The Strang "500" Fastest at V.S.C.C. Prescott Meeting

Prescotties
The Vintage S.C.C. made history at Prescott on August 31st, for a 500-c.c. class car beat all-comers, Strang’s H.R.D.-engined Strang Special making f.t.d., in 54.88 sec.

Second fastest was John Bolster, and third fastest was ex-Alta-mechanic Emery with the twin-blower, ex-Fitt HudsonSpecial.

Much was expected of Allard’s new four-carburetter, o.h. exhaust valve Allard, but it was only finished at 4 a.m. on the day of the meeting and broke a rocker in the Paddock, after one run in the racing class in 58.7 sec.

As usual, rain soon arrived to spoil times.

Gordon Wilkes left the course in the Wilkes G.N., and was thrown out. He got up but collapsed again and was taken to hospital with a dislocated elbow, cuts, bruises, shock and possible slight concussion.

Jones’s Frazer-Nash blew a gasket on arrival and its owner spent the entire meeting removing the head.

The names of most cars were in order, but there was the “Little Willy Tooley” which had engine trouble.

Clutton won a non-Edwardian class with the 1908 Itala and Peter Clark’s 1914 Mercédès was fastest Edwardian in 57.05 sec., and won the 2-5-litre racing class. Bolster’s Rolls-Royce took the Edwardian class on Formula.

Neve spun round 180° at Pardon corner in the 1914 T.T. Humber.

Jarvis ran the ex-Almack Austin sans coachwork aft of the bulkhead.

Salvadori’s Riley was the ex-Dobbs’s six-cylinder, six-carburetter, offset-bodied car, now with new tail and head fairing and a Perspex inspection window in front of its multiple gas-works.

Heal’s 1924 G.P. Sunbeam was beautifully turned out and carried road numbers. It clocked 61.32 sec., third in its class.

Finch’s Amilcar Six possessed a grand exhaust note.

Boothby’s new production-model £650 Ford V8 Special made its debut but couldn’t better 66.8 sec.

Margulies’s Bugatti was a Type 39A, Buck ran a big-port, beetle-back “12/50” Alvis and was 2nd in his class, Whatmough drove a streamlined C-type Aston-Martin and hit the bank, Treen brought an “18/80” M.G., and Bodman’s blower 4 1/2-litre Bentley had plenty of urge but was beaten by a 3-litre and an unblown 4 1/2-litre.

The Bentley Drivers’ Club had a special car park in operation.

H.R.G. Fastest at Cornish Climb
Uglow’s H.R.G. made f.t.d., in 36.4 sec., at the August Speed Hill-Climb of the W. Cornwall M.C.

Rome A.C. Hill Climb
Giovanni Bracco’s open Lancia “Aprilia” made f.t.d., in 211.2 sec.

Ostend Concours
Rover, Triumph, Standard and Allard cars upheld British appearance prestige at Ostend in August.

Darlington and D.M.C. Trial
Only three cars retained clean sheets in this event, Wise,s C.W.8, Hankins’s Allard, and Clough’s Singer, thus securing the Team Award for the Yorkshire S.C.C.

Jersey M.C. and L.C.C. “Grand Prix”
A handicap race on the sands at St. Ouen’s Bay saw Le Marquand’s Sunbeam win from True’s Wiley-Special and Benett’s V8-“Special.”

Circuit des Trois Villes, Lille
Run for 157 miles over 48 laps of a 3.27mile course, this race saw Sommer and Louveau victorious, at a 64.33 m.p.h. average, in the 3-litre Maserati which Villoresi drove at Indianapolis. Louveau’s 16-valve Maserati retired with clutch bothers early on, and he shared the big Maserati with Sommer for half the race. Behind, Levegh’s 4 1/2-litre Darracq duelled with Chaboud’s 3 1/2-litre Delahaye, and won, Grignard’s Delahaye being 4th, Trillaud’s Delahaye 5th, Rosier’s Darracq 6th, Pozzi’s Delahaye 7th, and Garland’s T.T. Delage 8th. Raph, with Wimille’s 308 3-litre Alfa-Romeo, retired with engine failure.

