Club News, March 1935

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THE M.G. CAR CLUB.

Mr. F. I.,. M. Harris writes to tell us that his new address as Hon. General Secretary of the Club is No. 12, Holborn, E.C. 1 (entrance in Furnival Stre2t). His new telephone number is Holborn (3621/22.

B•R•D•C•

The Club is honoured to announce that Lord Nuffield has once again generously donated £1,000 as prize money for the British Empire Trophy Race, which will be held on July 6th. A new circuit, measuring exactly 3 miles per lap, will be used at Brooklands, and the total distance of the race will be 240 miles. The distribution of the prize money will be as follows :

1,t. 4250 and British Empire Trophy.

2nd. 4200 and Canada Trophy.

3rd. 4150 and Australia Trophy.

4th. £100 and India Trophy.

5th. 450 and South Africa Trophy.

The winner of each International Class will receive £50.

A handicap system will again be used, there being no fewer than nine different speed-categories. Here are the figures for the various classes.

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On paper the race looks as though it woukl be a good thing for the unsupercharged 4-litre Duesenberg. Praiseworthy features of the handicap are the provision for 2.5 and 3.5-litre cars. ugattis and Alfa-Romeos of 2.3-litre capacity will have a much better chance, while the 3.5-litre class is presumably included for the benefit of the 8.3-litre

MARGATE & DISTRICT C.C.

Twenty-five cars were entered for the Broadley Cup Trial, which took place on Sunday, February 3rd.

Starting from the village of Preston, the cars followed by-roads to Kingston, a mile beyond which they encountered their first difficulty in the colonial section, near Marley. Only two people were defeated by the prevailing conditions, and the rest got through in good style. Bladbean Hill had a dry surface, and consequently its 1 in 4 gradient was surmounted by everyone. Then came another colonial section at Stelling Green. The cars were again well handled, and only 4 failures occurred. An easy observed hill brought the com

pe,titors to the lunch stop at ‘fastingleigh., picnics being the order of the day.

The tit-bit of the trial was in unexpectedly good condition, and in spite of dire predictions of wholesale failure, the whole field got up well under their own power. The gradient of Pett Bottom Hill is severe iniparts, and the surface was fairly slippery, so that altogether the drivers can congratulate themselves on a competent performance. A driving test was held On Bradbourne Hill. The task before the competitors consisted of driving from a set distance up the hill, stopping with the wheels within a 6 ft. area and then accelerating over a distance of 15 yards, which had to be covered in less than 7 seconds. Driving skill was at a premium, and five competitors failed to stop within the 6 ft. area, while only six out of the total entry completed the next 15 yards in the allotted

7 seconds. All credit is due to T. Wing (Singer) who made the fastest time. Elham Hill was the next to be tackled, and proved to have a severe gradient and a loose surface which were the undoing of

8 cars. The assistance given by the local villagers was greatly appreciated. The only remaining obstacle was a braking test down hill. The cars had to drive over 60 feet and then stop within a 20-feet area with a time limit of 6 seconds. Only 7 cars completed this test without loss of marks.

And so to tea. at the” Rose and Crown” Hotel at Main, when everyone voted the trial a great success. The Broadley Trophy was won by Mr. T. Wing, Jnr. (Singer) for a 109 per cent. performance and fastest time in the acceleration test. The results of the Trial were as follow :

1st Class Awards.-T. Wing, jnr. (Singer), R. Little (Singer).

2nd Clan Awards-Mrs. Broadley (Singer) 99 marks, Mrs. T. Wing (Singer) 98 marks, J. P. Montgomery (Singer) 95 marks, M. (Ming (Vernon Derby) 90 marks.

3rd Class Awards,-G. Snowden (Singer) 88 marks, G. B. Barnard (Triumph) 88 marks, C. J. Hawkes (Invicta), H. Anderson (Vale Special) 89 Marks.

The chairman of the Club is Mr. A. Broadley, and his address is 241, Northdown Road, Cliftonville, Margate.

JUNIOR CAR CLUB.

As usual, the J.C.C. will open the Brooklands season with their Rally. This year’s event will be the fourth of the series, and will take place on Saturday, March 2nd, commencing at 2 o’clock.

The entries will be divided into three classes, up to 10 h.p., from 10 to 16 h.p., and over 16 h.p. The programme will consist of a number of tests, as follow :Easy starting, Braking, Timed half-mile, Parking, Monte Carlo Rally test, Hill stop and restart, and Non-stop hill-climb. There is plenty of scope in this programme for some amusing entertainment. In the braking test on the test hill, certain ” parking ” hand-brakes will probably be

incapable of holding the car ; the timed speeds over the half-mile will definitely produce some shocks for proud owners of ” fast ” cars ; the parking test looks absurdly easy, but is actually quite difficult; the Monte Carlo Rally test will be really interesting ; while the hill-climbingthrough-the-gears test will produce the most car-splitting noises from some of the ” clash ” gearbox owners.

Turning to a different affair, the visit to the Power Station announcement brought in an overwhelming demand for tickets. The full quota was quickly reached, and it is very much regretted that no further reservations can be made for the visit on March 9th. It is hoped to arrange another visit later in the year.

The General Secretary of the J.C.C. is Mr. L. F. Dyer, Empire House, Brompton Road, London, S.W. 7.

SUNBAC.

