THE SEPTEMBER SHELSLEY MEETING

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THE SEPTEMBER SHELSLEY MEETING

A. F. P. FANE (SHELSLEY FRAZER-NASH) ESTABLISHES A NEW HILL RECORD. LADIES’ RECORD SHATTERED BY MRS. PETRE (AUSTIN). FASTEST UNBLOVVN TIME BY .1. G. FRY (FREIKAISERWAGEN). FASTEST T.T. SPORTS-CAR, PAUL HEINEMANN’S B.M.W.

FINE weather favoured the September Shelsley-Walsh Hill Climb and a very interesting meeting resulted, attended by a big crowd of enthusiastic spectators.

As usual, the little village of Shelsley Beauchamp and the surrounding towns were enlivened by the intrusion of competitors from the Thursday before the premier British hill-climb was due, for Friday was devoted to practice and Saturday morning to eliminating runs. The Paddock was a place to enthrall, all manner of fast motors rubbing hubcaps with competitors’ private cars, amongst which was a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce. Dick .Nash’s LorraineDietrich was absent, as it had broken a piston the previous Saturday, and Nash was unfortunately ill, but Clutton’s itala was there, fully stripped, its cylinders reminiscent of a gas-works and the beautiful condition of the old car particularly evident. The Delahayes, too, were absent, and poor Mrs. Bolster had the Morris Minor’s crankshaft break just before she was due to defend the ladies’ record, while her husband also experienced the same trouble, so that ” Mary” did not run. Fry was there with the amazing Freikaiserwagen with 1,100 c.c. 80 b.h.p. Blackburn engine amidships, a faired fuel tank above it and Morgan

front suspension. A sister car was D. H. C. Fry’s Kaiserwagen, with A.C. Six engine, an off-set radiator with the header tank connection bolted directly to the water-pump, a motor-cycle fuel tank over the scuttle, big rear tyres, a G.N. steering-box, chain-drive, Morgan independent front suspension and revcounter set well forward and belt-driven from the carden-shaft. Louis McMillen had brought a 4-cylinder 3.2-litre Ford with Indianapolis o.h.v. engine, conventional gearbox and left-hand drive. Giron’s ” 2.3 ” 8-cylinder G.P._ Bugatti had a Wilson gearbox and twin rear covers, and Lloyd-Jones’s Lea-Francis “Triangle Special” a Wilson box and Meadows engine. The G.N. ” Martyr ” now sports a trumpet-exhaust and the Evsell-J.A.P, had the name ” Evans-Special ” on its

radiator. The. Red Biddy spent much of the morning in its customary position, lying on its side. Sir James Heron Walker’s 1,488 c.c. 6-cylinder Walker is a large, neatly turned-out job with sports

equipment. Macleod-Carey’s 11-litre Bugatti had bicyclised carburation arrangements (motor-cycle Amals), and four exhaust pipes, and P. G. Skinner’s Special an S. U. carburetted 4. 1 -li t re Hudson straight-eight engine in a specially designed, very small frame. L. G.

McKenzie made up an improvised screen for Lycett’s 8-litre Bentley. Lord Howe was clapped as he took up his position by the S bend. It is now a matter of history that A. P. P. Pane, driving the single-seater, twin-blower ” Shelsley ” model FrazerNash established a new Shelsley record in 38.77 secs.; equal to an average speed of 53.7 m.p.h. This beats the old record held by Raymond Mays by .32 sees. Mays was not competing, being busy to good purpose with his E.R.A. at Pheenix Park. A telegram from E.R..A. Ltd. was broadcast to the spectators, and it emphasised the unfortunate clashing of the important fixtures which prevented Mays from being at Shelsley. Pane’s first run was inadvertently untimed and his next run took the record. Pane drove

every inch of the 1,000 yards ascent, taking the S-bend beautifully in a ca that was at the very limit of controlr Loud claps greeted the announcement that the E.R.A. record had fallen.. It is interesting that the car used by Pane is a catalogued model, being listed in single-seater form at 11,050, and one of which has been supplied to the Hon.

