At length the cars were lined up at the end of the finishing straight, and with commendable promptitude Mr. Ebblewhite’s little red flag was raised and dropped to the accompaniment of a crescendo of exhausts and the shrill whine of nine, no, twelve superchargers (the Delages each had two superchargers).
Almost at once the terrific acceleration of the Talbots became obvious, all three shooting to the front, and Divo, in particular, handsomely outstripping even his team mates. In an incredibly short time the competitors came screaming off the Byfleet banking, the three Talbots in the van, but, to everyone’s dismay, Moriceau’s car was seen to be in trouble. With wildly wobbling front wheels the car was gradually pulled over to the left of the track and stopped. It was then observed that the front axle had collapsed, allowing the front wheels to sag inwards in a most pathetic manner. There was no time to ponder over this misfortune, however (which naturally caused Moriceau to retire), for the rest of the field came snaking through the bends, Divo, Segrave and Benoist (Delage) leading, with the other two Delages at the tail end of the procession, and temporarily behind, the three British drivers, Campbell (Bugatti), Halford (Halford), and Eyston (Aston Martin), who completed the procession.
The first change in the order resulted in Senechal on the Delage overtaking Eyston, and this order was maintained for about six laps, during which time the three leaders, now in close formation, averaged 82 m.p.h.
