Looking on the lighter side of life

The RAC held a one-off six-day Light Car Trial in 1924 to publicise such cars at a time when they were gaining in popularity. Two 170-mile road routes were used and the final day took the competitors down to Brooklands for drastic checking of condition and speed trials.

The large entry embraced AC, Argyll, Austin 7, BSA, Calthorpe, GWK, Gwynne, Lagonda, Lea-Francis, Marseal, Paladium, Rhode, Seabrook, Singer, Talbot, Trojan and Wolseley. The eventual winner was Chinnery’s Gwynne 8.

The VSCC’s Light Car Section plans to re-enact one of those routes, which will embrace Bwlch-y-Groes, the highest Welsh pass, on March 27/28. It is hoped that most of the original makes of car will participate, although they will be unlikely to get some of the now-rare ones.

As in 1924, the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells will be the HQ, and Sunday will be occupied with the usual trial, with lunch at the Elan Valley Hotel.

This will make for a very interesting weekend. It is not, however, the unique event the LCS believes: it has used the more interesting route twice previously and the whole two-day affair, with the encouragement of Motor Sport, on another occasion.

Although this was a serious event, the drivers showed some signs of amusement. For example, the mud was thick enough for inscriptions to be shown therein, so that on the spare tyres of the two Rhodes whose front wheels were sagging was the word ‘Fishy’, the Derby horse that had a very odd gait and finished badly. On the spare wheel of the Seabrook, with a flat tyre, someone, presumably the Trojan crew, had written Try Solids’, which tyres they were of course using.

No doubt the VSCC LCS event will be similar fun.