Veteran-Edwardian-vintage, October 1971

A section devoted to old-car matters

VSCC Thruxton Race Meeting

This was an important occasion for the Vintage SCC, marking as it did the retirement of Tim Carson as Secretary of the Club and the final of the 1971 Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy Contest. In the latter Corner was out of luck, although still the winner. In practice a big-end bolt broke on the ERA R4D and a rod came through its crankcase. The V12 Sunbeam was not running and when Corner elected to drive his P3 Alfa Romeo in the last race instead of Waller it refused to start. But Corner had top points before the meeting and no one scored more. So the Trophy was presented to him by Margery Carson and he won the first prize of £75. That he won with the ex-Raymond Mays 2-litre ERA is very appropriate, as it was a prominent Brooklands car. It runs on Dunlop tyres, Newton racing fuel and Duckhams oil.

Equal second with Alexander was Martin Morris, that determined driver of 2-litre ERA R11B, who was third in one Thruxton race, thus scoring the same points as Bob Alexander had before this meeting. Again this is appropriate, because the ERA was successful at Brooklands, driven by Aitken and Tongue, and, although Alexander’s 1933 4 1/2-litre Lagonda started life as a saloon, bought for £15, its present fast-tourer replica body is just the kind of thing it could have been endowed with for the Track. Its owner says it is quite standard, apart from a sump air scoop, and is used daily. He had to strip the engine after a gudgeon-pin came loose at Prescott. Both cars use Dunlop tyres (the Lagonda RS5s) and Castrol oil and the ERA is on Smiths-KLG-Lodge plugs. With this second-place tie there was no third prize but for the record Crabbe and Moffatt would have tied for third; the only Brooklands’ link with the W125 Mercedes-Benz is that Neubauer is believed to have asked for the silencer regulations with an eye on the Mountain Championship, but the cars were never entered. The Moffatt cars, however, have pre-war BARC associations.

After the Trophy had been handed to Corner the VSCC President, Philip Mann, made a presentation on behalf of the members to Tim Carson, who was surrounded appropriately by vintage Vauxhalls. The splendid weather set off this very happy occasion, and however much the vintage movement may suffer from rising prices, owners who invest-in instead of drive their old cars, prolific auction sales to encourage this, a paucity of “new” vintage entries and the withdrawal into countless museums of usable old vehicles, none of this mars the sheer pleasure of a VSCC race meeting.

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The big query at Thruxton was whether Crabbe’s Mercedes could beat the “moderns”, in the form of Wilks’ Lotus 16 and Cottam’s A-type Connaught. The answer was that the Lotus led for six of the 10 laps of the All-Comers’ Scratch Race, then with Wall’s Bugatti between them they emerged from the chicane with Crabbe in front. A lap later Wilks out-braked Crabbe at the same point and remained ahead to the finish, wheelspin out of this corner of no avail as the Mercedes did its best to close the gap. Wilks won by 0.6 sec. and lapped at 88.35 m.p.h., 0.55 m.p.h. or 0.6 sec. faster than Crabbe. Pre-war honour was upheld by the courageous Martin Morris, who brought his ERA home a second in front of the Connaught, which he had taken on lap six. This cold-print description does no justice to one of the most exciting VSCC races of all time. Apart from these four, furious duels were fought lower down the field, notably between Bill Morris (ERA) and Lockhart (Rover). Schellenberg, until he drew in, was another duellist, the Barnato Hassan leading, but only just, Potter’s ERA-Delage, until the latter boiled over.

The Melville and Geoghegan Trophies 6-lap-class handicap had no non-starters and was neatly won by Farquhar’s ex-Dixon Riley Nine, from Stewart’s fast 4 1/2-litre Bentley, another class winner, Elwell-Smith’s Aston Martin, finishing third. The winning Riley built up a vast advantage but Binns’ “cooking” Riley Nine tourer came in with only 5 lb. oil pressure and Bianchi’s Alvis with clutch trouble. The 8-lap Spero and Voiturette Trophies Race was interesting because the issue lay between Coles’ J4-type MG and the Farquhar Riley. On the third lap the long-tailed Riley went past the slab-tank MG but two laps from the finish the Riley ran a big-end and Coles won comfortably. Only 0.2 of a sec. separated the Lagonda Rapiers of Fletcher-Jones and Batt as they raced to the line for second place.

The other long-distance event (eight laps) was the Holland Memorial Trophy Race for vintage racers. Moffatt led all the way after the first lap, in Wall’s 35B Bugatti single-seater, compensation for suspected valve trouble on his ERA in an earlier race. The great thing was that the intrepid Schellenberg wrestled with the 8-litre Barnato-Hassan to such effect that he took second place, five seconds in arrears of the Bugatti. Footitt in the AC/GN could do nothing about this, although he caught Kain’s 35B Bugatti. The Vauxhall Villiers stalled at the start and soon retired but Clutton’s big Delage went well.

