Mike Taylor wins "Motor Sport" Brooklands Trophy by two points from Keith Greene

The Final round of the 1958 MOTOR SPORT Brooklands Memorial Trophy, which carried prize money totalling £150, was contested at the B.A.R.C. Goodwood Members’ Meeting on August 23rd. Mike Taylor, now with a 1,098-c.c. Climax engine in his Lotus, just had the edge of Keith Greene’s Lotus, which was using Stacey’s cylinder head. Taylor won both 10-lap and 5-lap scratch races from Greene, thereby taking the Trophy, which was presented by Major L. H. Bale, O.B.E,, by three points. Taylor having a one-point advantage before the racing commenced. Both drove with commendable skill, fast but safely. Third place was a tie between Shale (Austin-Healey 100-Six) and Hurrell (Triumph TR3), the prize money being shared between them.

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It was more than four laps of the 10-lap scratch race for sports cars up to 1,100 c.c. before Greene took second place, behind Taylor, Campbell-Jones (Lotus) having proved surprisingly fast; even after Greene had taken his second place he gained on braking. Taylor’s Lotus beat Greene’s on speed rather than on braking and cornering. Only once did Greene appear to try for the lead, pulling out of Taylor’s slipstream by the pits on lap six. but to no avail. Another truly outstanding performance was that of Broadley’s Lola-Climax, a beautifully built and finished space-frame car. It held fourth place, right up with the leading trio, and actually set fastest lap of the day, at 88.71 m.p.h., until lap nine. Then, alas, it took Madgwick as van Vlymen’s Lotus was in the midst of a spin, the cars touched, and the Lola overturned, with considerable damage to itself, Broadley being hospitalised. Condolences! So the finishing order was Taylor, Greene. 0.8 sec. behind, Campbell-Jones, Lumsden, Westcott and Riley, all Lotus-Climax mounted, Innes Ireland’s entries in first and fifth places. Taylor averaged 86.12 m.p.h.

A 5-lap closed-car handicap then produced an exciting finish between Rosemary Massey in her l.h.d. Jaguar XK150 coupe and Jean Bloxham’s Aston Martin DB3S coupe. Fifty seconds separated the girls at the start, 0.2 sec. at the finish. Miss Massey’s driving, now steady but polished, has improved noticeably since the beginning of the season. Jacobs’ 3.4 Jaguar was third. The race was won at 69.57 m.p.h. Mrs. Bloxham lapped at 73.83 m.p.h.

The third race was the 10-lap Marque scratch race, which Shale won steadily and well, at 75.75 m.p.h. (best lap 77.14 m.p.h.) in a disc-braked Austin-Healey 100-Six. He was followed home at a respectful distance by Hurrell’s Triumph TR3. Behind these two a fine foursome battled for third place, Quick (TR2) taking this from Lawrence (Morgan), de Selincourt (TR3) taking to the grass after Woodcote and spinning there on another lap (which caused the crowd to clap !). dropping him hack from fourth place

Another 5-lap closed-car handicap caused great jubilation when Osborne’s Morris Minor, parked out at the chicane, motored through the, trellis part of the wall, to continue undamaged; and even greater jubilation when Pimlott’s A35 drove through the resultant ” hole ” on the lest lap. Of nine Austin A35s in the race, Wheeler’s won from Gaston’s, at 63.89 m.p.h., Griffin’s steady Volkswagen third. Notably fast down to Woodcote, although unplaced, were Lawrence’s A35 and Everley’s Hillman Minx. But fastest lap, note, was done by Gaston’s A35, at 66.98 m.p.h.

The 5-lap scratch race that would decide the MOTOR SPORT contest saw Taylor always comfortably ahead of Greene. He won by 2.4 sec. at 84.08 m.p.h. Campbell-Jones became involved with Crabb in a spin at St. Mary’s on the first lap but thereafter he drove his Lotus brilliantly, working back to sixth place and sharing fastest Lap, at 86.92 m.p.h., with Taylor. Arundell’s Lotus was third.

The sixth race, a 5-lap handicap, saw Bekaert really trying in the H.W.M. Jaguar, which came through from scratch to win at 80.8 m.p.h. after a lap at 82.92 m.p.h. This was a race in the best tradition of handicap contests, Steele (Cooper-Zephyr) Second, Venn’s Austin-Healey 100 third. The race was also notable for the efforts of Woolfe (Lotus-Ford) to get himself into real trouble. Pleasing was Ferrari in a I.h.d. Alfa-Romeo Sprint Veloce Spyder. It bore a notice advising overtakers to beware of the undertaker.

Bekaert was out again for the next 5-lap handicap, being put to ” owes 3 sec.” in the best Brooklands tradition. This time he had to be content with fourth place, behind Threlfall’s smart Tojeiro-Climax, which won at 80.75 m.p.h., Mrs. Bloxham’s Aston Martin and Warnell’s Lotus, but the H.W.M. made fastest lap, at 83.88 m.p.h.

Racing concluded with a final 5-lap handicap, won by Breakell’s Triumph TR3 at 73.67 m.p.h. from Lawrence’s Morgan and Thompson’s TR3. Quick’s scratch TR3 lapped fastest, at 77.7 m.p.h .-W.B.