VSCC Curborough

VSCC Curborough

The Curborough event near Lichfield is a sprint of not too long duration, with cornering added. The VSCC uses it once a year. The results of the meeting on May 1 came in just too late for inclusion last month, but are appended, for the record. This was the 3Ist such meeting, at which 89 competitors had their cars divided into 10 classes, sub-divided into vintage and pvt in the majority of them. Bruce Spollon’s ERA performed well, posting FTD and netting him the Curborough Trophy, his second run taking only 36.66s. S Roberts’s 1927 Frazer Nash (40.94s in Class One), set a vintage and general course record, vanquishing the pvt opposition, Beebee’s 1932 FN taking 44.57s. The 11/2-litre sports cars were led by K Pointing’s Riley 9 with a good time of 43.86s, and T Watson’s 1936 11/2-litre Riley won his section (41.91s). In the over-11/2-litre sports car, special and hybrid class only two vintage cars turned out, Miss Newson’s 1930 FN with

two-litre power scoring (45.17s). From a field of 14 later cars the quickest was R Gilbert’s 41/4 Bentley (39.36s). Ann Shoosmith’s 41/2-litre Bentley won the next vintage sports car class (45.74s). N Hall’s 1935 41/2-litre Lagonda took the pvt class (43.82s).

The Edwardians and Veterans provided a sort of punctuation, lonty Williamson clocking the best run in the venerable 1908 GP Itala (47.84s), though his son won on handicap in the same car. The only car with the benefit of aero-power, the MercedesMaybach, was slipping its clutch and took 49.08s. 1 am quoting the better of two runs of course. Hernandez got his A7 mit blower motoring well in the 1100cc vintage racingcar class (41.30s), to which the best of the pvt brigade replied with 45.59s. by Skeavington’s 1931 unblown A7. Caroline’s Morgan set a vintage record in the up to 11/2-litre class (39.63s), where the fastest pvt performer was T Poultney’s Riley (40.84s). Half-a-dozen racers of up-to-3000cc contested their class, Spollon winning outright and best vintage time being set by Freddie Giles in the AC-engined Cognac (38.29s) a new record though it failed on its next appearance. It then rather tailed off, with only three drivers contesting the big racers’ class, with Guy Smith’s pvt Alvis-FN and two aeroengined cars, C Baker’s 27-litre DelageHispano Suiza (the latter make applying to its VI 2 engine) and Mark Walker’s six-litre Cirrus-powered Parker-GN. The capable Mark broke the vintage record on his second run (38.94s), against 46.58s by the larger aero-car, and Guy upheld his FN’s honour in the pvt division (37.07s). Finally, the Short Shorts won the Team Contest, and were found to consist of Cannell’s 4.3 Alvis, Mrs Tomlinson’s 2.7 Alvis and Badderley’s 3.5 Alvis. W B