Rumblings, January 1952
1951 Awards
On the Editorial pages we pay tribute to 22-year old Stirling Moss for again winning the BRDC Gold Star, which is.awarded for his successes in road racing type events at the wheel of Jaguar, HWM, Kieft and Frazer-Nash cars. Stirling gained 111 points to 56 taken by Alan Brown, 50 by Eric Brandon, 48 by Peter Whitehead and 47 by Reg Parnell. Moss also takes the Seaman Trophy for the best aggregate performance by a British driver in races abroad.
The ERA Club Trophy, awarded to British drivers for the most meritorious performance in an International event goes jointly to Peter Whitehead and Peter Walker for their victory with the XK 120C Jaguar at Le Mans—so very well deserved. Jaguar certainly are in the picture, and rightly so. The RAC Dewar Trophy for the most outstanding engineering and technical achievement of 1951 has been awarded to them. The history of the Dewar Trophy is as follows :—
1906 Dennis Bros, … 4,000 mile run with 20-hp Dennis car.
1907 Rolla-Royce, Ltd … 15,000 mile run with 40/50-11-hp Rolls Royce car.
1908 The Anglo-American Motor Co, Ltd . . . Standardisation test with three 10-hp Cadillac cars.
1909 The Daimler Co, Ltd … 132 hour bench run and 2,000 miles at Brooklands with a 22.8 and a 34.4-hp sleeve-valve engine.
1910 SF Edge … London-Edinburgh-London in top gear with 60.hp Napier car.
1911 The Thomas Transmission, Ltd … 2,000 mile run with lorry and London-Edinburgh-London with car, both using Parry Thomas transmission.
1912 Not awarded.
1913 FS Bennett, Ltd … Run with 1914 model 32.2-hp Cadillac car.
1914 The National Steam Car Co, Ltd … Consumption tests of National coke fuel for motor lorries.
1920 The National Benzole Co, Ltd … 10,000 mile run with National Benzole fuel.
1921 John I Thornycroft, Ltd … Run with BT-type Thornycroft lorry.
1922 Armstrong-Siddeley Motors, Ltd … 10,000-mile run with Armstrong-Siddeley car.
1923 The Rapson Tyre and Jack Co, Ltd … 40,000 mile run with Rapson Cord tyres.
1924 Not awarded.
1925 The Rover Car Co, Ltd … 50 ascents and descents of BwIch-y-Groes with “14/45” Rover car.
1926 Miss Violette Cordery … 5,000 mile run with Invicta car.
1927 Not awarded.
1928 CB Wardman … Consumption trial and run with Mercedes-Benz heavy oil lorry.
1929 Miss Violette Cordery … 30,000 mile run at Brookiands with Invicta car.
1930-31 Not awarded.
1950 The Rover Co, Ltd … Production and performance of gas turbine Rover car.
1951 Jaguar Cars, Ltd … Racing and record-breaking with XK120 and XK120C Jaguar cars. Other annual awards won during 1951 Include: RAC Hill-Climb Championship, Ken Wharton (s/c Cooper 1,000)
RAC Trials Championship : Walter Waring (Bellow). Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy (Sports cars at Goodwood): Michael Hawthorn (Riley). Motor Sport Clubs Trophy (Sports cars at Silverstone): DJR Chapman (Bentley).
Autosport 500-cc Trophy : Eric Brandon (Cooper).
Light Car 500-cc Championship Trophy : Alan Brown (Cooper-Norton).
BTDA Trials Gold Star : RW Falkner (Paul Special).
BTDA Rally Silver Star : D Scott (MG).
Lycett Trophy (Vintage cars): Peter Binns (“30/98” Vauxhall).
Incidentally, the Motor is presenting two trophies in connection with the great 24-hour race at Le Mans, one for the first car to average 100 mph, shared by entrants and drivers, the other for the best performance by British drivers in a British car.
In the Home
In our October issue last year we asked for ideas for introducing an element of motoring enthusiasm into the home. The following letter from Robert B Gegen, of Miami, outlines a particularly attractive way of so doing :—
Dear Mr Boddy,
In your October 1951, issue you ran an interesting few paragraphs on motoring items “In the Home.” Perhaps this Rolls-Royce radiator-shell cabinet idea has been used before, especially in your country, but at least I have never known of it over here. It hangs in a corner of my living-room.
Each mascot bears a full size, or miniature, badge for purposes of identification. The exceptions to this are the two on the right end of the lower shelf, for which I had engraved brass plates made. These two makes seemed to have no suitable badge for my purpose.
As eight out of the ten mascots shown are American, and just in case someone stubs one’s toe on recognising them, here they are, left to right : Top shelf : Lincoln, Pierce Arrow, Cadillac, Stutz, Duesenberg. Lower shelf : Packard, Ford (1931 Model A), Mercedes Benz, Franklin, Hispano-Suiza.
My “most wanted” mascot is the Minerva goddess, Such an item is really difficult to locate over here.
I have been a reader of Motor Sport since 1945, and consider it the best magazine in the world. Please keep it ever a magazine for the enthusiast.
Yours sincerely,
Robert B Gegan, Miami, USA.
Plans
Plans for the 1952 racing season are being finalised and include the following :-
Mercedes-Benz may run a revamped version of the sensational 1939 11/2-litre V8 in Formula 1 races, and are likely to have Lang, Caracciola and Kling as their team drivers at Le Mans and elsewhere.
HWM have new tubular-chassis de Dion cars, still Alta engined, for Formula II.
Coopers with 2-litre Bristol engines may run as a team in the hands of Brandon, Brown and Peter Collins in Formula II races.
Lancia are Interested in sports car racing, with three entries for Le Mans. So are Fiat, but more likely to back private owners than race their new V8 2 litre. Porsche and Pegaso also have their eyes on sports car honours.
Alfa-Romeo are likely to be absentees from GP racing, but have a new V8 chassis with de Dion back-axle for sports car events.
Maserati have a new Formula II, 2-litre, six-cylinder tubular chassis car, meant to poke out 165 bhp at 6,400 rpm, using triple twin Webers.
Ferrari has the four-cylinder Formula II car of Ilke powerand 2.6-litre 200 bhp aerodynamic chassis-less sports models for the Mille Miglia and Le Mans, plus an experimental 3-litre.
Yet another Formula II contender is Osca with a six-cylinder 160 bhp car using a tubular chassis and de Dion axle, the first for Rol. They will persevere with 1,100 1,300 cc and 4,500 cc racing engines too.
Then Gordini is said to be dropping his blown 1,400-cc Simcas to concentrate on unbiown twin-cam 2-litres for Formula II—this Formula has come right into its own for 1952.
Indeed, Rosier and Trintignant are sald to have two four-cylinder Formula II Ferraris, besides a V12 de Dion Formula II job, a 4.1 Ferrari for Le Mans and a Formula I 41/2-litre Ferrari. Moreover, six production single-seater Connanghts will soon be ready. One will be driven by Ken Downing. Michael Hawthorn is interested and Moss was to try one for Ken Wharton. Oh yes, and Germany is thought to be fielding a team of racing DAMWs, using. fairly conventional suspension and 11/2 or 21/2-litre versions of the 328 DAMW.
Finally, . . Richards has a Formula II job on the stocks, and Peter Whitehead will race his Ferrari in 11/2 and 21/2-litre forms.
In view of our plea, made in an article on the new Austin Seven in Motor Sport last November, for far smaller engines in economy cars, we learn with interest that Fiat are likely to introduce a 350-cc baby in the near future.