JACK AND JILL WENT UP A HILL

JACK AND JILL WENT UP A HILL

SUCCESSFUL FOUR-CORNERED EVENT WON BY THE CAMBRIDGE VETERANS, WITH CAMBRIDGE RESIDENTS SECOND, THE ” JELLS ” THIRD, AND OXFORD A POOR LAST.

THE Jack and Jill Trial was different from the usual run of trials, not only in name—although that in itself was a refreshing change from the customary ” Cups,” “Trophies ” and point-to-point titles. The fact that three clubs were engaged in rivalry gave an added interest to the proceedings, while separate class awards satisfied the individualists. Then a little-used stretch of country was used, namely the Hindhea,d district, and finally competition tyres were banned.

The result of all this was one of the most enjoyable trials of the season, well attended, smoothly organised, and containing a nice combination of easy and difficult hills, so that newcomers were not discouraged and experts were not bored.

The starting point was at Milford, just at the end of the magnificent and timesaving Guildford 13y-Pass. The usual conglomeration of widely different vehicles collected here on the windy morning of February 16th. As befitted the organising Club, the C.U.A.C. furnished 39 out of the 72 entries. Just to make things a little more interesting these were divided into 21 residents and 18 veterans. The W.A.S.A. mustered 20 determined womendrivers, while the wretched O.U.M.D.C. could only scrape together a dozen representatives of that seat of learning. The trial opened with a mild ascent called Blind Lane, a turning to the left off the Haslemere road. It was very muddy, and ran between high banks, and

beyond deep ruts and a steep bit right at the top did not present much difficulty. An Airstream Singer, driven by J. ()Rennie, failed to get up, while Miss Pamela Lacon (Singer Le Mans) only just managed it. Begley Farm led up to the main Hindhead road, and was an easy gradient for all but the oldest cars, and E. G. Brettell (Austin 7) looked as though he

would come to a standstill. By careful driving he succeeded, however, and this hill was uneventful. A minor disturbance occurred at the foot of the hill when Miss Peggy Blathway’s M.G. Midget belched forth smoke and flames, but the conflagration luckily extinguished itself. lvo Peters’ mount, an Avon Standard coupe with outside exhaust pipes, was

making a queer fluffy sound, but functioned satisfactory. The rest of the competitors made good climbs. A dozen miles farther on the corn

petitors came to Abster’s Hollow, the most difficult ascent of the trial. So long is this interesting hill that it was div.ided into two sections, but the competitors kept going as though it was a single climb. It is an unusual hill starting with a slippery bit, continuing Up a slight gradient which gradually steepens a.s the lane dives into a cutting where there is a big bump. This leads up to a right-angle corner on a steep pitch, when the surface changes to sand and gravel, finishing with another sharp corner, this time to the left, right at the top. Without the assistance of competition tyres driving skill was at a premium.

Only about a quarter of the entry got up unaided. Of these Kenneth Evans made what was probably the star climb of the day, handling his M.G. Magnate with real skill. M. W. B. May was good on the old Alvis, as were A. R. Phipps (Aston), R. M. L. Lemon (Singer coupe), R. M. Frewen (Wolseley Hornet), and Miss Barbara Daniell (Wolseley Hornet). Others who were not so successful, but equally gallant, were Miss Doreen Evans (M.G. Magnette), R. B. Collie (Salmson of ancient vintage), and Mrs. Montague Johnstone (Fiat Balilla Sports). 0. 0. Coryton had two girl passengers seated on the hood of his M.G. Magna, and a momentary detour into a mass of gorse bushes nearly unseated them. Bouncing passengers were the order of the day, for this procedure was allowed by the regulations. The Quell and Blackhorse Hollow actually ascend the same ridge as Abster’s

Hollow, but they were not nearly so difficult. The former was timed, and the latter observed, and such cars as Kenneth Evans’ well-tuned Magnette roared up at great speed.

After the inevitable delay on Abster’s Hollow, the lunch stop was an afternoon affair for many people. The ” Royal Anchor” Hotel served relays of meals for hours on end. Duly refreshed, the competitors set off once more, and immediately found difficulty with their route finding, owing to the under-handed action of an unknown individual who removed all the direction cards in the vicinity.

Through Scotland Hill the competitors were timed, arriving at the foot of Oakshaft Hill near by. This was quite difficult for the larger cars, but the little fellows found it well within their scope. The cars were started just before the right-hand corner, and were thus deprived of the opportunity to rush the hill. The surface was that nasty variety of large stones protruding through slippery mud, and wheelspin was easily engendered by too much throttle. P. N. Whitehead found that the first speed of his ” self-changing ” supercharged Alta had burnt out, so he took a run at the hill and went up fast in second gear. A. R. Porter had an exceedingly well-trained crew of ” bouncers,” whose co-ordinated movement all but got the car up the hill. C. Winslow-Taylor was another who had to give up all thought of a standing start. He brought up his old Frazer-Nash in a cloud of mud and

stones. Miss Doreen Evans (M.G. Magnette) almost came to rest with spinning wheels, but kept going after all. E. G. Brettell, with a very old Austin Seven, gave a model display, touring gently up the hill without wheelspin. Mrs. Lind

Walker (3-litre Lagonda) suffered the handicap of a large car, and had to be pushed. R. B. Collie was again firstclass with his aged Salmson, whose solid axle assisted considerably. A timed section was held on Shotters Hill, in which Kenneth Evans made

fastest time with his ” N ” type M.G. Magnette. There remained only Whit more Bottom to surmount before the finish, and this ascent was easy for most people with plenty of power. It was very muddy in the middle, with deep ruts, and failures were recorded by E. G. Brettell (Austin), J. C. Smith (Austin 10), A. R. Porter (Bentley), C. W. Gough (M.G. Midget) and D. B. Tubbs (supercharged M.G. Midget). The fastest climbs appeared to be those of A. R. Phipps (Aston-Martin), who kept his car absolutely straight without any apparent effort, and W. D. Phillips (Railton

Terraplane).

The finish of this enjoyable trial was the “Royal Huts Hotel,” Hindhead, where tales of adventures and amusing incidents were recounted for several hours.

RESULTS.

1.—Cambridge Veterans, 968 points (6 clear scores), 2. —Cambridge Residents, 929 points (no clear scores). 3.—W.A.S.A. 919 points (1 clear score).

4.—Oxford 909 points (2 dear scores).

Class Winners :—MOO c.c. 0. 0. Coryton (M.G. Magna, Cambridge). 2,000 c. c. K. D. Evans (M.G. Magnette, Oxford). Unlimited, Hon. A. D. Chetwynd (Ford V8, Oxford).

The Following comprised the winning team of ten :—

COMPLETE CLASSIFICATION. Name. Car.

COMPLETE CLASSIFICATION-contd.

Name.

171Miss Taylor 18 R. de Y. Bateson 197K.M. Petter 20 W. M. Peel …

Car. Marks. M.G. 847 … W 95 A.C. 1991 R 95 W.A.G.N. 13101 R 94 Frazer Nash 1496 94

FERODO REPLIES.

In a recent speech the Minister of Transport, Mr. L. Hore-Belisha, M.P.,

said : I shall try to discover a way of ensuring that the brakes and tyres of every car on the road are in proper condition.”

Their latest production is a really informative booklet, entitled “If You Could See Inside Your Brakes,” which is full of facts which every motorist should know.

This booklet, which can be obtained post free from Messrs. Feroclo, Ltd., Chapel-en-le-Frith, Stockport, gives hints on the care of brakes, notes on the personal factor in driving ; it tells you how to test the efficiency of four-wheel brakes, and how quickly you should pull up at varying speeds.