Club news, April 1953
We hear…
A Riley-engined car for 1954 Formula I racing is being built by a trials driver. Hollywood is said to be considering filming Fay Taylour’s book “One Love Lasted.” Prescott will be open for B.O.C. members to test their cars during the weekend of April 19th-20th. Lord Brabazon won the toboganning Seniors’ Cup on the Cresta Run a few days after his 69th birthday. Elizabeth and Eric Thompson were married in London on February 19th. Oliver Sear is in charge of racing at Snetterton circuit. The Monkey Stable’s 1953 cars will be Kieft-M.G.s with enlarged TD M.G. engines. Stirling Moss has been on holiday in the West Indies—did he need one as a result of testing modern family cars for a certain Sunday newspaper? De Graffenried has one of the latest 2-litre Maserati cars. Entries for Le Mans have closed. Gerard and Wharton are down to drive Frazer Nash cars, Abecassis/Parnell, Collins/Duke, Thompson/Poore DB3 Aston-Martins. The girls seem to have specialised in accidents during this year’s Paris-St. Raphael Women’s Rally, Mlle. Gilberte’s Porsche hitting an oncoming car in fog and Betty Haig’s Healey Silverstone a parked Renault, which caught fire.
The sports Triumph seen at Earls Court has been modified into a longer-tailed, more powerful two-seater, for which 100 m.p.h. is claimed. The 1-litre Lancia Appia made its debut at the Geneva Show. The Aurelia continues as a 1.754-c.c. or 1,991-c.c. V6, in B10, B15, B20, B21 and B22 forms, the last-named the 90-b.h.p., 100-m.p.h. model for which 24 m.p.g. is claimed.
Dennis Poore has resigned from the Connaught Racing Syndicate and his associations with K. McAlpine and Connaught Engineering — do we scent some keen rivalry on the race course as a result ? Bob Chase, who sponsored Mike Hawthorn last season, will run the Equipe Anglaise this year, using an Alfa Romeo-engined Cooper-Bristol with de Dion back-end, and two of the new sports Cooper-Bristols which were described and illustrated exclusively in Motor Sport last month, one with a Bristol, the other with an Aston-Martin “Vantage” engine. Alan Brown is Manager. Robert Baird tells us that the Cooper-Bristol which we referred to last month as Roy Salvadori’s is actually his property. His other cars for the coming season are an Alta, a Formula II Ferrari, and a new 2.9-litre sports Ferrari. Salvadori is likely to share some of the driving with Baird.
The Ecurie Ecosse will this season run three Jaguar XK120Cs in sports-car races and a new Connaught and two Cooper-Bristols in Formula II races. ” Wilky ” will tune the cars for David Murray, who has appointed as his drivers Sir James Scott-Douglas, Bt., Ninian Sanderson, Ian Stewart and Jimmy Stewart. A garage in Jersey has ordered a Formula ll Connaught.
G. A. Shaw, 32, Greengates Lane, Knaresborough, Yorks, is compiling an elaborate series of private scrap books and would like to buy or beg journals or cuttings appertaining to any road vehicles.
Good news — the price of the Formula III Kieft has been reduced by £100.
Club magazines flourish these days, some with enjoyable names, such as “The Oil Rag” (Cemian C.C.) and “Squeak, Squeak” (Fiat 500 Club).
A 1913 G.W.K. is for sale in Woking.
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De Lacy M.C..
Despite the prospect of a thick foggy night some seventy members and guests of the De Lacy Motor Club of Pontefract attended Monk Fryston Hall, near Leeds, on Thursday, March 5th, for their first annual dinner and prizegiving. The only empty seat was that of Phil Turner, the Club Captain, who, faced with a last minute journey down from Newcastle, was obliged to dispatch a telegram from Darlington –“Can’t make it — thick fog.” Apart from this piece of very hard luck, an excellent evening was had by all. After a really first-rate dinner, the usual toasts were proposed, and then, after receiving a bouquet, Mrs. A. L. Marshall, wife of the President of the Club, presented the awards. Much silverware, inscribed tankards, cigarette cases and framed photographs crossed the table (most charmingly done, if we may say so), the major awards being : Starfield Trophy: J. S. Wordsworth; Sym Trophy: A. E. England ( the latter being presented as an acknowledgment of service to the Club, as no event had been staged as yet for its award).
