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The Easter Meeting of the B.A.R.C.
The Car Racing Season Opens with an Exciting Meeting.
Published in "Motor
Sport", May 1926
EXCELLENT racing was witnessed at Brooklands
by a crowd estimated at between 20,000 and 25,000 people
on Easter Monday, when the track season commenced with
a very successful meeting.
No one could possibly complain about the lack of thrills,
for J. D. Barclay almost went over the top and regained
control after one of the most remarkable skids ever
witnessed on the track, whilst the crowd were also delighted
by the wonderful performance of the supercharged Saltnson,
which driven by Mons. A. Goutte, sprung several surprises
by putting up some most astounding lap speeds.
As usual, the paddock presented a lively scene long
before the racing actually started, and the enclosures
were thronged by picnic parties in gay attire, evidently
combining a Bank Holiday party in the open air, with
the enjoyment of a good afternoon's sport.
In the paddock there was the usual bustle of final preparations,
for somehow it seems impossible for all the competitors
to get ready in time to start without much titivating
of the machinery, but this, though perhaps rather irritating
for the drivers, adds a further flavour of excitement
to the proceedings and keeps the public on tenterhooks
as to how their money should be invested, where the
mild flutters are concerned.
The Easter Private Competitors' Handicap.
Seven starters lined up for the first race, which
was over a distance of 51 miles, starting and finishing
on the Railway Straight. The latter arrangement is certainly
one of the bad points of the racing from the spectators'
point of view ; but perhaps some day or other the committee
will see fit to provide stands so that the starts and
finishes can be seen at close quarters instead of by
the aid of field glasses, as is necessary at present.
R. G. Moore on his Gwynne Special got away well with
a start of i min. 7 secs. and for some distance held
the lead from E. F. Walter on a Salmson. Then J. S.
Spencer was seen to be making good headway on his 2-litre
Sunbeam and was only a short distance behind Moore as
the Fork was passed for the second time. On arriving
at the Members' Bridge, Spencer had a useful lead and
eventually won rather easily from C. S. Staniland, whose
2-litre Bugatti proved too fast for the Gwynne Special.
Spencer's car was one of the Strasbourg Grand Prix Sunbeams,
and his average worked out at 91.88 m.p.h.
The Thirty-seventh 75 m.p.h. Short Handicap.
This race attracted no fewer than fifteen starters,
of whom R. T. T. Spencer on a green Austin Seven was
sent off with 59 seconds start. Samuelson on another
little Austin petered out on the first lap, but the
firstnamed made very good use of his start and managed
to hold it until the end, though he was seriously challenged
by Vernon Balls' Amilcar, Gillow (Riley) and Oates (0.M.)
following closely in their wake. Among the back markers
Frazer Nash appeared to be very fast, but Felix Scriven's
"No, No, Nanette" was certainly in a truculent
mood, only consenting to come in a rather bad last.
Since pensioning off his Austin Twenty Mr. Scriven has
not had very good luck at Brooklands, but perhaps later
in the season he may return to winning form. The two
Salmsons driven respectively by George Newman and Captain
Hazlehurst travelled well but could not get on terms
with the leaders, the order of finishing being R. T.
T. Spencer (Austin Seven), Vernon Balls (Atnilcar),
Gillow (Riley) and Eyston (Aston-Martin). The winner's
speed was 731 miles per hour.
The Forty-seventh 100 m.p.h. Short Handicap.
This race was noteworthy as providing the only false
start on record at Brooklands, for by some misunderstanding
Sir R. Gunter started off before the proper signal was
given, and had to return to the post. The next man away
was Mons. A. Goutte on the supercharged.Salmson, who
passed Gunter before reaching the end of the Railway
Straight, literally flashing past him at a terrific
speed and putting up a lead which left the others no
shadow of a chance, though Barclay (r.T. Vauxhall),
Meeson (Vauxhall), J. R. Cobb (Nat) and Capt. Miller
(Sunbeam) were all travelling very fast.
In this race, J. G. P. Thomas slowed up towards the
end, his engine apparently suffering from bearing trouble,
for it did not appear again during the afternoon, much
to the disappointment of the crowd. Gunter's Vauxhall
was also in trouble after finishing and the contest
was remarkable for the unexpected speed of the Salmson,
which won at 101.07 m.p.h., a new record for a I,100
C.C. car for the distance, the previous record being
87.12 m.p.h. Before breaking down, Gunter managed to
run into the second place, and Barclay's Vauxhall was
third.
Inquiries in the paddock after the race proved that
Gunter's Vauxhall had suffered a mishap to the universal
joint on the cardan shaft.
The Twenty-second 90 m.p.h. Short Handicap.
The general aspects of the fourth race were altered
owing to the re-handicapping of M. Goutte and J. S.
