MOTOR SPORT

lovely ladies and the sun, could stage quite a good show, with those ” 3.3 ” Type 57 Bugattis, special-bodied Alfas and Mercs. competing against our own. varied-bodied Bentley and Phantom Rolls-Royce cars. Bored with tennis. riding and bathing after a month of idleness we might even apply for Press-passes and ourselves drop in for a while.

After penning these two paragraphs I feel the reminiscent mood returning, but before letting it have its way, have any readers undertaken queer journeys in unusual cars these holiday months ? If so, I should like to hear from them. An old Armstrong-Siddeley Twenty, used for an unexpected journey to Brooklands, accelerated so imperceptibly that -we were persuaded to put the watch on it. But, as the driver remarked, the watch would be almost run down by the time the speedo-needle had shown any per

ceptible movement. Even so, as proof of our insanity we committed brief lappery of the Track (untimed) in this lethargic carriage, atoning for this behaviour the next day by doing the same journey in a most imposing, open touring Big Six Bentley, a beautiful possession, which accelerated powerfully with the traditional ” plop ” from the gas-works, thoroughly satisfying until one observed the very rapid decline of the column of red liquid in the petrol gauge—also traditional, we believe.

There followed practice and participation in the J.C.C. Members’ Day at Brooklands, when the little Fiat and the Aprilia Lancia, running line ahead to the Track, might well have called forth much respectful Fascist saluting, though the only attention paid to us was from cyclists who mistrusted the driver’s judgment—and they made signs which would not have pleased Mussolini or Sir Oswald. A week later there was a fine fast drive alone to Donington and back in a Vauxhall ” 25,” instructive as to the average and cruising speeds possible with quite inexpensive, mass produced machinery. And then a journey, ordinary enough in Continued on page 353

CAR SPEEDWAYS, LTD.

Lured by a Complimentary Ticket, we attended a meeting at Lea Bridge Speedway, London, haunt of the ” Doodle Bugs.” The racing is quite interesting and the little cars are being driven the whole time. Three minor crashes occurred, and, together with the yowl of the Elto Quads and the dirt and dust that is liberally sprayed over front-seaters in the grandstands, the

crowd certainly gets its money’s worth. Personally, we thought that two hours racing an evening would suffice. The loud-speakers are excellent, likewise the view all round the course. The cars are allowed to pass surprisingly near to the public, and old clothes are desirable. The Sldrrow-Specials, described in MOTOR SPORT last January, usually, but not always, have the legs of the Eltos and the lone-hand Specials. We suggest to Mr. Baxter that the programme contain.

the makes of car, although not in accordance with Speedway practice, as those who do not know the drivers can then yell for and urge on their favourite cars. The drivers keep notably cleaner than their two-wheeler brethren. We cannot see any ” standing” and certainly no value in “doodle-bugging,” but as a spectacle it will draw us again. Racing at Lea Bridge commences every Wednesday at 8.15 p.m. and admission costs is. 3d. and 2s. 6d.