Peterborough M.C. Silverstone Race Meeting

(Sept. 10th)

Once again the open country around Silverstone echoed with the sound of motor-car exhausts, this time produced by members of the Peterborough Motor Club.

Formula III, sports and production saloon cars took part and the first event got under way at 1.30 p.m. This was a five-lap race for up-to-1,500-c.c. machines in which Lt.-Col. White in the ex-Gammon Lotus and A. Stacey in the Mk. IV Lotus-Climax had a grand contest, resulting in the latter winning at 71.0 m.p.h. Third place went to D. J. Hayes in a Mk. VI Lotus with de Dion back axle. A similar event followed, with much spinning around at Becketts by P. A. Cross and P. Stanley in Austin Sevens and D. Hall in a Lotus; J. Waddington in a 1,100 Fiat TV lost no time at all and one could see daylight quite regularly under his inside rear wheel as he went round corners. T. Barnard in the short-chassis Lotus won the race and his cornering was very even and steady, due perhaps to the fact that this car is fitted with magnesium elektron brakes and 11-in. drums. The over-1,500-c.c. sports-car race began with M. J. Bradley’s 3-litre Bentley motoring forlornly round before being overtaken by Miss Flockton s cream TR2 and Cutler’s Healey Silverstone. A very rapid motor indeed in this race was the Lister-Bristol driven by Cunningham Reid; this car, fitted with disc brakes, won its class at Aintree recently, and in this Silverstone event took fourteen places in five laps to come in first.

In the Formula III 12-lap races Tyrell in a Cooper and Bridger in a Kieft were winners, with Fenning and Scott-Bloor as close followers; D. J. Strange and B. Morgan seemed to be having mechanical trouble, as opposed to H. S. Howlett, who went round a few times after the others had finished, and Hales’ Emerysen met a rabbit doing a sprint up the track in the opposite direction at Becketts. A. Stacey in a Mk. VI Lotus won the scratch race for cars up to 1,250 c.c. — the “Lotus Race,” in fact, there being sixteen of these cars entered. D. J. Hayles came in second, also in a Mk. VI, and Piper third in the 746-c.c. supercharged Empire Lotus. The Mk. IXs were well up in the lead until Steed and Kasterine touched at Woodcote, Steed going into the Daily Express poster; Kasterine sportingly stopped to see if the damage to the other car or driver was extensive and, having satisfied himself that all was well, continued on his way. A similar race followed in which Naylor (Lotus-Connaught), Steed (Lotus-Climax) and Kasterine (Mk. IX) kept together for the entire race and finished in this order; Pitt in the Lotus-Consul and Ashdown (Mk. IX) had a close fight. For larger cars another scratch event was held, with Macmillan (Cooper-Bristol) as the leading competitor, followed by Cunningham Reid’s Lister-Bristol, with Brierley’s Frazer-Nash third, a fast car which did well in the over-2,000-c.c. event, finishing second to Cunningham Reid this time. Here D. G. Nixon’s Sunbeam Alpine seemed to be slower than was expected, Graham Maude’s XK120 was fast on the straights but slow on corners, and Crutch’s XK120 made tinkling noises on braking.

An inter-club team race was scheduled later in the programme and Naylor, Needham and Dennis deserve honourable mentions. J. W. E. Banks had his own unorthodox style of drifting a Bristol 401 at Woodcote and J. Beckaert in a Ford Anglia showed Miss Read, in a similar car, the way round the course although the latter knew the way rather too well, as some gentlemen found out in the production saloon race. The winning team was the B.R.S.C.C., followed by the Northampton & Dist. C.C. After the club race came the 750 and 1,172 Formula cars. Twelve Austins came to the line with nine Lotus models; MacDowell and Laverton led the 1,172 Formula and Taylor and Rees the 750 without mishap. All manner of saloons came up for the production-car race, a Morgan Plus Four and a Singer Hunter being the unusual examples. Miss Read’s Anglia started off alone and was soon followed by Naylor’s Porsche and Waddington’s 1,100 TV Fiat, which crept up to first piece with Naylor behind him. K. Brierley kept shaking the wheel of his Jowett Javelin to make it go faster and Donald’s Singer Hunter assumed queer angles at corners. Finally came the Motor Sport Handicap Trophy, Peter Binns and O. W. Thomas in Rileys and P. Nunn in a Frazer-Nash started with Clare’s Clare 90 behind, then Miss Flockton and Dr. Cutler followed in his wake, but Binns stayed in front in the Brooklands Riley with Nunn right behind him; Piper and Cunningham Reid had a grand dice together and this concluded the final event for this trophy this year. — I.G.