HERE and THERE, January 1937

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By -clinshaft”

High-Speed ” Black Out

Mention of Avus reminds me of a pretty problem which might conceivably occur in future on the Berlin circuit. As you probably know, the two loops which link the parallel six-mile straights have now been given a steep banking, about the same as Montlhery. With independent springing, the G.P. cars ought to be able to enter these curves (remember that they reach 200 m.p.h. on the straights) with

out much slackening of speed. The question is, will this speed be high enough, and the sudden change of direction abrupt enough, to cause the drivers to experience a momentary “black-out,” as do the pilots of modern fighter aeroplanes, unless they are in perfect physical condition ?

Anyway, Avus ought to be absolutely terrific next year, with tyres as the limiting factor.

Montlhery in Trouble

The finances of Montlhery have never been particularly stable, and now they have apparently reached a crisis. Without a bumper French Grand Prix attendance to carry them through the year, the authorities are beginning to feel the rigours of an economic blizzard. Recordbreaking, too, has been very slack just lately. It is difficult to restrain oneself from saying ” Serves you right ! ” when one thinks of the folly of converting that time-honoured French Grand Prix into a race for sports-cars. The organisers were determined that the public would like it—and they didn’t. The argument that the French people are not interested in a Grand Prix in which the French cars are outclassed does not hold water. Listen to the comments of a typical French motor-racing crowd and you will

find that their favourites are Nuvolari and Chiron (on whatever car he happens to be driving). Two plans are suggested to save Montihery from the auctioneer’s hammer. One is for the Government to take over the whole place, lock, stock and barrel, and the other is for the Government to subsidise the owners.

Italian Snippets

Biondetti has given up his plans of building his own G.P. racer on AutoUnion lines and will probably drive for the Scuderia Ferrari next year.

Villoresi and Cortese are teaming up with another driver as yet unnamed to form a scuderia of their own. Maseratis of 1,500 c.c. and 1,100 c.c. will be their vehicles.

A boom in independently-sprung 1,500 c.c. Maseratis is reported from Bologna. People don’t forget the astonishing ease with which Trossi out-distanced the E.R.A.s on the Nurburg Ring at the Eifel meeting. That car went round the corners like an eel.

Odd Spots

All the R -type M.0.* Midget racing-cars with the McEvoy-Pomeroy double overhead camshaft cylinder heads have changed hands. The one raced by K. D. Evans is now owned by Alan Bainton.

The Zoller-supercharged 1 E.R.A.

is said to develop more power than the 2-litre jobs, in spite of the compressor absorbing some 45 b.h .p. ‘Work is proceeding at the Delage works, under M. Lory, on two new chassis with

independent front suspension and De Rain shock-absorbers, ordering by ” B. Bira.” Into these chassis will be installed the 14-litre Delage engines, out of the ex-Seaman car and the spare one retained by Seaman, respectively.

The engine out Of Capt. J. C. Davis’s. Deluge will be used as a reserve unit. Laurence Pomeroy, Junr., is busy in. Germany with development work on the new Velox variable delivery super-. charger, which will be tested on the Nurburg Ring, in a 1.7-litre Mercedes-Benz,

M.G. Racing Successes for 1936,

Privately owned MA ;. cars have won. twenty-four races in various parts of the world during the past season. Fifteen. wins have been scored in this country, two each in Ireland, Czechoslovakia and Austria and one each in Belgium, Franceamid South Africa.

M.G. cars won 25 per cent. of the races. which took place at Brooklands during the year. With a total of eleven wins. at the track, M.G. may be considered as. one of the most successful cars at Brooklands for 1936.

The following are some of the successes. of major importance scored during the season.

Australian T.T. and Centenary ” 100. ‘

Limerick and Plicenix Park Races in. Ireland.

Racing Section of the 24-Hour Bol. d’Or.

1,100 c.c. Race Grands Prix de France.. Grand Prix des Frontieres. South African Kimberley ” 100.” Locke King Trophy Race at Brooklands._