A FRENCH LEAD TO ENCOURAGE RACING

EDITORIAL. A FRENCH LEAD TO ENCOURAGE RACING

THE sensation of last month was undoubtedly the announcement by the Automobile Club of France that the entry fee for the French Grand Prix has been reduced from 2,000 francs, as in previous years, to a mere 100. At the present rate of exchange, this represents about 23/-, and a saving of about £22 on a competitor’s expenses. The action of the French Club is one that must commend itself to everyone interested in motor racing, for it is a wise move to keep pace with the times. In these days of financial stress it is essential that competitors be encouraged in every way to maintain their racing programmes, in spite of depleted resources. Poor entry, poor attendance is an invariable sequence of events, with corresponding financial loss to the promoters of a race, and one of the most certain ways of ensuring an adequate entry is by reduc

ing the expenses of prospective competitors. But the Automobile Club of France has not stopped at the negative course of encouraging drivers to enter by cutting down their expenses. In addition, they have devised a new method of distributing prize money which will reward any driver who puts up a good show, irrespective of whether he is in the first three finishers , and even of whether he finishes at all. Full details of the scheme will be found on another page, but it is sufficient to say here that a bonus, varying from about £11 to £57, will be given to every driver who averages

speeds ianging from 65 m.p.h. to 78 m.p.h. after 10, 20 and 30 laps of the course have been covered. Naturally, only one bonus will be granted to each driver, being the highest for which his performance is eligible. Finally, in order to encourage the ” aces,” the first three finishers will receive £1,150, £575, £230 respectively. The entire scheme is one which we should like to see taken up by all organisers of races. On the Continent, at any rate, the really first class driver already makes a good thing out of motor racing—Nuvolari’s £8,000 in prize money last year is sufficient proof of that. And we are glad it is so, for the scope to reap a rich reward from extraordinary skill is vital to the development of motor racing. At the same time, those drivers who have not the genius of a Nuvolari or a Caracciola, but who nevertheless are first class pilots and are a delight to watch, must not be of

making in return a welldeserved share of the prizemoney. Again, encouragement must be given to the young newcomers who, be time, may turn out to in worthy successors to the leading drivers of to-day. It will be seen, then, that everyone stands to benefit by the plan of the Automobile Club of France. The “aces,” the first class drivers, and the promising tilde pendants by lower entry fees and a fair chance of winning some prize money ; the general public by the spectacle of a fast race contested by a good field ;

and the promoters by a large attendance.