COLMORE TROPHY - NEW STYLE

COLMORE TROPHY NEW STYLE DELAY MINIMISED BY DOUBLE-CIRCUIT PLAN. S. H. ALLARD (FORD V8 SPECIAL) WINS THE TROPHY.

The Colmore Trophy Trial, run on February 27th, by the Sutton Coldfield and North Birmingham A.C., proved a great success, for it marked a big effort on the part of the organisers to get rid of the long and irksome delays at the foot of hills which have marred so many recent events. The system first invented by Brian Twist, of the Cambridge University A.C., and used by that club for the past two Inter-Varsity Trials, had been adapted by Alf Langley, the Colmore organiser, who actually worked out all the details without reference to the previous events. Two circuits of equal length (thirty-nine miles) were used, both starting and finish ing at Cheltenham. Half the entry tackled one course in the morning, while the rest, instead of waiting about at the

hills, were tackling the other. Then in the afternoon the two divisions switched over, each to the circuit they had not yet traversed.

An innovation in the Colmore event was that instead of alternative numbers departing on different circuits, as in the Inter-Varsity Trial, competitors were sent off in threes. Thus members of a team of three cars were enabled to start and run together throughout the event. One half of the entry had yellow numbers to distinguish them from the others.

In spite of the fact that the course was even stiffer than in previous years, and the weather was bad almost throughout, with. drenching storms of rain, there was little delay, and had it not been for one competitor getting jammed on Leckhampton Hill towards the end, the whole event would probably have finished to schedule. Even so, competitors eating tea at Cheltenham were congratulating themselves and the organisers on such an exceptionally early finish to a gruelling event. The two most difficult hills, Leekhampton and Juniper, were both on the south circuit. Leckhampton, or the Middle j limy, as it is called locally, is on the

outskirts of Cheltenham. The lower stretches were deep in mud, so that many were not even able to reach the 1 in 2 section at the top. Juniper is much. shorter, but much more slippery, with a muddy, rutted surface in the midst of a wood. The gradient,

though not so sustained, is probably almost as steep as that of Leckhampton, and actually caused more failures— seventeen were successful on Leckhampton, and fifteen on Juniper out of a field of eighty-two starters. It is interesting to compare perform ances on these two hills :— Climbed Both : .R. A. Maedermid, A. B. Langley,

J. A. Bastock (1292 ,(:.8) R, M. ‘ndr(-N (939 c.c. M.G., S.); C. D. Buckley, V. It.Seriven. L. Hadley (747 c.e. Meiling): ‘1’. C. Wise, s. Allard (Ford V8s) B. Bolton (2,603 c.c. SS.); E. Lloyd-Jones (1,497 e.c. Lea-Francis.,-5.) Leekhampton only : A. C. Imhof, S. Crawford, J. E. S. Jones (1,292 c.c. .M.(;.$),• 1). E. Harris (1,287 c.c. M.0., S.); E. D. Woolley (Ford VS);

K. C. DelIngpole (1,493 c.c. Singer, 8.).

Juniper only : W. S. Sewell (747 c.c. Austin. s.); P. s. Flower (547 e.c. .11.G.); F. S. Barnes, .f. Barnes (1,496 c.e. Singers). Woolley was unfortunate in not recording the first success, after many failures, on Juniper, for he got almost to the very

top. On Leckhampton the Barnes brothers came withinan ace of success, as also did Toulmin with his M.G. It was on Leckhampton where Povey stopped in the mud near the foot, but could not reverse owing to a broken

exhaust pipe acting as a sprag. The pushers becoming very heated thought the car extraordinarily heavy till they found two large bags of cement in the back I When these where being removed, one burst, and a white cloud descended upon all and Sundry. Kineton, on the other circuit, caused the next greatest number of failures, amongst them Bolton, who had taken his two-seater S.S. so well up Leckhampton

and Juniper. The locals had been ” treating ” the hill with loose soil and bricks before the event, all of which had to be removed by the officials. Of the other hills, West Down caused only one car to stop (in spite of a restart test in the middle), and Station Lane stopped only nine. Allard made certain of the Trophy by his performance in the principal test at Gaffing, where with 18-isec. his special Ford beat the field by a clear second, Toulmin being next best. At the timed section on Stancombe Buckley and Hadley did best with their Austins—this make did particularly well throughout. Then on Syde Allard and Hadley divided the honours of another timed section, while in the Stanway restart test Woolley’s Ford excelled,

The best performer in each class was certain of a first-class award in any case, an excellent arrangement which slightly augmented the award list, apart from the few 100 per cent. performances. RESULTS

Colmore Trophy : (best individual performance) : 8. 11. Allard (Allard Special Ford V8).

Rhode Cup (best under 1,100 e.e. performance) : R. M. Andrews (M.(1.). Bernard Norris Cup (best over 1,100 c.c. perforth

mace): A. Bastock (M.G.).

Shell Cup (best &mime member): C. 1). Buckley (Austin).

Trial to Trial Trophy : W. H. Seriven (Austin).

Musketeers Award (best performance by driver who has never won first-class award, Or better, in the ” Colmore “): E. D. Woolley (Ford V8). Club . Team Trophy : M.G. Car Club (Midland Centre). J. F. Kemp, A. B. Langley, J. A. Baistock (M.0.8)

Runners-up : M.G. Car Club. J. M. Touhnin, H. K. Crawford, J. E. S. Jones (M.G.$).

Committee Team Prize •. Three Musketeers. R. A. Macdermid, J. A. I3astock, A. B. Langley (M.G.$).

First-Class Awards : 750 cc.. H. L. Hadley (Austin); 1,100 c.c.. S. Corry (M.G.); 1,500 c.c., R. A. Macdermhl (M.0.); 2,000 c.c., N. V. Terry (Fraser-Nash-B.M.W.); over 2,000 c.c. T. C. Wise (Ford V8). Only other first-dues: A. B. Langley (M.G.). Second-Class Awards : W. H. Seriven, W. S. Sewell (Austins) ; A. G. Imhof, H. K. Crawford,

.1. E. S. Jones, D. E. Barris (M ; F. s. Barnes, .1. D. Barnes (1i-litre Singers).