Article: Driving the Ex-Birkin Blower-4½ Single-Seater Bentley (Page 3 of 8)
Extract from: Motor Sport, by William Boddy, October 1973
As I have said, the Birkin single-seater Bentley was as great an attraction for the Brooklands crowd as the 350 h.p. V12 Sunbeam had been in the early nineteen-twenties and the Napier-Railton was to become some years later. But, in fact, it was not the fastest of the Track cars when it first appeared, this honour belonging to Kaye Don and one of the supercharged 4-litre V12 Sunbeams. At the Easter Meeting of 1930, Birkin hoped to change that. First, he was to race in the Dorset Lightning Short Handicap and was to have started four seconds after Cobb's old 10½-litre V12 Delage. But once again handicappers Dutton and Ebblewhite put Birkin back to "owes 7 sec.". He pulled in soon after being flagged away, the journalists proclaiming that the plugs were playing up but I think it more likely that Birkin was thinking of his future handicap and his car. He had every reason to do so, because in an hour and 25 minutes, after a Bentley Handicap had been run off (remember?—Hamilton won the Woolf Barnato Cup) and Birkin had driven Bentley II in a Mountain race, the single-seater was to run in a 3-lap Match Race against Jack Dunfee's GP Sunbeam. The Sunbeam was in trouble, which gave Birkin a clear track on which to attempt to raise the lap-record. It stood to Don's credit, at 132.46 m.p.h. But not for much longer! For the Bentley did its first round, from a Pond start, at 133.88 m.p.h. and followed this with three laps, respectively at 134.60, 134.60 and 135.33 m.p.h. The blower singleseater from Welwyn was Brooklands fastest car!
It should have run in the very next event, the Bedford Long Handicap. But the scratch start was changed to one of "owes 20 sec." and although this time Birkin elected to race, and twice equalled his new lap-record (no fluke there!) the best he could do was to run in fourth, a length behind Dunfee's aged Ballot. In a busy day, Birkin had one more race but was again heavily re-handicapped and he slowed after ¾-of-a-lap, convenient for driving into the Paddock up the Finishing straight!
The situation now became dramatic. The Bentley had been right off-form at the BARC Club Meeting (or else was trying to repair its handicap) and Birkin was absent at Whitsun. It was then that Kaye Don retook the lap-record, the Sunbeam clocking 137.58 m.p.h., having equalled Birkin's speed in an earlier race. So interest as to what Birkin would do about this rose to fever pitch. At Easter he had flown to Brooklands, broken the record, then flown back to Le Touquet to have the promised celebration dinner with millionaire Woolf Bamato. At the age of 17 I just lapped it up, and Birkin and the Bentley were my unquestionable heroes!
Thus many eyes were on Birkin and the blue Bentley when it took up scratch position in the Cornwall Senior Short Handicap at the August Bank Holiday Meeting.
Birkin was content to lap at 127.38 m.p.h. and finished third behind Daybell's 30/98 Vauxhall and Pole's 17-litre Mercedes, although his opening lap had been a quick one, at over 106 m.p.h. He scratched from the next race and, no doubt as a protest against the handicap, substituted Craig's 2.3 GP Bugatti, in which he would have won had he not forgotten that it was a slower car, not allowed the same freedom at the Fork as the Bentley, and been disqualified for crossing the wrong safety-line. However, the 25-mile Gold Star Handicap was to give the Bentley its chance. On scratch, giving the next car to him, Purdy's GP Sunbeam, 58 sec. start, Birkin was expected to regain the lap-record. Unfortunately he found the wind too strong and after going round at 131.76. m.p.h. he pulled in after five laps with the fuel tank leaking. Nor did he start in his next two races, while I do not suppose the "Old Crocks" race which closed the day's sport appealed to him . . . .
Continued on next page