The usual 4-lap handicaps made up the programme. The first of these included the vintage light cars, much speculation being aroused as to whether Denis Jenkinson in an immaculate white and blue Amilcar could see off Mitchell’s 1914 GN, as both were reputed flat-out at 40 m.p.h.—in the event the French sports car managed about 50. Cooper’s 1929 Austin Seven won from Charmian May driving Clarke’s Singer Ten (best light car), Gledhill’s 1928 Chummy Austin third. Offley’s boat-bodied Milne was black-flagged for a flapping bonnet, Mrs. Arnold-Forster for reputedly taking a short cut in her GN after a brief breakdown. Blight was set a stiff task in Talbot BGH23 in the next handicap, having to give 80 seconds to the aforesaid Delage and the Edwardian Mercedes and Napier. By lapping at 76.14 m.p.h. he contrived to finish third, with only Jones’ open 3 1/2-litre Bentley and Mann, Junr., in the GP Mercedes ahead of him. Bianchi’s Alvis, its clutch now holding up, was next home, but March’s odd but fast Alvis ran a big-end when lying fourth.

Lagonda Rapiers filled the first three places in the third handicap, in the order Batt, Fletcher-Jones, Crocker. Edmondson ordered in Hurst, who was driving his ex-Bellevue MG C/R-type at half-distance, Hurst racing for the first time in 32 years, which excused his earlier spin. Chant’s ex-Blishen Alvis Speed 25 split its fuel tank. The Riley handicap was won by de Cadenet’s determined 1 1/2-litre, which took Andrews’ Brooklands-model on the last lap. Knight, from virtual scratch, came through to third place. The final four-lapper was won by Venables-Llewelyn’s ERA from Howell’s blown 3-litre Sunbeam, the AC/GN third in spite of a 10-seconds penalty for jumping the start. The ERA-Delage was fourth, its coolant able to cope with four laps.

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Thruxton Things
There was some consternation in practice when the new RAC requirement that each driver had to produce a photograph of himself was remembered. This resulted in some fine non-likenesses being submitted and much work for a Polaroid camera. Told that the picture must be securely attached to the form, one competitor fastened his with a nut and bolt. The Mitchell GN was told to tie its pushrods to the engine with bits of string, because if they flew off they would be dangerous, and bare arms had to be covered when racing. Wouldn’t it be better to ban wheels and have done with it?

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Elliot-Pyle towed his racing Lea-Francis to Thruxton behind an Ace-of-Spades Lea-Francis saloon. He also has a post-Vulcan-engined twin-cam Lea-Francis.

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Twydell produced a yellow metal-panelled MG Midget labelled “12/12 Brooklands 1930”, to indicate that it is of Double-Twelve-race type. It was enthusiastically timed each lap, at around 2 min. 28 sec.

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While owners of twin-cam 3-litre Sunbeams everywhere go in fear of cracked heads, Howell races one, and with a dirty great Roots blower into the bargain, with apparent nonchalance.

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Whittaker’s Chrysler ran a big-end. He still uses the gearbox but we are assured that this is rendered prudent because it is a four-speed one from a Chrysler 77 and that 60 m.p.h. is possible in third.

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Churcher’s blown MG PB stopped with clutch slip, Mrs. Fleming’s Firebird-engined Alvis was in a mild shunt, and Evans, who was saying his Chawner-GN is almost dull these days, it is so reliable, had the clutch disintegrate in a big way!

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Clifford is racing his second V8 Riley Special (why does it remind us immediately of the ERA “Hanuman”?). Mrs. Drake’s Amilcar was absent, due to a split head, but Merriott was taking precautions against this happening to his Speed 20 Alvis, with an electric cooling fan installed.

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In the Paddock Milligen’s SSK Mercedes-Benz caused excitement and over it Bianchi, when not racing his Alvis, performed some very advanced aerobatics.

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If all racing cars were as quiet as Drake’s impressively quick replica Light Sports Railton there would he no complaints about noise from Thruxton.

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Thruxton momentarily took on the mantle of Lyons, as Christopher Mann drove under the footbridge in his father’s 1914 GP Mercedes, its exhaust booming deeply, as no doubt it did throughout the longer French race 57 years earlier.

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Barry Clarke had both a good and a bad Thruxton. His Ulster Austin was oiling plugs and got nowhere, coming so late to the line for its second race that it was allowed to join in from the pits road. But Mike Eyre, using one of Clarke’s engines, won the Voiturette Trophy in his Ulster Austin and Mrs. May, driving Barry’s fleet Singer Ten, the Light Car Award, from Gledhill’s Austin Chummy. Another Austin in trouble was Peter Moores’ blown Ulster, which couldn’t hold its water.

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Corner was modestly apologetic about winning the Motor Sport Trophy for the third year running.

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In wishing Tim and Margery Carson the warmest of good wishes in their retirement, we would also welcome Peter Hull, the new VSCC Secretary.