Lasham to Gotham

Sir,

The article by Bill Boddy covering Jenks’ time with OVX 355D, the Ford GT40, brought back many happy recollections.

Jenks was a long-standing friend and it was usual to be invited to be driven in whatever ‘super’ car he had currently on test.

I was picked up one Sunday morning, and off we drove towards Lasham airfield. There was one corner near Odiham that I had always found difficult to take at speed 55mph was about my limit in the firm’s 1200cc Anglia. That morning, Jenks went round the bend at an effortless 80mph. The car’s performance and handling were a revelation. We would pass slow-moving Sunday motorists one at a time, and scare the daylights out of them with flame pouring out of the exhausts on the overrun.

I asked Jenks to demonstrate the brakes. He accelerated to about 120mph and braked heavily. The deceleration was so great that the senses literally had to catch up. There was no nose-dipping, just serious straight-line retardation. And on the road between the ‘Golden Pot’ and RAF Odiham, the car was momentarily pushed to 144mph, giving driver and passenger great confidence in its ability should a difficult situation arise.

Towards the end of the demonstration run, Jenks suggested a pint in the Odiham High Street pub. We stopped opposite in an apparently deserted street But as we got out of the car, two young school children emerged from nowhere, took one look at us and declared, “Blimey, Batman and Robin!”

I am Yours etc, Derek Argyle, Camberley, Surrey