The evening continued with much lively dancing until I a.m., when once again all and sundry stepped out into a murky night to grope their various ways home.
May one mention also that the gathering was honoured in having the complete Monte Carlo Rally team of Messrs. H. Kennedy, R. Dando and G. Greaves present. They reached Monte Carlo in their Hillman Minx without loss of points.
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S.C.C. of A.
The Sports Car Club of America announces the following changes in the 1953 Calendar of National Events: The road race previously scheduled for Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kansas, June 21st, 1953, has been changed to Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Nebraska, on the same date. Also, the road race scheduled for October 4th at March Air Force Base, Riverside, California, has been changed to November 8th, still at that location.
These events are part of the fourteen national road races now on the Sports Car Club of America 1953 Calendar, and two of the seven air base races to be held this year with the co-operation of the Strategic Air Command. The first race of this type for the year was held on February 21st at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida, and was a tremendous success; 106 entries made it the largest field of cars for any Florida sports-car race to date.
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Bugatti O.C.
The Bugatti Owners’ Club has issued its annual book of fixtures and Bugatti types. The 1953 fixtures are :
April 6th: Rally and Tests, Southport.
April 19/20th: Prescott Testing Week-End.
April 20th: Opening Rally, Prescott.
May 18th: National Spring Hill-Climb, Prescott.
June 14th: Silverstone Race Meeting.
July 6th: Members Hill-Climb, Prescott.
July 27th: International Flll Hill-Climb, Prescott.
Aug. 10th: Inter-Club Hill-Climb, Prescott.
Sept. 14th: International Hill-Climb, Prescott.
Oct. 24th: Dinner and Dance, Dorchester Hotel.
Dec. 13/14th: Welsh Rally.
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Bristol M.C & C.C.C.
The virile Bristol Club sends out the following fixture list:
April 4th: Castle Combe Race Meeting — C.I.
April 25th: Castle Combe Race Meeting — C.
May 25th: Thruxton Airfield Race Meeting — C.I.
Mrs. K. R. Maurice and T. H. Simmonds will jointly act as Competition Secretaries.
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The Braid Rally
The Rhyl and District Motor Club’s Closed Event of the year, the Braid Rally, which attracted a full entry of 50 and held on February 28th/March 1st, was from the competitors’ point of view an outstanding success.
The start from nine o’clock onwards from Braid’s Garage, Colwyn Bay, was conducted without incident, the discipline among the competitors being excellent. The route lay down the Conway Valley through the Llanberis Pass and Snowdonia to Bangor, where competitors were sent over a very tricky bit of navigational course, eventually arriving back for a compulsory stop at the Britannia Garage, Menai Bridge. and then back through Caernarvonshire and the mountain roads of Wales, and finally finished with an excellent breakfast at the Marine Hydro Hotel, Rhyl. The course was designed to provide a test of drivers, navigators and machines, and it was expected that the weather would play some little part in making some of the sections a test of both drivers and cars. This, however, did not prove to be the case as the night was magnificent, a brilliant cloudless sky with a full moon, no frost, no snow and no fog made the task comparatively easy with the result that, much against the will of the organisers, a simple width-judging eliminating test had to be held in the hotel car park. However, rallies are organised for the enjoyment of the competitors and it can be said without question that the whole entry expressed their pleasure with the Rally as a whole. A total distance of 210 miles was covered by the competitors.
Results:
Braid Challenge Trophy was shared by A. Robinson (Austin Seven), J. C. Jones (TC M.G.).
The Brookes Parry Trophy by Stan Kennedy (S.S. 100).
The Moss Challenge Trophy by N. G. Waterhouse (Triumph Mayflower).
Novice’s Award by N. V. Bier (Austin Sixteen).
Class Awards:
Class A — Open under 1,500 c.c:. T. J. C. Davies (Wolseley Sports) ; J. M. Winn (Dellow).
Class B — Closed under 1,500 c.c:. B. P. Wallis (Standard Eight), Mrs. Fenton (Austin A 40).
Class C — Open over 1,500 c.c: B. B. Davies (Plus 4 Morgan).
Class D — Closed over 1,500 c.c: Mike Hinde (Alvis), G Sterling (Sunbeam Talbot).