Peter Aitken. This Shelsley showing

indicates the very fine output of the double blower, single o.h. camshaft 11-litre 4-cylinder engine and. the infallibility of F.N. chain-drive. The next fastest ascent was that of Charles Martin’s E.R.A., splendidly driven, the front wheels lifting at the ” 5″ in characteristic fashion, to clock

39.67 secs. Kenneth Evans, rather pessimistic about the size of the monoposto Alfa-Romeo, braked heavily for the ” S ” and displayed remarkable urge between the corners of the ” S ” : 40.39 secs. and the 3-litre Class. Goodacre raised the dust at Kennel Bend and, steadier than Hadley, took the 750 c.c. class for Austin in 40.7 secs. Hadley fought his Austin up in 40.74 secs., hitting the bank, to get second place in his class, while Mrs. Petre’s

S.v. Austin seemed to cut out momentarily and was third in 43.78 secs., which gave her the ladies’ record. She smashed Mrs. Bolster’s record with the Morris Minor by 2.18 secs. J. G. Fry’s mid-engined Freikaiserwagen, front wheels flapping furiously and with vicious tail swing at the first bend of the “S,” managed the very good time of 42.58 secs., a difficult car sternly held and with determined change of ratios. This gave Fry the “Shelsley Special” prize and fastest unblown time of the day, also first place in the 1,100 c.c. class. The ascent was slightly slower than fastest unblown time last meeting, when Bolster’s “.Mary ” recorded 42.24 secs. Barry Goodwin’s twin-blower 4-cylinder Frazer-Nash clocked 42.6 sees., coming into the ” S” fast, experiencing a series of slow slides and showing extremely good acceleration, a well-clapped ascent. The second run was, like Pane’s, wilder and slower. Skinner got his unwieldy Hudson-engined Special up very well indeed in 44.03 sees. to win the 5-litre class, the acceleration most inspiring and productive of much tyre squeal. E. J. Moor, who has spent as much money

and time developing G.N. Specials as anyone, got the Wasp up in 44.3 secs., entering the “S” fearlessly, sliding about, and then showing astonishingly fine pickup. Lemon-Burton, driving his ” 2.3″ G. P. Bugatti with alloy-spoke wheels, chose to go wide into the ” S ” and changed up twice on the run up the final straight, taking 44.36 secs. and second place in the 3-litre class. Louis Giron clocked 44.48 secs., his Bugatti’s brakes audible as he came to the ” 5,” to blip through and snake to the summit. S. C. H. Davis with Taylor’s 2-litre Alta Collected the 2-litre class in 44.61 secs., going slowly into the ” S ” and using Alta acceleration to the full. Denis Evans drove the Montlkiry M.G. steadily up in 44.76 secs., and Miss Joan Richmond made a startling ascent in Waddy’s

Fuzzi, in 44.88 secs., going onto the grass on the off side of the lower reaches, and desperately fighting a difficult and unfamiliar car all the way up. Waddy also hit the bank, had bad front wheel flap and cut-out between bends, being slower than Joan. Those, then, were the star climbs

