ROUND THE ALPINE TRIAL
ROUND THE ALPINE TRIAL.
The 8 cylinder Fords which won the Alpine Cup in Group I were entered by a Dutch firm. They were the latest type 1934 models, with new radiator, and an apparently lower and longer chassis frame.
The S.S.1 team made a good effort, but the cars being brand new were evidently not quite suited to Alpine work. However, they learnt a lot, and next year with slight modifications should do well. The individual entrants did better, having a greater mileage to their credit and being prepared by Continental drivers. As a whole, light cars did better than bigger machines, excepting of course the
Bugattis and Alfas. Rileys, Frazer Nashes, M.G.’s and Singers all caused much favourable comment.
Needham had a bad radiator leak on his S.S., which Italian sealing compounds quite failed to seal. Two tins of Neverleak clid the trick.
The best British performance by a single car was that of H. J. Aldington’s Frazer Nash, which was the only British car to get through without loss of marks. Unfortunately he was in the team, so that this does not appear in the results. Belgrave’s ” blown ” Midget deserved
its Glacier Cup for the best performance in Group 5, especially as a bearing had been re-metalled just before the start.
Mlle. Sajoux caused something of a sensation by her single-handed run in a Delahaye saloon, in contrast to the dual crews of all other competitors. A charming young Parisienne, she seemed quite unperturbed by the magnitude of her task, and did not even have a watch ! This omission proved her undoing at St. Moritz, however, where she dashed into the control thinking she was late—only to be told she was 11 minutes early.