Turin G.P.
Wimille’s 1 1/2-litre Alfa-Romeo was on top of its form and Jean-Pierre played with the field, only letting Varzi’s sister car win on account of team orders. Varzi averaged 64.62 m.p.h. for 174 miles, with Wimille half a second slower. Wimille did fastest lap at 73.6 m.p.h. Sommer’s Maserati was 3rd and Chaboud’s amazing Delahaye 4th. After a lap Farina’s Alfa-Romeo retired, with transmission bothers, as did Romano’s Maserati on lap 3, and Sanesi’s Alfa-Romeo on lap 9. Nuvolari got his Maserati into 4th place and then retired when a rear wheel left the car. Whitehead ran his new G.P. E.R.A., but after 33 of the 60 laps, retired with supercharger trouble when 5th. Plate (Maserati) was 5th, Trossi’s Alfa-Romeo 6th, Chrion’s Maserati 7th, Brooke’s E.R.A. 8th, and Lanza’s Maserati 9th. Parnell’s E.R.A. retired on lap 3 with gearbox trouble. 200,000 spectated.

Bo’ness Hill-Climb

F.t.d. was made by Leslie Johnson’s sports Darracq, running with road equipment. It covered the extended course, in the rain, in 40.5 sec. Soutar’s Hutch-Special took 45.2 sec., and Lockhart’s blown Alexander-Special 43.5 sec. Class winners were: Weir’s M.G., Strang’s Strang “500,” Williams’ Alfa-Romeo, Chassell’s Frazer-Nash, Murray Frame’s B.M.W., Lockhart and Johnson.

Craigantlet Hill-Climb
The industrious Ulster A.C’. held the first Craigantlet speed hill-climb since 1938 on the last day of August. K. W. Bear’s 3-litre Bugatti made f.t.d. in 85.6 sec., in heavy rain. Peter Monkhouse’s Type 51 Bugatti was runner-up, in 86.8 sec. Bear also took over his “4.9” Bugatti, which was third in its class. Results :—

Unblown Cars up to 1,100 c.c.: W. M. D. Montgomery, 1,074-c.c. Singer, 1 min. 45.6 sec.; F. D. Smyth, 933-c.c. Ford; A. R. Scott, 933-c.c. Ford.

Unblown Cars up to 2,000 c.c.: F. D. Smyth, 933-c.c. Ford, 1 min. 43 sec.; A. R. Scott, 933-c.c. Ford; C. S. Porter, 1,496-c.c. H.R.G.

Unblown Cars Unlimited: J. W. Patterson, 3,485-c.c. Jaguar, 1 min. 39 sec.; F. D. Smyth, 933-c.c. Ford; A. R. Scott. 933-c.c. Ford.

Blown Cars up to 1,100 c.c.: W. K. Stewart, 1,087-c.c. H.R.G., 1 min. 49 sec.; J. R. Carmichael, 1,087-c.c. H.R.G.; J. Duff, 1,089-c.c. Riley.

Blown Cars up to 2,000 c.c.: G. A. Kydd, 1,496-c.c. Alvis, 1 min. 48.2 sec.; W. T. Todd, 1,084-c.c. Riley; K. C. Kydd, 1,496-c.c. Alvis.

Blown Cars Unlimited: K. W. Bear, 2,996-c.c. Bugatti, 1 min. 25.6 sec.; P. R. Monkhouse, 2,263-c.c. Bugatti (S); K. W. Bear, 4,840-c.c. Bugatti.

Handicap Class: J. W. Patterson, 3,485-c.c. Jaguar; P. H. Monkhouse, 2,263-c.c. Dugan (s); G. W. C. McCrea, 1,495-c.c. Aston-Martin, and K. W. Bear, 4,840-c.c. Bugatti.