judged on sheer speed. Other notable ascents were those of Instone (G.N. Martyr) in 45.73 secs., fastest blown 1,100 c.c. car, after trouble on his first ascent, Herr Paul Heinemann, from Germany, who took the T.T. prize with a white, fully equipped, left-drive Type 328 B.M.W., in 45.46 secs., A. T. Darbishire, third in the 3-litre class with the Bugatti which came close in leaving the ” 5,” S. H. Newsome’s fully-fittedout sports S.S. with the new 31-1itre engine, second in the 5-litre class after wheel-spin on the line, J. G. Crowther’s 4.9 blown Bugatti, third in this class, in spite of a troubled driver, and Lycett’s 8-litre Bentley, nicely handled to win the unlimited class in 44.62 sees. And truly outstanding was Sam Clutton with the stripped four-seater 1908 12-litre Itala ” Floretta.” Really fast, he executed probably the most determined gear-changes ever seen anywhere on any motor-car, thundering to the top in 53.07 secs. It is startling, even allowing for the different method of starting and improved road-surface, to reflect that Segrave’s G.P. Sunbeam took longer on its fastest ascent in 1925 and that the 1908 record was 65.4 secs. It is indeed difficult to think of a 1920 car that could b etter Fane’s time, or of a 1937 car beating the existing record by over 12 secs. in 1966 We cannot spare space to describe each run in detail, but offer the following jottings on sonic of the other ascents by a MOTOR SPORT representative watching from the ” S.” Miss Stanley-Turner had trouble low down and her M.G. was slow, while Gordon Brettell’s Austin was out of sorts. Mrs. Eccles appeared cautious with the Eccles-Special, and Fee Carson, driving Chambers’s curiously high Austin. Seven, lacked speed. C. A. N. May (M.G.) drew the first claps by an extraordinary fine negotiation of the ” S.” H. A. Richards’s single-seater Riley smote a bank and appeared overgeared, and the very noisy Eccles-Special cut out. Ian Connell was impressive with the Arnott blown E.R.A., but worried about the machinery. Watkins-Pitchford, hand on. gear-lever, climbed well, with a slide, on his Frazer-Nash, and Pane’s Frazer-Nash-B.M.W., lifting out wards, was excellent. John Flint’s Type 328 B.M.W. did 48.0 secs. including a slide at the “8,” Burness’s old 2-litre P. Sunbeam flapped its front wheels and mis-fired to the summit in 52.06 secs., and Dr. Noll’s Type 328 B.M.W. came into the bends really fast, was manfully held and finished fiercely to clock 46.34 secs., spinning round at the ” S ” on the second run. The Becke-Powerplus lost most of its pots, to take 71.87 secs., but Bear’s special 3-litre Bugatti was clean and rapid. Griffiths, on the GironBugatti was slower than Giron, but very steady up the finishing straight. Crowther’s ” 4.9 ” blown. Bugatti was neatly held and got away from the bends fiercely. The o.h.v. Ford was dashingly handled, smiting the outside bank at the first corner of the ” 5 ” and taking 50.2 secs. Hughes (30/98 Vauxhall) went wide and skidded, needing 51.29 secs., and Windsor-Richards’s sister car seemed slow, then impressive, stripped even to the removal of the passenger’s

door. Mrs. Bolster missed her gearchange with the S.S. and came to rest smiling charmingly at Lord Howe, -to jamb in first and restart brutally. These observations apply to first asc..mts in the afternoon. Once again, Shelsley had been a great success–splendidly organised, very instructive, with a high driving-standard

and a fine variety of entries. FrazerNash, Austin, Freikaiserwagen and B.M.W.

take premier honours this time. The Goodacre-Hadley-Mrs. Petre Austin team took the team prize from eight other teams. In conclusion, there is one important aspect of Shelsley about which conclusions may be drawn from the September Meeting. A contemporary asks in an Editorial, should the specials be barred, to raise the tone of England’s premier

hill-climb ? The answer. might be contained in the fact that out of six typically Shelsley specials picked this year as capable of climbing in 46 secs. or less, four justified the trust, and one of the two which failed, the Bolster-Special, broke a crankshaft in one of its engines and did not run and the other took under 49 sees. And of the eight spcials in the eliminating runs, several of the nonstarters, two got into the ” finals,” and of these the Freikaiserwagen beat every other unblown car, and such potent supercharged motors as Bugatti, Alta, FrazerNash, etc., while of the unblown motors the three fastest were all twin-cylinder air-cooled, chain-driven contraptions. Next year we should see great things at Shelsley, for Mays is certain to have a crack at regaining the record, many ladies’ must covet Mrs. Petre’s record and the specials get ever more potent. The whole thing is seen in its proper perspective by the following results :

:RESULTS SPECIAL AWARDS

Fastest climb of the day,: Shelsley Trophy and £100: A. F. P. Pane (1,500 e.e. Frazer-Nash),

38.77s., 53.7 m.p.h.

