Club Racing Reports

Boshier-Jones Breaks GT. Auclum Course Record

Boshier-Jones, driving his Cooper 1,100, climbed the ¼-mile course at Gt. Auclum, with its banked bottom corner, in 20.56 sec. at the Hants. & Berks. M.C. Hill Climb on August 8th, breaking Marsh’s former record by 0.04 sec. In hot sunshine a good crowd was able to study the different driving methods up the short twisting gradient, interest being maintained by the variety of the competing cars and varied modes of attack, for incidents were conspicuous by their absence.

After the course had been opened by a Facel Vega and a new Sunbeam Alpine coupe the Saloon Car Class was fought out between Rivers-Fletcher in the blown L.M.B. Ford Popular and Shutler in his well-known 4½-litre Invicta. Shutler won the first round with 25.27 sec. to the Ford’s 25.34. but Rivers then improved to 24.63 sec. to win the class, while Jennings’ Renault Dauphine Gordini was second in 25.05 sec., third place going to the big pre-selector vintage Invicta, which was slower on its second ascent. This low-chassis coupe beat, amongst others, Douglas Johns’ Wolseley 1500, two Minx and a very slow Herald, all presumably in tuned form.

J. Richards deservedly won the 1,100-c.c. Sports Car Class, his Lotus-Climax exceedingly fast and steady (21.8 sec.), Playford taking second place in the same car (21.86 sec.), while Moore’s Long Bacon, with twin-carb., A-series B.M.C. engine, curious louvres in its front mudguards and anti-roll hoop, was third (23.54 sec.).

Derisley made some of his sensational ascents, sliding the bottom bend, to break his own class record for 1,101-1,400-c.c. un/sc. and 1,100-c.c. s/c. sports cars in 22.27 sec., the Tortoise Stable also netting third place when Loveridge drove the same Lotus-Ford up in 23.67 sec., second place being taken by J. Ball’s Lotus-Ford (22.92 sec.), Wilson, who had L-plates on his Lotus Elite crashed his gears on his first run, and was very slow. Fielding drove his rear-engined sports Cooper-Climax, with seat moved from the centre to the r.h. side, very fast to win the next class for sports cars up to two litres, his 21.72 sec. gaining him second prize and beating the former class record. Perkins, in a Lotus with enormous roof to a bonnet concealing a B.M.W. engine, was second (22.78 sec.), Cottrell’s scruffy Lotus-Bristol third (22.92 sec. on both runs). Two bored-out TC M.G.s, one a coupe, were faster than four A.C.-Bristols.

Scragg set another new record, of 22.7 sec. in winning the big sports car class in his H.W.M.-Jaguar, beating Chapman’s accelerative Chapman-Mercury (22.87 sec.) and Leaver’s high compression-ratio XK120 (23.92 sec.). Patricia Richardson’s tuned Daimler Conquest was slowest in this class, being handsomely beaten even by Howell’s vintage supercharged twin-cam 3-litre Sunbeam.

As there were no gas-turbine entries the racing classes opened with “500s,” Pashley’s Cooper clocking 22.47 sec., Lovell’s Grenfell 22.67 sec., Welton’s Cooper 22.87 sec. Boshier-Jones made f.t.d. in the 1,100-c.c. class (20.56 sec.), Henderson’s blown Cooper 1,100 being no match for it (21.92 sec.), while James’ Cooper was third (21.59 sec.). This class was a Cooper monopoly, the Monoposto with VW gearbox and rear-mounted Austin engine failing to leave the paddock.

Patsy Burt drove deceptively, her Cooper looking steady but comparatively slow, yet it got away so well and took the top corners so fast that she won the up-to-2,000-c.c. racing-car class in 21.4 sec., a new class record. She beat Berry’s E.R.A.-Special (21.69 sec.), the engine of which emitted more and more smoke on each successive run, and Douglas Hull, who courageously got the twin-rear-wheeled E.R.A. up in 22.18 sec. Owen came all the way from Jersey but his Cooper proved slow. Wickson’s DD1 Buckler-Ford with transverse rear spring to a rigid axle was commendably fast through the banked corner. Rivers-Fletcher ran alone in the big racing car class in his smart H.W.M. He was the only driver to really make use of the banking, as he had done in the L.M.B.-Ford, but the L.M.B.-tuned “cooking” Jaguar engine, which tended to misfire, only permitted a time of 24.21 sec.

An enjoyable and well-run meeting concluded with runs for R.A.C. Hill Climb Championship points, in which Boshier-Jones remained supreme, if slower than before (20.6 sec.), followed by David Good (21.01 sec.) and James (21.3 sec.) — a Cooper trio. — W.B.

Another VW Club

A Northern Volkswagen Club has been formed; the Secretary’s address is: “Garth,” Southworth Road, Narton-le-Willows, Lancs.

