M.C.C Silverstone: Race Meeting (June 27th)

The Tenth Silverstone Meeting promoted by the M.C.C. on June 27th attracted a good crowd of enthusiasts. As the meeting was for cars and motorcycles we had a very mixed bag of events. The motorcyclists were outstanding more for their enthusiasm than ability. In the two one-hour trials for motor-cycles we had the sight of Vincent 1,000-c.c. machines keeping company with scooters and trials bikes.

In the first car race of the day P. J. Sargent in his C-type Jaguar won fairly comfortably from Len Gibbs (Lotus), due to the fact that the C-type was faster down the straight. Mrs. Gibbs followed in her husband’s wake into third place. In the five-lap handicap for saloon cars there were only six starters, this event being won by C. K. Bond-Smith (A35), who seemed to like a wet circuit, and scratch-man B. Rodger (Peerless), though making a lot of ground, could not catch the smaller-capacity cars. Second place went to R. Lewis (A35) and third was D. Hobbs (Morris).

The 10-lap scratch race for cars, 750 and 1,172 formulae, was an easy victory for B. R. Hart in his well-constructed Terrier Mk. II, though Wershat in his Lolita made sure Hart did not flag. D. Rees in his Austin 1,172, the third man home, was very good at Copse Corner, sliding his machine and keeping a good line. This was in direct contrast to some of the motorcyclists, who were completely baffled by the corners on the circuit. It must be said that the variable weather conditions, rain one moment and hot sun drying one or two of the corners very quickly, made racing quite tricky. Jem Marsh in his 750 Speedex was nearly as fast as his Speedex E.S.J. 1,172 driven by J. Heseltine, and of course comfortably beat the other 750s in a race which was virtually for two classes.

The following five-lap handicap was notable for the spins and slides of most cars, for the track received a certain amount of oil spilt by the motorcycles. R. Lewis (A35) was first past the chequered Hag, followed by R. Peacock (M.G.-A) and A. Bennett in a Ford Special.

Sargent was again first in a 10-lap scratch race, with Mr. Gibbs (Lotus) and Mrs. Bluebelle Gibbs (Lotus) second and third, respectively.

The last race of the day, which started at 6.50 p.m., five minutes before the advertised time, was the Motor Sport Trophy Handicap and only six cars started. This resulted in a win for P. Sargent (C-type), followed by Mrs. Bluebelle Gibbs and Len Gibbs in their Lotus cars. No doubt there would have been more entries for this race if competitors had realised the winners received cash prizes in this event. Credit must be given to the M.C.C. for finishing an extraordinarily long programme on time, despite the interference of an over-zealous official. — A. W. G.