The Record Situation

As reported elsewhere, a modern Ferrari has broken the British fs two-way 1/4-mile, kilometre and mile records. The first two were records set up since the war by David Purley and improved upon by the Ferrari. But the mile had not been attempted since before the war and there seems to be some confusion as to whose record the Ferrari has improved upon. Such uncertainty may have arisen because the RAC has kept no proper account of the record situation. If this is so this is a pity, especially as before the war the National Controlling Body of the Sport published for the equivalent of 5p a useful annual book of all established and ratified World’s, International and British records. More, for a modest fee you could be put on the mailing list for notification of records freshly established or broken, a service never revived after the war.

The British fs mile record was held by Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Napier-Arrol-Aster at 217.5 in.p.h, a speed set up at Vernuck Pan in S. Africa in 1929 and never improved upon. As this is no longer a British possession it is a nice political/historical point whether this is still on the books as a British record, remembering that such records were those made on British soil irrespective of the nationality of driver or car. Apparently the RAC has scrubbed this out, as our once proud Empire has been scrubbed out, or it couldn’t have recognised the under-200 m.p.h. runs by the Ferrari as a British record. In this case the record that has been bettered must be Campbell’s mile at 174.223 m.p.h. with the Napier-Campbell, set up at Pendine sands on February 4th, 1927. – W.B.