B.A.R.C. OPENING MEETING

B.A.R.C. OPENING MEETING

platrECT weather, an excellent entry and some good racing were good omens for the success of Brooklands under the new regime. Although all the innovations at the track were not complete in detail, the benefit of the improvements which had been carried out were very marked, and by the next meeting the “Brighter Brooklands,” which has been so long talked about, should be even more of an established reality.

The Kent Short Handicap.

The first race of the year was won by Staniland on his 1 litre Bugatti at the excellent speed of 107 m.p.h. and in this race Birkin’s supercharged 4i litre Bentley gave an inkling of the performance which it was to put up. Birkin was undoubtedly the star turn of the meeting, and in spite of having trouble with a cracked supercharger casing, achieved the remarkable lap speed of 126 m.p.h., which makes it fairly obvious that some of our regular Brooklands’ stars will have to look to their laurels when he has had a little more time to get the car at the top of its form.

The Essex Short Handicap.

This was won by Charles Brackenbury on a Bugatti at 88.29 m.p.h. with Victor Horsman’s Triumph

second. Thoroughgood, the scratch man, was 3rd on a 2300 c.c. supercharged Bugatti.

The Surrey Short Handicap.

In this race Harold Purdy made a welcome return to the list of winners at 98.2 m.p.h. on the 1500 Thomas Special ; it was running beautifully, and as always held the track perfectly,—second Cyril Paul’s Delage, and third E. 1.4. Bouts’ Sunbeam.

Ladies Handicap.

Mrs. Scott drove:a wonderful race

but was too heavily handicapped to catch Mrs. Wisdom, whose Frazer Nash was going very well indeed, and was able to hold off the challenging Bugatti without difficulty. The winner’s speed was 90.4 m.p.h.

Kent Long Handicap.

This race started with a scrap between Jack Dunfee’s Ballot and E. M. Thomas on Mrs. Scott’s Bugatti. Both started from the 46 second mark. On several occasions it looked as if Dunfee would be able to get past but on each occasion that he pulled out of the Bugatti’s slipstream he lost speed and had to drop behind again. While this duel was in process Birkin had been sweeping through the field, and coming off the home banking in the last lap he swept by Danfee and Thomas just on the famous hump to win a really well driven race at the excellent average of 119.13 m.p.h., his fastest lap being 126

Essex Long Handicap.