The B.A.R.C. Members' Meeting

April 3rd

Seven Brooklands-type races run in sunny weather made the 65th B.A.R.C. Members’ Meeting very enjoyable. The 5-lap Marque Scratch Race was an easy victory for Campbell’s Elva Sebring-M.G., although if Wingfield in Boothby’s T.V.R. Grantura had not spun at Woodcote on the last lap the result could have been different, for he was 5.8 sec. behind at the finish and made fastest lap, at 86.92 m.p.h. Third place went to House’s Morgan PIus 4, which just beat Covill’s Elva Courier on the run-in, to the delight of its pit-crew.

The first of two 7-lap saloon-car scratch races came next, and was a comfortable race for the winner, Kirby in one of Odor’s Cooper-Mini-S. Mason’s smart number-plate-less Burge Speed Mini-Cooper-S was second, and third place was a tough tussle between Howard’s very “hot” Hillman Imp with Mini wheels and Wilding in the other Odor Mini-Cooper-S. The Imp led until it ran wide out of the chicane on the last lap and gave Wilding his chance, by 0.6 of a second! Sports cars of various sizes and types then indulged in a 10-lap scratch race, but Chris. Williams, leading in the Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy Contest, had the B.M.W. engine of his Elva blow up on the way to the start. For three laps Lumsden led in his lightweight Jaguar-E but Taylor in Bamford’s Brabham BT8 Climax wore him down and went ahead. Lumsden did all he could to hang on, and both cars were level through Woodcote on lap five, in spite of having a back-marker to overtake. But Taylor, although new to Goodwood, drew away, taking an excellent line at Lavant Corner, and the experienced Lumsden was also passed, on lap nine, by Sparrow in the A.C. Cobra, Digby, in the other Dangertield I.h.d. A.C. Cobra, being fourth. This was the best race of the afternoon, full of incident and hard fought. The American Gubelman tangled his alloy-chassis Bobsy Cosworth Ford with Delmer-Morgan’s Lotus-Ford at St. Mary’s on lap one.

The two Cobra drivers and Lumsden came out again for the next race, a 10-lap GT scratch contest. This time Lumsden kept his distance from Sparrow and Dangerfield in the Cobras, Burnand’s Lotus Elan fourth, all well spaced out and lapping the rest of the field two laps from the finish. St. Quintin (Lotus Elan) hit the bank at St. Mary’s, where several cars tried to demolish the Castrol advertisement, while a very exciting four-car battle was contested between Runham’s Jaguar-E, Mortimer’s Marcos, Beeson’s Diva and White’s M.G. Midget, the Jaguar emerging ahead, in sixth place behind Denham’s Cosworth-tuned Marcos.

The bigger saloon cars raced next, Merfield’s V8 Ford Cortina at last showing its real form, which meant leading all the way, to win by 2.8 sec. from Dodds’ well-known 3.8 Jaguar with air scoops to its front brakes, the 4.7-litre Cortina lapping at 87.63 m.p.h. Drury had his twin-cam 1,718-c.c. Ford Anglia in second place at the end of the first lap but spun out of the chicane and fell right back. Peer, in an Anglia declared as 1,800 c.c., thereafter held third position, in front of Lawrence’s Mini-Cooper-S, until Cave in his very fast Austin A40 displaced him on the last lap. Negus, in the running for the Brooklands Trophy, lost a wheel from his Mini-Cooper-S and Linney, whose Willment Cortina GT bore his name and looked suitable for a Concours d’Elegance, went very sedately. Nicholson’s Cortina was not on form, after all-night work on its engine, but came in sixth.

A good afternoon’s racing concluded with a couple of 5-lap handicaps. Three M.G.Bs dominated the opening stages of the first of these races, but on the last lap the trio was split, Sawyer-Hoare’s Lotus Ford coming up fast to second place, ahead of the white-and-blue M.G.s of Pollard and Hill, but unable to catch the winning red M.G. of Boardman by 2.4 sec. Whitaker’s Mini-Cooper-S finished the last race with no-one in sight, until Digby in the Cave A40 appeared, Dodd’s able Jaguar third. The field had been somewhat depleted by Marshall’s Mini-Cooper having a broken fuel pipe, Howard’s impertinent Imp no oil pressure, while Wardle’s Renault R8 had no brakes left after an earlier race, perhaps not surprising as its boot contains a Lotus-Cortina engine! – W. B. The outright winners were:–

5-lap Marque Scratch Race: M.D.C.C. Campbell (Elva Sebring-M.G.) 84.94 m.p.h.

7-lap Saloon Car Scratch Race: T. Kirby (Austin-Cooper-S) 78.20 m.p.h.

10-lap Sports Car Scratch Race: S. J. Taylor (Brabham BT8-Climax) 93.26 m.p.h.

10-lap GT Scratch Race: P.J.S. Lumsden (Jaguar E-type) 93.51 m.p.h.

7-lap Saloon Car Scratch Race: D. P. Merfield (Ford Cortina V8) 85.54 m.p.h.

5-lap Handicap: B.W. Boardman (MGB) 80.36 m.p.h.

5-lap Handicap: P.F. Whitaker (Morris-Cooper-S) 79.56 m.p.h.

Fastest lap of the afternoon: S. J. Taylor (Brabham BT8-Climax) 95.57 m.p.h.

Leaders in Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy Contest: Dodd, 9 points; Lumsden and Cave, 8 points each; Wingfield, Campbell and Burnand, 6 points each; Williams, 5-1/2 points. Next round – Goodwood, May 22nd.