RECORD DAY AT PRESCOTT

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RECORD DAY AT PRESCOTT NEW RECORDS IN EVERY CLASS AT INTERNATIONAL MEETING. RAYMOND MAYS (E.R.A.) PUTS HILL RECORD TO 46.1 SECS. AND SIDNEY ALLARD [Correct spelling: Sydney Allard] ESTABLISHES NEW SPORTS CAR RECORD OF 51.33 SECS. WITH DAMAGED CAR

INTER N ATI ONA I, Day at Prescott hill on July 30th saw all records broken ; every class record went, Raymond Mays set an absolute record of 46.14 secs. with the 2-litre E.R.A., Allard a new Sports-Car Record of 51.33 secs. with his VS Allard., and the sun shone

most of the time. The attendance was also a record, variously estimated at 3,000-6,000 people. Dealing first with the six fastest ascents, Raymond Mays was simply immense, Albeit extremely polished, with his 2-litre Toiler E.R.A., doing 461 secs. first time and then his record run in 46.14 secs., beating Abecassis’s 1938 record by 1.71 secs. The Alta, by the way, was not present to defend its honour. Mays just shaved the outer bank at Pardon hairpin on his second run. Next fastest was Wimille, driving the Formula 4.7-litre

blown Bugatti, a truly beautiful car.

So wide was it, twin shod. at the rear, that it could not use the return road. Wimille wore a beret and drove with great care and polish, clocking 46.69 secs. on his second run, after au initial ascent in 47i secs., excellent times on this course for such a powerful car. Afterwards, Witnille watched other climbs in company

with Earl Howe and Jean Bugatti. Beadle did a very nice run with the 2-litre Alta in 47.37 secs., coming wide out of the ” Esses,” but was nearly a second slower next time. Fourth fastest was Pane, in the monoposto ” Shelsley ” twin-blower Frazer Nash. On his first try the car got into a slide at Pardon Hairpin, and Fane used the hand brake effectively, spinning right round but staying on the road. Next time

he made no mistakes, displayed intense acceleration, and recorded 47.72 secs. Next fastest-Bert Hadley with the won derful little o.h.c. Austin. Working hard, doing a sort of over-arm n correction at the l Esse,” and coming out of Pardon

hairpin wide on his second ascent, Hadley clocked respectively 48.4 and 47.76 sees. He broke the old class record by 3.10 secs. and it was fully appreciated by the big crowd. Sixth fastest was Buckley

With the other Austin, who, after a slow first run, got down to 49.39 sees. on a very clean drive. Looking at things class by class, Heal brought further prestige to the house of Fiat by setting a new Edwardian record of 54.82 sees. with the 1910 10-litre, beating the better runs of fourteen

modern sports-cars and four racing-cars. Hugh Hunter’s 1911 3i-litre two-seater Renault, with authentic exhaust whistle,

on the strength of which he has joined the Vintage S.C.C., did its fastest run in 98.39 secs. Crozier’s blown Bugatti, looking more like a cut-about Type 55 than a 1i-litre, broke the H.R.G. record in the 1l-litre sports class by 1.19 sees., clocking 53.07 secs. It fairly bounced through the ” F,sses.” Second fastest was ‘Claridge’s Frazer-Nash and the rest were far slower. Bagratouni’s red 2.6-litre Alfa-Romeo led the 3-litre sports class, with a polished run in 52.11 sees., which beat Pane’s B.M.W. record by .64 of a second. Hugh Hunter’s big 2.9 Alfa-Romeo was second in 54.36 secs. and Frost was third, his 328 B.M.W. climbing in 54.46 secs., amid

protests from the tyres. Alf Langley, with his cheery smile and the same car, was mere decimal points slower. Templer missed a change on the 2+-litre All aRomeo. In the unlimited sports classAllard worried us by sliding sideways into a tree at very high speed on his first run, at Orchard corner. The chassis frame was very badly bent indeed on the near side and the body damaged about the cockpit. For a long time no news of Allard was forthcoming but he was quite unhurt. This left fastest time in the first half to Silcoek, in 53.61 secs., his V12 Allard admired as much for its appearance as for its performance. Then Allard, in spite of an out-of-line chassis and only three brakes, did a tremendous second

Kurt, taking to the outside bank at Pardon for quite a while,, to clock 51.33 sees., beating his own record by 1.88 sees. and smashing the Sports-Car Record, held since July 1938 by Pane’s B.M.W., by 1.42 secs. Silcock got down to 52.65 secs. on his second run. So the Allards took first and second fastest unblown times, as well. Monro, still terming his 41-litre Invicta a ” Red Gauntlet,” did 54.26 sees., beating the 3Flitre S.S. 100s

of Terry and Crawford. Crowther’s splendid Le Mans 5-litre Bugatti indulged in quite a tail slide and flung fuel from the filler cap, in a run which also beat Crawford’s S.S. So to the racing classes. At first, times in the 750 c.c. category were slow, and Dowson ‘s.5•1 .67 sees. with the Lightweight Special, which has an. ex-Works blown s.v. Austin engine and elastic suspension, Stood right out. The noise was immense and Dowson leant with his car on the corners. Then the Austin oh. cam. cars got moving and Dowson got down to 50.64 secs., making artistry of his gear changes despite the between-the-legs location of the lever. J. K. W. Baines, with the newly cowled R-type M.G.,

