the way of things

7/Le

NE of the most important factors contributing to success in road-racing is constant practice, and it is in this particular that our rivals on the Continent have a very great advantage. There is always a good choice of road races, all held over difficult circuits, and all run off with an entry of well matched and expert drivers on cars really suitable for the work. In this country we have no road races, or any races which do more than vaguely approximate to road-racing conditions. It is true that the amount of fuss and regulations covering the few events that we run at Brooklands would be ample if distributed over all the races in Europe, but this does not make them any more important, and we have to look to Ireland and the Isle of

Man to provide conditions equal to the Continent.

To the Isle of Man and the A.C.U. Tourist Trophy we owe the supremacy of British motorcycles in road racing, as this provides the first great road race of the year and gives designers and riders a chance to prepare fully for the Continental races of the year. In the car world the state of affairs is entirely different. Italy, France and Germany have been hard at it from the beginning of the season, and by the time our big races arrive they have a complete season’s experience of their new models, as well as a fund of driving experience which we cannot hope to

equal except by competing in all their events. This is at present impossible, and although a few of our more enterprising drivers represent us abroad, they are compelled to drive foreign cars to stand a chance, because we have no real road-racing cars made in this country suitable for a really difficult circuit.

The British Grand Prix run at Brooklands a few years ago, and the old J .C.C. 200-miles races with artificial turns showed that even with our limited facilities we could nearly approach a real race. To-day, however, we are confined to the Mountain races at B.A.R.C. meetings—better than nothing, but nothing to what might be done, while the Double-Twelve has one corner only. a

a race on lines to these is revived we are steadily depriving this country of any chance of supremacy in road-racing, and are making our foreign rivals laugh at us for playing at motoring.