W.E.C.C. National Benzole Meeting

In a West Essex Car Club Invitation meeting held at Snetterton on Sunday, August 9th, J. B. Naylor, at the wheel of the J.B.W. Maserati with which he set up a new course record at the same circuit three weeks previously, scored an easy win in the main event of the day, the 15-lap National Benzole Trophy race for Formule Libre cars. Lapping at about 4 sec. slower than his record, he held off M. B. McKee in Jim Russell’s Formula 2 Cooper Climax until the latter came to rest on Coram Curve on the penultimate lap with a dead engine. These two cars had streaked away from the remainder of the field from the start, and the eventual runner-up, K. A. Greene (Formula 2 Cooper Climax) finished over half a lap behind the winner.

Supporting events included two Series Production sports car races, which provided class wins for F. R. Gerard (Turner), J. H. O. Whitmore (Lotus Elite), A. T. Foster (M.G.-A. twin-cam), J. R. Stoop (Frazer Nash) and R. Protheroe (Jaguar XK120) and a contest for 1,100 c.c. sports cars in which K. A. Greene scored a walkaway win with the Gilby Engineering stable’s Lotus Seventeen.

Both 750 and 1,172-engined cars were featured in Formula races, D. Rees’ Austin Rees being the victor in the opening event of the programme, and B. Hart at the wheel of the Terrier Mk. Ill scoring yet another victory to add to the impressive score accumulated so far this season.

W. F. Moss (Lister-Jaguar) found the handicapper in a generous mood, and moved into the lead from the scratch mark shortly after half-distance in a poorly supported 10-lap race for Jaguar-engined cars, and the W. Lyons Trophy. Limit-man Romain in a 3.4-litre saloon was almost lapped by the winner.

The programme closed with a lively saloon car race, the overall winner of which was S. Hill in a 2,136-c.c. Peerless. Class wins went to J. R. Burville-Holmes (Peerless) and G. Boxall (A35), the latter being one of three Cambridge Racing Team entries, all in identical cars, which spent the entire race in close company, and which called for the closest observation by Chief Timekeeper Cyril Audrey as they crossed the finishing point in line abreast. — J.B.

Bentley and Jaguar Combine at Silverstone

On August 1st, the Bentley and Jaguar Drivers Clubs combined to organise a race meeting on the club circuit at Silverstone. It turned out to be a rather drawn out affair, consisting of twelve handicap races and one scratch event. Rain made the handicapping difficult, but even so there were some enormous discrepencies.

In the first race no-one could catch Gibbins in his Concours S.S.100. Chamberlain (Aston Martin 2-litre) produced some fireworks on Woodcote on lap three, but recovered and collected third place behind Trew’s XK120. At the end of the field M. Gray got his Jaguar XK120 broadside just before the pits, principally because he had brand new Firestone Super Sports on the front wheels only.

Howard came through well from the 10 sec. mark to win Event Two at 68.49 m.p.h., and in the following five lapper M. J. Bradley’s 3/4½-litre Bentley thundered home in front of Baxter’s 3-litre car, though this pair actually did six laps due to inattention by the chequered flag waver. It was in this race that the bald-Bentley incident occurred. For some reason B. Mountfort’s 3/4½-litre Bentley was allowed to start with little tread on its front tyres and on the third lap one of them burst as he went into Copse: the Bentley ploughed into the bank, but remained upright and the driver was unhurt.

R. A. Gibson (XK140) collected his first win of the day in the next race, at 64.01 m.p.h., then in Event Five it was D. C. Cumber’s turn at 49.17 m.p.h. with his 2-litre Lagonda. Event Six found the C- and D-type Jaguars up against impossible handicaps, and two 120s (Berwick and Clairmonte) led home Rosemary Massey’s XK150.

Pound’s Aston Martin Le Mans was given a lap and 100 sec. in the following ten lapper, though Bradley came through well to finish second he could not catch the Aston. Next came the only scratch event, 10 laps for Marque sports cars. Heppenstall’s smart blue M.G.-A. twin cam coupe lead for the first four laps, but he was obviously near his limit. When pressed by Leuch’s TR2 on lap five he spun out of Copse, leaving Leuch to win.

The 15-lap all-corners handicap was a runaway for Clive Clairmonte’s XK120: he won by 40 sec. from Gillett’s D.B.2. It was obviously time Mr. Clairmonte was re-handicapped, but no, in the next race he was given a lap and 58 sec. and won by 40 sec. again from Hopkins’ XK150 S and Were’s XK150. Then it was Gibson’s turn: he won the next two handicaps, 5 sec. and 9 sec. in front of Taylor’s XK120 and Sturgess’s XK120, respectively.

Finally, came the Motor Sport trophy qualifying race: a five-lap scramble which gave the fast sports racers their best chance of the day. They took it: Gordon Lee and Mike Mackie scorched through the field to take first and second places on the last lap in their C- and D-type Jaguars, followed home by R. Taylor’s 120.