The January issue of the ” Sun bac News” contains the club’s trials fixture list for the 1935 season. Here it is :

April 27th.-Inter-club Team Trial. June 29th.-Vesey Trial.

September llth.-Evening Trial. September 29th.-Sutton Cup Trial. November 9th.-Shell Cup Trial.

A significant article, “To You,” draws attention to the oft-forgotten fact that trials competitors, while frequently complaining about the nature of trials, can seldom be persuaded to give any concrete suggestions as to the kind of trial they would really enjoy ! Well, here is their chance ; let us hope they take it.

The bed-time story “Hoist with His Own Petard ; or the Biter Bit,” will amuse lots of people, especially those who can guess the identity of the luckless driver involved.

THE VINTAGE SPORTS CAR CLUB.

The following events have been arranged for the season 1935, and the dates have been provisionally approved by the R.A.C.

March 10th.-Surrey Trial. May 5th.-Derbyshire TriaL

June lst.-Speed Trials.

July 14th.-Social event.

August 31st.-Speed Event.

October 20th.-Reliability Trial. November 16th.-Annual Dinner. December 8th.-Reliability Trial.

Both the Speed Events and the Trial in December will be held under a Restricted Permit, and negotiations for the use of a hill and a flat Sprint Course are proceeding.

The Club is open to all owners of “Vintage Sports Cars” (over five years old) and prospective members can obtain full particulars from the Hon. Secretary, C. P. L. Nicholson, 7, Abercorn Mews, London, N.W. 8.

BRIGHTON AND HOVE MX.

A substantial increase in the membership of the Club is reported. The actual membership is 410, which represents an advance of 33* per cent. on last year’s figure.

Earl Howe is the President of the Club, while the Mayors of Brighton and Hove, Sir Cooper Rawson, and Sir Algernon Guinness are all Vice-Presidents.

A comprehensive programme of social and sporting events has been arranged. The two most important trials will be the 12-Hour and the Brighton to Beer. Slightly different routes will be taken, and the Club scout has succeeded in finding some hills which have never been used in trials before. At least one trial will be run on standard tyres. The ever-popular Speed trials on the Madeira Drive will take place on September 14th.

Here is the full list of fixtures: February 23rd, Film Show and Supper ; February 24th, Scavenge Hunt ; March 3rd, Solo Sporting Trial ; March 17th, Spring Cup Trial ; April 6-7th, Twelve-Hour Trial ; June 22-23rd, Beer Trial ; July 28th, Drewett Trophy Trial ; August 25th, Gymkhana ; September 14th, Speed Trials ; October 5th, Niet Map Reading Trial ; October 27th, Chandler Trophy Trial ; November 29th Annual Dinner and Dance ; January 7th, 1936, Annual General Meeting.

The Hon. Secretary is Mr. S. W. Chandler, 24, Market Street, Brighton.

S.S. CAR CLUB.

The Trial and Concour d’Elegance at Buxton last month demonstrated once again the immense enthusiasm that always prevails at the club gatherings. The week-end started with a trial on Saturday afternoon, and weather conditions could not have been worse when the 17 competitors set out for Buxton. There were 11 non-starters.

The course was purposely not too severe, and a time check at Ashbourne was first encountered ; no one was caught out in their calculations. Then came an acceleration test over a 200 ft. uphill stretch. Fastest time was made by W. G.V. Vaughan (S.S.1), in 71 secs., closely followed by T. Leather in 8 secs. All the competitors but two qualified successfully here, the two unfortunates being Mrs. L. H. Cook and B. Iredale.

A stop and go test was held on Throwley Hill, in which everybody did what was required. One of the best performances here was that of D. I. Herbert, on an S.S.1.

But it was the time factor at the final check which caught most people and substantially decreased the list of premier awards. In all, seven competitors were too late in checking in at the finish, while two more lost their way and drifted off the course. However, all these trials and tribulations were forgotten under the influence of the dinner and dance at the Palace Hotel. Nearly 100 members and guests were present, and rousing speeches were made by the President, Mr. W. Lyons, and by

vice-presidents, Mr. H. G. Henley and Major A. D. Carey.

The next morning an interesting concours d’elegance was held, and the judges had a difficult task in selecting the winners from a number of very beautiful motor cars.

&IL TRIAL RESULTS.

Foleshill Trophy.—W. Hetherington (S.S. 1). Premier Awards.—W. G. V. Vaughan (S.S. 1); D. I. Herbert (S.S. 11); T. Crumbie (S.S. 1); Eaton Jones (S.S. I). Second Class Awards.—A. W. Newbold (S.S. I) ; A. Whittaker (S.S. I I) ; B. Iredale (S.S. 11) ; F. Holland (S.S. 11). Ladies Award.—Miss S. J. L. Baskin (S.S. 1). NO award.—Beaurnont Mould (S.S. 1); R. McCulloch (S.S. 1) ; Mrs. L. H. Cook (S.S. I); J. M. Erskine (S.S. 1); T. Leather (S.S. 1); E. F. Huckvale (S.S. 11) ; Mrs. Una Lambert (S.S. 1).

S.S. CONCOUR d’ELEGANCE RESULTS.

Ernest Hatfield Trophy. —R. T. Smith. Open Class Award.—W. G. V. Vaughan. Closed Class Award. Beaumont Mould.