Club News, April 1934

N.W. LONDON M.C.

T,,E Annual Coventry Cup Trial. will take place on Saturday, April 14th, over a 40 miles course of a semi-sporting nature in Kent. River Hill Garage, Sevenoaks, will be the starting point, and the first man will leave at 2.30 p.m. Two interesting tests have been arranged. The first is al)ownhill Brake Test, which necessitates covering a distance of 60 feet of acceleration followed by 20 feet of braking—all in the shortest possible time. The second is an Uphill Acceleration Test, on similar lines. In

addition to these, there will be a Restart Test on a suitable gradient, and the usual observed hills and sections.

An impressive array of awards is being offered to successful competitors. The best performance of the day will earn the Coventry Cup and Replica ; the best Class performance will win the Whittingham Trophy and replica ; and an excellent idea is that of awarding the Committee Cup to the best novice. Tankards spoons and medals will be given to finishers.

The entry fee is only 5s. and the Trial is only open to members of the Club.

The Lawrence Cup Trial will be run on May 26th. Further details will appear in these columns at a later date.

‘rhe March issue of the Club’s ” Gazette” is full of interest to members. There is a good account of the Colmore Trophy Trial as seen by a passenger in the Singer driven by C. V. Wells, the Club Secretary, and some notes on the forthcoining Coventry Cup Trials.

The name and address of the Hon. Secretary is Mr. C. V. Wells, 816, High Road, Tottenham, London.

THE LIGHT CAR CLUB.

The Half-Day Trial on March 3rd proved to be a great success. The course was about 40 miles in length, and was confined to the Kentish hills. Most of the hills were in good condition, owing to the prolonged dry weather. Rook’s Hill, however, was a different proposition, and the soft leaf mould under the trees soon brought a good many people to a standstill. Another gradient called South Street Hill was none too easy, and Mrs. C. M. Needham (Frazer Nash) made probably the finest climb of the day. In a timed test, the best performance was tnade by F. A. Thatcher (Singer). The full results were as follow :

Silver Cup: R. L. Appleton (Singer).

First-Class Awards: F. A. Thatcher (Singer), E. Bax tWolseley Hornet), A. 3. K. Debeithant (Singer), C. E. Wood (Morris), D. A. Loader (Singer, C. A. H. Cann (“M.G. Magna).

THE YORKSHIRE SPORTS CAR CLUB. for the Club have

New headquarters for the Club have been secured at” Avenue House,” Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, premises which used to be occupied by the old Leeds Motor Club. This chan4

ge is of great advantage to members, for the new headquarters contain Filling Station, Parking Ground, Dance Hall, Bar, Billiards Room, and Card Room, all of which are accessible to members without extra charge.

The ‘first event on the Club’s calendar will be held on April 8th, and is described as a ” Freak Hill Climb and Stop and Restart Test ” on a hill delightfully known ” Crack Pot.” This will be followed on May 6th by a complicated half day Treasure Hunt, and on June. 10th a Sporting Trial.

Altogether it can be seen that the Club is doing its utmost to provide entertainin.ent both social and competitive for its members. The Hon. Secretary’s nalTIC and address is Mr. W. II. Hudson, ‘ Avenue House,” Woodhouse! Lane, Leeds.

THE LAGONDA CAR CLUB.

The opening Rally at Croydon Aerodrome attracted a good number of members and their friends. There was a competition for members covering the greatest distance to the Rally, and also a sealed test. After these had been decided, the party was conducted round the aerodrome buildings, and inspected the equipment necessary for the control Of traffic at a busy airport.

Then seats were taken in the 38 passenger Imperial Airways Air-liner ” Herades,” and for a half an hour the machine cruised over London, while afternoon tea was served with all the comfort of a terra-tirma restaurant.

From 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. tea and dance Music was provided in the Aerodrome Hotel, and the Rally closed with promises of renewed meetings during the season. The organisation was carried out in the usual effortless way by the Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. G. Vokes, whose address, by the way, is 95-97, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London, S.W.15.

BUGATTI OWNERS’ CLUB.

The opening Rally took place on Sunday, March 25th, at the Abbey Hotel, Malvern. Bugattis of all types, from near and far, assembled, and the ensuing discussions about the vitals and comparative performances of the products of 111.olsheim resulted in a very pleasant afternoon being spent.

Undeterred by the failure of their attempt to organise a visit to Molsheim last year, the Club is again inviting members to undertake the trip this summer, during the last fortnight of July. All enquiries should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Mr. E. L. Gillis, 2, Queen Street, Mayfair, London, V. 1. Incidentally, members are now able to obtain a new edition of that most useful Fixture List of the Club, which contains a full explanation of the rather complicated series of Bugattis produced since

the beginning of Ettore’s activities, together with their respective gear-ratios.

AUSTIN OWNERS’ CLUB.

The first of the county-sections of the new Austin Owners’ Club was Mangerated recently at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire being the honoured county. Alter a small dinner at the. Queens Hotel, a dance was held at the Town Hall, at which about 600 people attended. vie plans of the Club were outlined by Mr, H. Beresford Stevens, Editor of the ” Austin Magazine,” and Austin owners can look forward to such widely differing entertainments as reliability trials, Concours, d’elegance, dances and lectures.