Spencer, the former losing 25 seconds and the latter
5 seconds, owing to their previous wins. Hazlehurst,
the limit man, with 37 secs. start, and Capt. Waite,
who started 10 seconds later, got going at a very good
speed, but Turner, on the Austro-Daimler, rapidly made
headway, with George Duller coming along in good style
at the rear. He was driving Capt. Woolf Barnato's Bugatti,
and went to the front after passing the fork for the
second time. Until a few yards from the finishing post,
it looked as though Hazlehurst's Austin would be second,
but during the last few seconds, Turner flashed past,
beating him practically on the post, making one of the
closest finishes of the afternoon. Duller, who drove
with his characteristic skill and dash, won this race
at an average speed of 97 m.p.h., and some of the bookmakers
seemed loth to pay up, owing to the unannounced change
in drivers.
The Brooklands Founders' Gold Cup Race.
The star turn of the afternoon was robbed of much of
its interest by the absence of J. G. P. Thomas, whose
Leyland-Thomas had packed up in the third race. Kaye
Don (Wolseley Viper) was first away, but was quickly
overhauled by Barclay on the Vauxhall, with Cobb and
Howey following.
On the second time round, Howey's Ballot was gathering
speed and travelling high up on the banking, passed
the rest of the field with comparative ease. The Viper
was suffering from a fit of misfiring and finished last,
the race being won by R. B. Howey at r061 in.p.h., with
Barclay (Vauxhall) second and J. R. Cobb, on R. Warde's
Fiat, third.
The Twenty-second 90 m.p.h. Long Handicap.
George Newman (Salmson), with I min. 3 secs. start,
held the lead from a field of ten, but his position
was seriously menaced by a quickly moving little bunch
of cars, comprising Waite's Austin, Eyston's Aston-Martin,
and Barnato's Bentley. The above order of running remained
unaltered until Frazer Nash ran into the third place.
Whilst the leaders were fighting out a battle royal,
things were happening in the rear, for Goutte was forging
ahead with the speedy Salmson, and by the time the fork
was reached on the final lap, he had overtaken all except
Barnato's Bentley. A bad skid under the Members' Bridge
had the effect of steadying Goutte down considerably,
and this allowed Barnato to keep the lead he seemed
in danger of losing to the Frenchman, and though the
latter quickly made up the lost ground, he was unable
to beat the Bentley for the first place. Barnato's speed
was 108 m.p.h., the second and third places being gained
by Goutte and Newman (Salmson) respectively.
The Forty-sixth 100 m.p.h. Long Handicap.
This race provided one of the most miraculous escapes
that has ever been seen at Brooklands and left even
the most hardened of racing men gasping with astonishment.
H. W. Purdy was allowed 37 seconds start with his new
Bugatti, and held quite a nice lead for the first lap,
but obviously could not hold it for long from either
Turner's Austro-Daimler or Woolf Barnato's Bentley.
Turner was leading on the second lap, with Meeson (Vauxhall),
Barnato (Bentley) and J. G. P. Thomas (Lanchester) following
in the order named. At the Members' Bridge, Thomas performed
one of his terrific swoops down from the banking, and
thus gained a good lead. Then towards the end of the
Railway Straight, Barclay attempted to pass another
competitor, with the result that one wheel went over
the top of the banking, shot up a cloud of dust, and
shot backwards down the track, regaining control of
his car after circling round at an appalling speed.
Whilst all this was going on, Thomas and Barnato, who
were just clear of Barclay, went ahead, the order of
finishing being : J. G. P. Thomas (Lanchester), Capt.
W. Barnato (Bentley), and E. L. Meeson (Vauxhall). The
winner's speed was 100.26 m.p.h.
The Thirty-seventh 75 m.p.h. Long Handicap.
The appearance of the Donnet-Zedel, driven by Capt.
Miller, was not regarded as anything very exciting 'by
the handicappers, for it started early among the Austins
and other small fry, even then failing to show any turn
of speed. R. F. Oats, driving an 0.M., led at the end
of the first lap, whilst Gillow's Riley was travelling
very well. During the second lap a thrilling little
scrap was seen to be in progress between two Sahnsons,
driven by G. Newman and Capt. Hazlehurst, until the
latter gradually drew ahead and began to get on terms
with Oats, who was then leading. Just at the last, Hazlehurst
put on a spurt and overtook the 0.M., and just managed
to finish a few yards in front with an average speed
of 87.10 m.p.h. Oats was second and G. Newman third.
The Thirty-second Lightning Long Handicap.
Only four starters lined up for the concluding event
of the meeting, and Barclay received a great ovation
for his pluck in turning out again after his experience
in the Ex) m.p.h. Handicap.
R. B. Howey, in the absence of J. G. P. Thomas, was
the limit man, J. R. Cobb (Fiat) starting 2 seconds
later. Eleven seconds later the flag fell for Barclay.
E. L. Meeson was the first to start, with an allowance
of 50 secs., followed by Barclay 19 secs. later. Then
after a lapse of 12 seconds, the flag fell for J. R.
Cobb (Fiat), and finally R. B. Howey was despatched
as scratch man, in the absence of J. G. P. Thomas. Meeson
led for nearly two laps, when Barclay passed him at
a very high speed. Howey then came to the front, but
did not prove fast enough to hold the lead from Cobb,
who beat him for the second place, Barclay winning at
105.78 m.p.h.
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