A TRIAL WITH A NEW IDEA

Sir,

I should like first to congratulate you on producing a paper which is obviously by arch-enthusiasts for ditto. ” General Notes ” in ” Club News ” is always worth the humble tanner alone.

Whilst the present and very necessary dust-up in the matter of trials congestion is in progress, I should like to see another oft-discussed point raised, i.e. trials for the poorer brethren like myself. There are many of us who run a cherished motor for general purposes— in my case, an aged Hyper Leaf minus its blower—and would fain perpetrate

mud-pluggery. Unfortunately for us, however, trials organisers nowadays have to cater mainly for high-efficiency small motors and the multi-cylindered lightweights now favoured, and the courses usually become far to fierce for the palsied innards of our ” old faithfuls.” Not, mind you, that I think any true enthusiast minds entering with little hope of bagging a premier, but it is simply too hard on our pockets.

My own idea is for a trial in which cars eligible should have a market value of not more than, say, forty pounds. There might be a slight difficulty in arriving at said “market value ” but with the help of a certain trade paper which publishes a monthly table showing average prices, and a committee with definite power to decide, I imagine this could be overcome.

The trial could be separated into over and under 2-litres, to allow for the still very potent big cars that can be bought cheaply, and comp. tyres etc. definitely banned, again on account of expense. The course should include two or three stiff, but not chassis-breaking hills, and some sensible tests coiling for real driving skill, as opposed to the usual high-speed transmission-wrecking type. Should the proposed amalgamation of neighbouring clubs come about, four or five trials on these lines could be run annually, one for each section of the

country, and I venture to think that they would be enormously popular with those of us who must usually be content to marshal or spectate.

Wishing you continued success with MOTOR SPORT. I am, Yours etc.,

KENiticK liretcmAN.

Middlesex.