but already the field began to bunch up. Cooper got his A35 into the lead on lap four and just managed to hold on to his lead front Golding’s Fairthorpe. Mrs. Gammon held third place in the Anglia but Adlington in his Lotus 7 came through well from the 30-sec. mark to snatch third place front her. There was a terrific scramble for fifth place, with about ten cars having a chance as they swept into Woodcote Corner on the last lap. Scratch man Aubrey just could not find a way through the seething mass and be flicked from side to side in desperation, but the superior acceleration of Hobbs’ XK140 got him to the line in fifth place. Aubrey had the consolation of making fastest lap, at 65.77 m.p.h. A breathtaking finish to a good day’s racing. — M.L.T.

Postscript

We read in weekly contemporaries of several r promising new racing drivers such as Sari. TrinL.Salvo, Petonlet, Golden Boy, etc. We have been to the ” Steering Wheel,” where such names are frequently heard, but have been unable to locate “Flossie’s”… 

Zenith’s Golden Jubilee 

This year the Zenith Carburetter Company Ltd. celebrates its Golden Jubilee, with a Press Reception already held at the Savoy Hotel, a Golden Jubilee luncheon held last May at the May Fair Hotel, a Motor Show competition in which 50 golden carburetters will be awarded as prizes, a Works Grand New Year’s Eve party at the Porchester haIl, and—splendid idea–a distribution of £10,000 in bonuses to its employees, this being additional to extension of a non-contributory staff pension scheme covering all grades of workers.

The Company has issued an interesting Golden Jubilee book, front which we are reminded that it was in 1910 that Jullian Caillat brought the first of F. Baverey’s patent carburetters to the U.K. from France. This was taken up by Fenestre, Cadiseh and Co., of London, who named it the Zenith. Their first contract came from Albion, and in 1910 output was some 25 carburetters a week (today’s output is 30,000 Zenith earburetters per week). One of the first private car companies to use Zenith carburetter was Talbot. A limited company was formed in 1914 and a move made to new premises in Newman Street, London.

Much attention was paid to tuning ears for raying at Brooklanda and when war broke out Zenith supplied carburetters for all the British tanks, Julian Caillet being released from the French Forces at the request of the British Government to test, at Lincoln the first such tank. Aeroplane carburetters were also supplied.

In 1919 additional premises were acquired in Stanhope Street mid many famous Brooklands cars used Zenith carburetters, including

Count Zbornwski’s Maybach-engined ” Chitty-Bang-ltang I ” and Raymond Mays’ Hillman. A carburetter was also designed for the successful Supermarine SO Schneider Trophy seaplane. The depression of 1929/30 set Zenith makingcarburetters at competitive prices, such as the type 22 FZB used for the Austin Seven

and the Ustype adopted by Austin, Riley, Talbot, Vauxhall, etc. Then came the revolutionary V-type, which Ford and Vauxhall used for their new British-built models: In 1935. U.K. production of Stromberg carburetters was undertaken, the Company moving to a new factory at Edgware, then in distinctly rural surroundings. Since introducing the 30 VIE Zenith three million of this type alone have been produced, the type 28G Zenith was the first carburetter to reach the South Pole (in Sir Edmund Hillary’s Sno-Cats), and today, Austin, Ford, Hillman, Humber, Morris-Oxford, Sunbeam,

Vauxhall, Volvo and Wolseley ears fit Zenith carburetters, over If million of which are produced annually. A chain of service stations has been instituted to serve Zenith users.—W. B. MINIATURES NEWS

Amongst this month’s selection of motor-car and associated miniatures must he. mentioned a very detailed mid nicely-finished Triumph ‘17110 motoreyele combitiatien, complete even to rocker boxes, carburetter, sidecar seat, numbers on front number-plate, and with wire Wheels; a Vauxhall Cresta; a tiny Volkswagen. the boot of which opens to reveal an engine (a good one, this, for a V.O.C. mascot :); anti a Cadillac Sixty’ Special. These are Nos. 4. 22, 25 and 27. respectively, in the Lesney ” Matchbox ” series, and there is also an Austin London taxi (No. 17), ideal for station decoration on model railways. Then with the road-building programme in mind, Corgi have a large die-east model (No. 1103 in their” Major” range) of a Euclid TC-12 twin-crawler tractor.

When we were in Sweden recently. Saab gave us a Tekno model of the Saab 93, and a reader who sent us a Canadian model of a Choi-. mitt Corve.tte. would like to exchange models with someone in Europe—he is Mr. D. A. Waller, 4202, Rue Radisson, Montreal, 5, Quebec, (:anada. FIFTH NATIONAL ALM DAY—CryStal Palace (May 22nd) The above event was held in doll but dry weather, but nevertheless attraeted over 300 cars and approximately 1,000 people. Some magnificent Specimens were on display, and the results of the various riampetitions were Concours d’Elegance t

1920.1932 t H. G. Holt (12.`40).

1933.1939 t N. 1). Purday i’Spectl Twenty-live).

19134960 i A. 11. Boxk (TAU). t N. Houlledge (Speed Twenty). Team Award t ‘Midland $141.1011. Driving Tr40. x

1920..1932 t Fletcher (13.’501.

1933.1939 W. Powell (12/10) and J. Gurney (Spent Tweoty-fivel —Tic. 1948.1960 a An R. Hack (TAU).

fleet Turned…tut “Special ” of the. Day (prettented by Anonynnua Entlluant4/ N. Routledge (Speed Twenty).

J. J. Parkf, Challenge Shicla t A. H. Hue). (TAL)).