Notts S.C.C. at Silverstone

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THE Nottingham S.C.C. held its annual race meeting on June 13th, a pleasant afternoon’s sport before a small crowd, the inclusion of racing cars adding worthwhile speed and variety. Races were longer than usual and all were scratch contests.

Buxton’s Lotus Elite, as is expected of these fantastic little cars, led all the way in the first event, a 10-lap Series-Production Sports Car Race, the Twin-Cam M.G.s of Needham and Crossfield being out of sight at the finish. The Elite averaged 72.05 m.p.h., compared to 67.66 m.p.h. by Wood, whose Sprite, with non-standard nose, won the 1,000 c.c. class from Green’s Fairthorpe Electron hard-top, Venner-Pack’s Sprite, also with faired-in lamps, third.

The 15-lap over-1,200 c.c. Sports Car Race was reduced to six starters, several cars having failed to survive practice, including a Lister-Corvette with holed piston and Murray’s ex-Brian Naylor J.B.W.-Maserati which dropped a valve. And Jean Bloxham had an accident on her way to Silverstone. Bekaert (3.7 Lister-Jaguar) led easily from Mould’s (3.0 Lister-Jaguar) and Coundley’s D-type Jaguar, winning at 84.17 m.p.h. Lapping at 85.63 m.p.h., Bekaert caught Sargent’s C-type Jaguar.

Pantlin in his long-nosed Mk. 7 Lotus-Climax did well to hold Threlfall’s streamlined Lotus-Climax in the 1,200 c.c. Sports Car Race, 4.8 sec. separating them at the finish, Threlfall winning at 78.27 m.p.h. Saunders’ re-bodied Victoria was a strong third. Kerrison (Lotus) ditched at Woodcote. Len Gibbs was trying out two of the new Amal twin-choke floatless carburetters on his Lotus in this race. Coundley won Heat 1 of the Formula Libre race from Mackie, both in D-type Jaguars, Threlfall (Lotus) third, but Pantlin’s Lotus again close up, only 0.6 sec. behind in fourth place. Bekaert led the second Heat comfortably, his speed up to 85.15 m.p.h. with a lap at 86.66 m.p.h., the big Lister-Jaguar holding off Reg Parnell’s son Tim in a F.2 Cooper-Climax and Parkes in the interesting Fry-Climax which has a rear-mounted twin-cam Climax engine, independent-suspension being by double wishbones at the front, trailing arms and high-set transverse locating bars at the rear, the medium in both cases being rubber cords in tension, connected by chains running over sprockets, while cooling is by a ducted nose radiator and there are disc brakes, inboard at the back. The tail is higher this year.

The 10-lap Saloon Car Race saw designer Bernie Rodger and Simon Hill engage in a fine dice in their Avon-shod Peerless G.T. coupes, Rodger scraping home by 2.6 sec., after a fine drive, in a car which has the 2.2-litre TR3 engine, twin-choke S.U.s and a Scintilla Vertex magneto, Yimkin having breathed magic on the engine internals. It averaged 69.46 m.p.h., with a lap at 70.77 m.p.h. Burville-Holmes’ Peerless was third, but a fourth Peerless retired, in spite of being provided with an oil radiator. Boxall drove the Cambridge Racing Team’s A35 very fast to win its class at 60.87 m.p.h., which included a lap at 64.75 m.p.h. before slowing up for team-mate Whittaker, Hobbs’ Morris-Cowley, with Hobbs’ automatic transmission, unfortunately non-started.

Another 10-lap Series-Production Sports Car Race was full of incidents after oil had been dropped at Woodcote, Protheroe winning at 72.61 m.p.h. (best lap 73.84 m.p.h.) in his Jaguar XK from McKechnie’s A.C.-Bristol coupe and Tallis, in the ex-O’Hara Moor/ Bond Le Mans Replica Frazer Nash. Allday’s Willment-conversion Lotus-Ford, an everyday car with 15,000 miles to its credit, won the. 1,172 c.c. Formula Race at 67.16 m.p.h. from Nicholson’s and Johnson’s Lotus-Fords, the last-named continuing in spite of running nose-first into the barrier on the inside of Woodcote corner. Joseph drove a Mk.6 Lotus with 93A Ford engine and kept slow company with P. Richardson whose Aquaplane Ford 100E Lotus-Mk. 7, with 10 to 1 c.r. was only completed the previous day. The Equipe Volant’s Poulin-Ford possessed a dust-bin lid power bulge with a tiny exposed fuel tank apparently contrived immediately behind the carburetter.

The 20-lap Formule Libre Final had a very mixed field, from Connaughts to Lotus-Ford. It released a motley of the right sounds, too! This time Parnell kept his F.2 Cooper-Climax ahead of Bekaert’s Lister from lap seven onwards, to win at 85.77 m.p.h., Hart’s F.2 Cooper taking third place, a lap behind. Parnell’s best lap was at 87.45 m.p.h. The Derby Alabaster Co.’s exciting-looking Lister-Climax, which wears its carburetters in the open air, was pathetic. Presentation of the silverware concluded an enjoyable meeting.W.B.