clipped excessively and was slow, and Povey’s dirt-track Ella-Van-Oise showed the unsuitability of cinder-cars for real racing by failing to better 56.83 sees. Palethorpe opened the 11-litre racing class, and his thunderous ” Shelsley ” Frazer-Nash did 50.05 secs. on its second run. Later, Mrs. Palethorpe, drove it up very well in 55.2 secs. Maclure’s Riley, with the blown engine, was clipped up in 49.72 secs., Ansell got immense wheelspin and took things sanely, on a run of 49.01 secs., and Hampshire showed good and growing form in getting the old six-cylinder 1Vlaserati up in 49.59 secs. That veteran, the Wolseley ” Moth ” motored Becke-Powerplus, losing a chain first time, then went up in 49.84 secs Appleton, Brooke, and Parnell all ex ceeded 51 sees. Parnell was having a rather fearful day. First, Mrs. Hall Smith’s Maserati died on him before the bridge, then it motored off the road at the last corner and was considerably damaged, and, just before Mays was due to make his second run, the new Challenge, positively its first appearance in public, gushed oil all over the starting area. Finally, it made a run in 56.48 secs., slowest in the class. And the

B.H.W. was a non-runner. Mays took all the attention in the 2-litre racing Class, and Lord Avebury’s old Alta record, by 4.78 sees. Nevertheless, Beadles’ runs were well appreciated, Marston’s Bugatti did 54.74 secs., and Clark’s 57.16 Secs. In the big racing class we had the pleasure of Wimille’s great demonstration-the 4.7 Bugatti has smashed Baron’s_ old record with the ” 2.3 ” by 1.45 secs. Shakespeare really dime the club Bugatti, clocking 51.34 secs. and Lemon-Burton, using twin rear wheels of wire type, sending out lots of oil haze, and doing fierce things, got his ” 2.3″ up in 50.96 secs. Kenneth Evans sprung a last minute surprise. His ” 2.9″ Alfa-Romeo had been slower than these two Bugattis on its first run, in spite of smoking tyres, but it finally (Continued on page 285)

got up in 49.97 secs., seventh best time of the day and good showing for such a big car. Alas, Baron crashed in practice and did not run.

Raymond Mays then did a tour d’honour and the Prescott International Meeting was over. Certainly it was a great day for sprint exponents and the new records were appreciated by all save those whose motors seem to have reached an absolute limit of urge. They will make for added interest at the next big meeting on the 24th of this month—times established at the Vintage S.C.C. Meeting on August 26th do not change the position, of course. For our part, we ended the evening at Sturt Farm, where so many enthusiasts call en route for home—though there were still some vacant tables. You will find it on the righthaud side of the Cheltenham–Oxford main, road nearer

Burford, than Northleach, marked by a large name-board.

RESULTS

Veteran Cars : 1, A. S. Heal (10-litre Fiat-1910), 54.82s. (new class record) ; 2, H. C. Hunter (31-litre Renault-1911), 98.398.

Old record : Glutton (10-litre Fiat-1910), 58.33s.

1.506 0.0. Sports : 1, G. M. Crozier (Bugatti, S.), 53.078. (new class record) ; 2, G. D. Claridge (FrazerNash), 54.69s.; 3, T. B. Hague (Riley), 55.28s.

Old record : Baltic Hill (II.R.G.) 54.26s.

3-litres Sports : 1,0. Bagmtouni (2.6 Alfa-Romeo), 52.118. (new class record) ; 2, H. C. Hunter (2.9 Alla-Romeo), 54.398.; 3, A. E. Frost (2-litre Type 328 Frazer-Nash-B.M.W.), 54.46s.

Old record : Pane (Frazer-Nash-B.M.W.), 52.75s.

Over 3-11tres Sports : 1, 8. H. Allard (3.6 Allard), 51.33s. (new class record) ; 2, 1). G. Silcock (4.3 Allard), 52.65s.; 3, I). Monro (4.5 “Red Gauntlet” Invicta), 54.268. Old record : Allard (Allard), 53.218,,

Racing Oars

750 c.c. :1, )1. L. Hadley (744 c.c. Austin), 47.768. (new class record) ; 2, C. 1). Buckley (744 c.c. Austin), 49.39s.; 3, J. M. P. Dowson (747 c.o. Lightweight Special), 50.048.

Old record : Buckley (s.v. Austin), 50.868.

1,500 c.c. : 1, A. F. P. Fane (Frazer-Nash), 47.72$. (new class record) :2, R. E. Angell (B.11 ,A.), 49.018.; 3, 1). A. Hampshire (Maserati), 49.598.

Old record : Abecassis (Alta), 47.859.

2-litres :1, Raymond Mays (2-litre E.R.A.), 46.14s. (new class record and record for the hill irrespective of engine its.); 2, A. H. Beadle (2.0 Alta), 47.378.; 3, R. J. T. Marston (2.0 Bugatti), 54.748.

Old class record : Lord Avebury (Alta), 50.92s.

Over 2-litres :1, J. P. Whittle (4.7 Bugatti), 40.69s. (new class record) ; 2, K. D. Evans (2.9 Alfa-Romeo), 49.978.; 3, J. Lemon Burton (2.8 Bugatti), 50,378.

Old record : Baron (2.3 Bugatti), 48.14s.