The annual subscription will be one guinea. and already the second section has been started in Worcestershire.

ROYAL SCOTTISH AUTOMOBILE CLUB.

The Regulations for the Scottish Motor Rally to take place on Monday to Friday, 21st to 25th May next, have just been issued by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. The foreword to the Conditions points out that in order to secure greater equality among the Competitors and the routes traversed, all the starting points this year will be north of the Border, namely Grena Green, Edinburgh. Glasgow, and Perth, and the Itinerary will include Aberdeen, Inverness, the North-West Coast from Ullapool, and on to the extreme North at John O’Groats House, whence the journey will embrace Strathpellet, Loch Ness, Glencoe and Inveraray. The. start is to be made on Whit Monday forenoon and that night is to be Spent in Aberdeen in the vicinity of which tests will be held on the Tuesday, and the journey resumed late on the Tuesday evening.

The Club point out that one of their ideas in organising this Rally is to popularise Scotland as a touring ground and the route has been carefully chosen from that paint of view. The Regulations for the 1934 Rally follow somewhat the same lines its those of former years but on this occasion the classification has been altered and the entrants fo itrarlotsw:,:i-11 be divided into three classes

Class 1. Cars with an Engine Capacity not exceeding 1,300 c.c.

Class 2. Cars with an Engine Capacity exceeding 1,300 c.c. but not 2,250 c.c.

Class 3. Cars with an Engine Capacity exceeding 2,250 c.c..

On an inspection of cars penalties will be imposed for defects or deficiencies as set out in the Conditions.

A Coachwork Competition is to take place as Glasgow, where the Rally finishes, on the forenoon of Friday, 25th May.. The Entry Fee for each car is 3 guineas and entries should be made with the Secretary of the Club, 163, West George Street,

Glasgow, on or before 24th April, 1934, from whom meantime copies of the Regulations can be obtained.

WEST HANTS L.C.C.

The One Day Sporting Trial was held on Sunday, March 4th. Twenty-eight competitors started from the Pier Approach, Bournemouth, Colonel jarrott being the Starter, a little gesture that was much appreciated by the drivers. A straight forward run was made to Bere Regis in Dorset, and then across country to ” Watercress Gulch” which was observed and caused the downfall of H. Kirk (Austin) who approached this hill too slowly and failed through lack of revs. H. W. Burt (M.G. Magna), 3. L. Tully with a similar car, and A. E. Hann with a J.2 Midget made very good climbs and so did R. J. P. Morley with his veteran A.C. A few miles further on a time check was taken at Broadmayne. Knowle Lane was next tackled and only accounted for the failure of A. G. Harrocks (M.G. Midget). Lunch was taken at the Greyhound Hotel at Bridport and afterwards a fairly easy run to ” Table Mountain.” Here several competitors came to grief at the gully half way up, and amongst these were G. N. Ellis (Austin 7), R. Cook (M.G. Midget) and. P. Simon with a similar car. Good climbs were made by J. L. Tully (M.G. Magna), H. W. Burt with a similar car and H. W. Corke (Austin 10) and F. D. Pickering (Ford 8). J. B. Chesshire with

an M.G. 3.2 with. Brooklands equipment failed on the higher slopes. From here the route lay to Charmouth where another check was taken and then to” Fast and Furious” where, with the aid of a Field Telephone, a timed stop and restart and acceleration test was taken. Here the IVI.G.’s as a whole were very fast except J. K. Riley, whose earlystype M.G. coupe did not want to get away from the tapes at the stop and restart.

Then the course returned to Bridport where tea was taken.

RESULTS.

The Hartwell Cup for Best Performance j. L. Tully (M.G. Magna).

First Class (Tankards): A. E. Hann (M.G. J2), H. W. Burt (M.G. Magna) and R. J. P. Morley (A.C.).

Silver Medals: E. N. Weight (M.G. Alagnette), j. B. Chesshire, P. Simon and R. Cook (M.G. Midgets), J. M. Gossow (M.G. Magna), S. H. R. Clarke (M.G. Magna), G. S. Gilchrist (Wol,seley), A. E. P. Hayward (Singer 10), J. C. West (Morris Minor), R. Manners (Riley); H. W. Corke (Austin 10), G. N. Ellis (Austin 7).

Bronze Medals : F. G. Gossow (Le Mans Singer), F. C. Livesey (Singer 10), F. S. Fairhurst (Ford 8), W. Hewitt (Austin 7), W. Hackson (Singer 14), L. G. Adams (Hillman 14).

No Awards: A. G. Harrocks, J. K. Riley (M.G. Midgets), W. J. Unwin (Riley) and M. De Las Rivas (Vauxhall).

Retired : H. Kirk (Austin 10).

ENFIELD & DISTRICT M.C.C.

A Club run to Devonshire has been arranged for Easter, the objective being either Torquay or Maidencoombe. The full contingent will leave the Market Square at 10.30 a.m. on March 30th.

SOUTH MIDLAND CENTRE A.C.U.

The ” South Midland Review” for March contains a leading article which should be read widely. It sums up in a few words the whole position of cyclists and rear-lights, and we should like a copy of this paper to be read by every Member of Parliament.

Notes and news of the Clues in the Centre are reported in full.