Reports of Recent Events, March 1947

S.A.S.C.C. Speed Hill Climb
Results of the South Australian Sporting Car Club’s Quarry Hill speed event, held last October, are to hand and are as follows :—

Standard Touring Cars up to 14 h.p.: McDonough (Ford Ten), 28.4 sec.
Unsupercharged Cars up to 2 Litres: Uffindell (Austin Seven), 23.0 sec.
Open Vintage-Car Event: Vinall (“30/98” Vauxhall), 23.0 sec.
Cars over 2 1/2 Litres and all S/C Cars: Harrison (Mercury-Ford-Special) and Pank (Terraplane-Lancia), cavil 22.2 sec.
Open Championship: Pank (Terraplane-Lancia), 21.2 sec., and f.t.d.
Stop and Restart Test: Vinall (“30/98” Vauxhall), 31.0 sec.

Southampton M.C.’s President’s Trophy Trial
With Northern trials cancelled due to frozen roads, the Southampton M.C. held its President’s Trophy Trial under very difficult conditions. A haystack blocked the way to Oakshott, but competitors managed to get to the hill via a snow-covered field. Here many of the small cars did very well, including a Ford Ten-engined Austin Seven, Welfare’s Austin, Birkett’s Austin, Biggs in the Meadows H.R.G. Miss Redfern used to drive, and Norrish in the ex-Inderwick Meadows Frazer-Nash. The big cars mostly failed and were towed up by a Jeep, Appleton’s and McAlpine’s Allards and Wadsworth’s Ford V8 amongst them, and Best’s M.G. hit a tree head-on. Morrish was very late because his M.G.’s engine had frozen and a water hose had burst.

Len Parker made best performance in the V12 Allard, using negligible pressure in his tyres and experiencing several punctures. Burgess’s Allard won the big-car class. Dewey, in a Jeep, who knew the hills, the medium class, and the Frazer-Nash the up-to-1 1/2-litres class. Birkett’s Austin Seven did very well to gain a 1st class award against larger cars — it had a standard engine with Laystall circular-web crankshaft, 3-branch exhaust system, Whatmough-Hewitt head and Ford Eight downdraught carburation, and used a close-ratio 4-speed gearbox with a useful second gear, 5.25 to 1 rear axle, wide i.f.s. front axle with soft spring, and 140 by 40 Oxborrow re-tread rear tyres. Other 1st-class award winners were: Biggs (H.R.G.), Denyer (Lea-Francis) and Imhof (Supercharged Allard).

Swedish Winter Grand Prix
The starters were Parnell’s E.R.A., Brooke’s E.R.A., Abecassis’ E.R.A. and Nobelius’ Bugatti. They finished in that order, Abecassis and Nobelius failing to cover the full distance. Parnell won by 0.6 sec., averaging 64.17 m.p.h. for the 64 1/2 miles, against Brooke’s 64.10 m.p.h. Brooke made fastest lap, at 66.96 M.p.h. The Swiss and French entries were icebound en route. Twenty-eight cars started in the Sports Car Race, and Sjoqvist’s Citroen won at 60.14 m.p.h. from Oscar Moore’s ex-Leslie Johnson “328” B.M.W., which did 59,42 m.p.h. Tollstoy’s Ford was third, 28.3 sec. behind Moore. The first heat had been won by a Hudson, the second by a Ford V8.

N.W.L.M.C. Coventry Cup Trial
This took place in the Hindhead area under snow conditions, and was a tough trial in the old tradition. Only Price’s Price V8, Biggs’ H.R.G. and Morrish’s Frazer-Nash climbed the first hill, which was in two sections, although Burroughs, with Hutchison as passenger in his Ford V8, a Jeep, and Wharton’s Ford Ten-Austin (the last-named coming from, and returning to, Birmingham that day) all but got up. McAlpine’s Allard V12 failed with fuel starvation. Hatches Farm was very difficult and Potter nearly overturned his Allard, damaging the steering, which troubled him for the rest of the day. On Beeches Hill Burroughs hit a tree-stump and became wedged, Biggs failed low down only to restart and climb clean, while Wick and McAlpine got well up in their Allards, and Yeats (Austin Seven) almost succeeded, but Browne’s Austin Seven cut-out. Very good climbs were made by Dyer (Riley), Faulkner (Willys-Jeep), Price (Price V8), Potter (Allard), and Birkett (Austin Seven), while Willment (Austin Seven) and Welfare (Austin Seven) were outstanding. Wharton, blazing the trail, failed. At Hammer Hill, Browne, Potter and Birkett were amongst the failures, the latter’s fuel pump cutting out. A straight-up climb of Trophy Hill saw Potter climb highest, and just before this Welfare retired with a broken stub-axle. Wharton was fastest in the long special test that concluded the trial. Many prominent entries failed even to reach the start, including C. A. N. May, reputed to have bit a tree. Results were not to hand in time for publication.

Hagley & D.L.C.C. Clee Hill Trial