Reports of recent events, May 1952

BARC (SW Centre) Speed Hill-Climb (April 6th)

In miserable weather to commence with the BARC ran its speed hill-climb on April 6th up the nursery slope at Brunton. This private one-third-mile course is very “1920-ish” in character, so that your Editor imagined GNs and Brescia Bugattis when, in fact he saw a brace of XK120s, a Silverstone Healey and Buckler in action. The tarmac road climbs fairly steeply with a slight right-hand curve at the top which made most of the drivers of the faster ears ease the throttle momentarily. At this point considerable snow banks flanked each side of the course.

In the “1920-ish” tradition, the start was delayed some 11/2 hours. At first we thought this might be due to the only available crash-hat having to be passed surreptitiously from one driver to the next upon the arrival of the Scrutineer but, in fact, the cause was connected with the light-ray timing apparatus. Only about six out of 21 competitors wore crash-hats and although wild horses wouldn’t drag the names of those who didn’t from us, we were surprised to find the BARC disregarding this RAC ruling.

In the first class Sparrowe’s Coventry-Climax Morgan met a four seater Singer Le Mans. The next was contested between an Export Anglia, a 11/2 Riley and a Jupiter posing as a closed car. Pulley’s MG met an HRG, Sessions’ Silverstone Healey had its category to itself but compromised by making ftd, wheels glued to the wet road through the top corner, while the large open-cars class saw various XK120s, Wood’s with dual exhaust, cause Monro’s 41/2 Invicta to hustle. A class for “specials” found Gentry’s 746-cc Montlhery MG hopelessly overgeared„ Cook’s 1,497-cc MG indulging in real tail-slides, the Chrysler-engined Cripps in possession of almost too much power, the blown Buckler impressive and Saunders’ ex-Hartwell Hillman blue-bottle steady. Only lady dicer was Mrs Havard, sharing an XK120 with her husband; she had the hood furled, where many mere males kept theirs erect! Results were not to hand by April 21st.