BROOKLANDS OPENS

BROOKLANDS OPENS

ERIC FERNIHOUGH’S 143 M.P.H. ON THE BROUGH. OUTER-CIRCUIT HANDICAP WON AT 120.77 M.P.H. AN OFFICIAL FALSE START.

BROOKLANDS is a grand place and it was splendid to be there again. You always feel like writing that after the B.A.R.C. Opening Meeting and we do so again.

The meeting on March 12th was the first combined car and motor-cycle meeting since the War. The arrangements went off extremely well and the Paddock seemed in no way congested in spite of excellent entries. Good use was made by spectators of the new all-concrete grandstand for watching the progress of the Campbell road-circuit handicaps, but attendance in the public enclosures was not immense.

A mistake that will become historic occurred in the f.’econd March Road Handicap, when the cats in the first row of starters were lined up the reverse way to normal, so that 11,:bby let Pane away as limit man, whereas Peter Clark and Andrews should have left first. It should be made clear that Ebby was not to blame, although he could very well be excused several mistakes when you consider the trying and involved work he has done at BroOklands year after year. The Stewards debated what was to be done so long that there was no time to stage a re-run, anyway, and it was decided that the race must be given to the second man home, Pane to be awarded a prize equivatent to that awarded to the winner— whether to dissolve his disappointment or to compensate him for needlessly extending the motor was not stated. Official cars on the Track nowadays are getting very sober, but we noticed H. R,. Godfrey in a new Major

Gardner’s impressive Mercedes-Benz, a Railton saloon and a smart Talbot. The first race was the March Short Handicap (2 laps) and Andrews made good use of the start accorded to his limit Balilla Fiat. Wording’s Talbot 95 came up fast towards the end, to take second place ahead of A. A. Hutton with Charles Follett’s four-cylinder AlviS. However,

in the run in C. T. Baker-Carr came through from scratch with great elan, taking the bump in his stride, to win the first outercircuit race of the year in a proper track car—the 61-litre Bentley-Jackson, at

over 120 m.p.h. Three-fifths of a second behind him came Wooding, followed over the line by H. J. Aldington’s fullyequipped sports Frazer-Nash-B.M.W. Bradley’s Thomas-Special emitted a big smoke screen and fell sick on lap two, and Baker passed inside Hutton coming off the Home Banking in the Graham-Paige. Maraton’s 2.3-litre Bugatti was extremely noisy, whereas the Talbot made a low whistling sound,

A three-lap motor-cycle race followed, won by F. W. S. Clarke (Triumph), with M. V. Horsfield (Velocette) second and H. Trevor Battye (Zenith) third. The 250 c.c. Triumph averaged 92.6 m.p.h. Thereafter the one and only Eric Fernihough attempted to establish a new Brooklands flying kilometre record with his blown 996 c.c. Brough-SuperiorJ.A.P. solo unenclosed motor-cycle. Hestarted at the Fork, accelerated round the Members’ Banking, took the bump faultlessly, high up, and shot and thun

dered along the Railway Straight. It was all over quickly and efficiently. The new record is 143.39 m.p.h. The old record stood at 123.58 m.p.h., also by Pernihough, using an unblown machine, and actually the speed for a complete lap. The car flying kilo is John Cobb’s with the Napier-Railton at 151.97 m.p.h. The first March Road Handicap (three laps) followed, over the popular Campbell

road circuit. ” Bira ” was on scratch with his E.R.A. At the start Gammon’s 1,808 c.c. Riley overhauled .St. John Horsfall’s 2-1itre Aston-Martin, while J. Dugdale’s unblown M.G. Magnette held the lead for a while. Retirements were prevalent, the Hon. Peter Aitken’s 11-litre Maserati falling sick on lap one, and Mrs. ” Jill” Thomas’s 2.9 AlfaRomeo, Cowell’s Austin Seven and J. H. T. Smith’s M.G. having trouble on the next round. Gammon came in to win easily at 63.56 m.p.h., followed by ” Bira ” and

Harvey-Noble, now trying road stuff with his special M.G. Midget. A Campbell circuit motor-cycle race followed, and then came the Second March Road Handicap (three laps). Pane, on the fully-equipped B.M.W., left too early, as recorded, so that the race was awarded to Harvey-Noble’s M.G. at 67.45 m.p.h., with Leitch’s blown 2.3 Bugatti second and H. J. Aldington’s sports Frazer-Nash-B.M.W. third. PowysLybbe jerked in starting with his rebuilt Talbot and was held by Evans’s M.G. Aldington had a great duel with the G.P. Bugatti which showed up B.M.W. acceleration, in spite of sports equipment, very favourably indeed—these cars car

ried identical handicaps. Peter Clark drove his sports H.R.G. stripped, with a fuel tank in lieu of a passenger’s seat.

Another road-circuit motor-cycle race followed, the victor being H. Rayfield (490 c.c. Norton) at 64.36 m.p.h. Finally, we had the Third March Road Handicap (three laps). Evans again

scrapped with Lybbe’s Talbot, and Abecassis on the Alta snaked excitingly from the line to go very rapidly indeed. ” Bira ” had the plugs of the famous 3-litre Maserati changed on the line and thereafter drove magnificently, giving nothing away on the corners. Gradually Miss Stanley-Turner’s M.G. Midget fell back, in spite of sliding the bends and St. John Horsfall’s 2-litre Aston-Martin built up a commanding lead from Brettell’s little blue Austin Seven. Then, on the last lap, the Maserati came through, ” Bira ” just failing to catch the AstonMartin, which won at 62.39 m.p.h. and thereafter turned round at the banking bend through the clutch pedal breaking off. Brettell was third. Smith’s M.G. and Aitken’s Maserati Six were again unwell and Fane was heavily rehanclicapped with his Frazer-Nash-B.M.W.

Yes ! It had been good to be at Brooklands once again. The next fixture is on Easter Monday, April 18th.