Fastest foreign driver : Paul Heinemann (2-litre 11.M AV.), 45.46s. Midland A.C. Trophy and £50.

Fastest sports-car of T.T. type : Paul Heinemann. (tarvagli Challenge Trophy. Fastest climb by a lady : Mrs. K. Petre (Austin

Seven). 43,78s. Sheisley ( ‘halleitge Trophy and £22. Fastest driver who has never won a lastest climb award since May, 1933, in the racing-car class :

C. E. C. Martin (1,500 4..4% 39.67s. Type (7halletfge Trophy arid 25. Fastest ” Shelsley Special” : J. G. Fry (1,10() e.e. Ereikaiserwueti). 42.58s. S. 11. IN owsoitio ( Trophy and

Team Prize : The Austin Seven team of singleseaters-H. L. Hadley, C. ( layre eel Mrs. 1:. Petre (aggregate time : 425.228.).

750 0.0.

1. C. 1,, (;,)(lacre (Austin. S.), 40.70s. ‘2. H. 1.. Hadley (Austin, S.), 40.74s.

3. MN. N. Pei it (Austin s.v., S.), 43.78s.

1,100 c.c.

1. J. G. Fry (Freikaiscrwagen tl/s), 42.58s.

2. E. J. Moore (Wasp 11/s), 44.$0s.

3, Miss Joan Richmond (Fuzzi U/s), 44.88;3. Fastest, supercharged car : C. R. histone (Martyr), 45.73s.

1,500 c.c.

A. F. P. Pane .(Frazer-Nash, S.), 35.77s.

C. E. C. Martin (E.R.A.. S.), 39.57s. Barry Goodwin (Frazer-Nash, S.), 42.60s. 2-litres

1. S. C. H. Davis (Alta, 5.), 44.111.s. 9. Paul HO 11(.111all 11 ( M.W. Ufs), -15, 46s.

3, A. T. Darbishire (Bugatti Pis), 45.69s. 3-litres

I. K. 1). Evans (Alfa-Romeo, S.), 40.39s.

2. .1. Lemon-Burton (Bugatti, S.), 44.36s.

3. L. Ciron (Bugatti, S.), 44.485. 5-litres

I. P. 0. Skinner (Special lts), 44.033.

2. S. H. Newsome (SS Us). 45.52s.

3. J. G. Crowther (Bugatti, S.), 47.05s. Unlimited

Forrest ‘,pica (8-litre Bentley il7s), •t(1.12s.

C. Clutton (12-litre hula U/s), 53.07s.

FASTEST UNSUPERCHARGED CARS IN EACH CLASS

750 c.o. Miss Fee Carson (Austin), (l1.04s.

1,100 c.c. : G. Fry (Freikaiserwauen), 42:es:4. 1,500 c.c. : R. Cutler (Frazer-Nosh), 45.77s. 2-litres : A. ‘1’. Darhishire (Bugatt i), 45,69s. 3-litres : K. W. Bear (Bugatti), 45.46s.

5-litres :P. G. Skinner (Special), 44.03s.

Unlimited : Forrest Lycett (8-litre Bentley), 46.42s.

FASTEST UNSUPERCHARGED OARS (Irrespective of Category)

1. J. G. Fry (1,100 c.c. Freikaiscrwagen), 42.58s

2. E. J. Moore (1,10() c.c. Wasp), 44.$0s.

3. Miss Joan Richmond (1,100 c.c. Fuzzi), 44.8&;.

4. Paul Heinemann (2-litre B.MAV.) and K. W. Bear (3-litre Bugatti), 45.46s.

5. S. H. Newsome (3i-litre SS), 45.52s.