Round the Clubs, November 1924

Round the Clubs

THE NORTH LONDON MOTOR CYCLING CLUB.

The Surprise Event, conducted by Mr. L. V. Freeman, was run off with complete success on October 4th. Competitors were verbally acquainted, at the commencement, as to the whereabouts of the first of a series of red boxes which were concealed about the countryside, the road in the vicinity being marked with blue dye. The first box, when found, contained slips which afforded information as to the location of the second box, the second box in the same way served to inform competitors as to the location of the third, and so on. Competitors had to maintain an average speed of 20 m.p.h., and to reach the finish at Radlett in possession of all four slips.

The winner was L. P. Walter (986 Sports Matchless and sidecar), his time being only 31 minutes..

The Greening Cup Trial, open to club officials and committee men, was held on October nth, but as the whole of the entrants were hopelessly bogged in the colonial section, the event will have to be re-run. Four hours of strenuous labour were necessaryto extricate men and machines, whilst H. B. Shutes (Vauxhall car) found it necessary to take advantage of equine assistance.

In order to maintain the interest of members of the Club throughout the winter, a programme of social events and a dance are being arranged.

The annual Inter-Club Hill Climb with the North West London M.C. took place on r8th ult., in an atmosphere of healthy rivalry which has always existed between these two neighbouring organisations. The venue was Waterworks Hill, near Crews Hill, and as the weather was excellent, a large number of supporters of both clubs were present.

Each Club was represented by two riders or drivers in each of the following classes :—Solo, 350 c.c., 500 c.c. ; Sidecar, 500 c.c., i,000 c.c. ; Three-wheelers, Cars, 1,100 c.c., 1,500 c.c.

The fastest time of the day was made by J. W. Bezzant, of the North London Club, who, on his P. & M. Panther, made a spectacular climb in 14.2 seconds. C. C. King (North-West London M.C.) made the next best climb on his Ricardo-Triumph in 15.6 seconds.

A. G. Mansell, whose K.R.C. car was exceedingly moody, managed to win the I,roo c.c. car class in spite of clutch slip, whilst A. A. Pollard’s Aston-Martin made the fastest car climb in 24 secs. This interesting event ‘resulted in a win, for the first time for three years, for the North-West London Club, who scored 16 points to their rivals Such competitive events do much to foster club life, and many local organisations who are complaining of lack of interest on the part of their members are strongly

recommended to endeavour to arrange competitive fixtures with their neighbouring clubs.

The Annual Dinner of the North London M.C.C. takes place at The Holborn Restaurant (Caledonian Saloon), on Saturday, December 6th, when Professor A. M. Low, F.R.G.S., D.Sc., will preside. Fuller details are obtainable from the Hon. Secretary, Alan W. Day, Esq., ” Claremont,” Bollards Lane, Finchley, N. 3.

SUTTON COLDFIELD Sc NORTH BIRMINGHAM AUTOMOBILE CLUB.

The annual Autumn One Day Trial was held on Saturday, October 4th. Four trophies were offered for competition, namely, the Sutton Cup, the Shell Cup, the Silver Rose Bowl, and the Carless Cup.

The first three trophies were allotted respectively to solo machines, sidecar machines and the threewheeled passenger machines, whilst the Carless Cup is one of four now offered for competition. in various trials and is to be won on each occasion by the entrant who makes the best performance of the day, providing that the machine ridden has an engine capacity of less than 1,500 c.c., and that it does not win any other trophy in the course of the trial.

By.’ way of a change, excellent weather prevailed and this had the effect of considerably reducing the difficulties of what would otherwise have been a rather arduous Trial. The country traversed lay to the west of Birmingham in the direction of Ludlow and included some entirely fresh ground which, as a result of this first excursion, is likely to be used more extensively in the future for trials run by this Club.

So far as the competitors were concerned, the novelty of the district came as a relief from the well-worn and much used test hills nearer home which have served so often as a venue of trials and tests. Their gratification on this occasion served to counterbalance the additional difficulties which were experienced in negotiating the course.

Of the 48 entries only one failed to face the starter, and of the 47 left, no fewer than 43 finished the course. The most difficult sections of the Trial were the climb on Liveridge Hill and the re-starting test on Flagstaff Hill. At Liveridge all the riders of solo machines were compelled to use their feet in cornering, owing to the treacherous surface and the unusually high camber of the road. The sidecar riders found matters much easier, especially those who were able to make fast ascents. The Morgans hurled lumps of stone and clay at the observers and spectators, until they almost arrived at the point of considering whether it would be sporting to retaliate

Amongst the cars, a few failed entirely and, rightly or wrongly, some of the drivers were inclined to lay the blame on the balloon tyres.

A feature of the midday halt was the very excellent lunch which was provided, and this point was very much appreciated by all competitors as well as by others who were interested. In the afternoon section, a fairly deep and boulder-strewn watersplash had to be crossed, but mercifully it was not one of the observed stretches, otherwise many more marks would undoubtedly have been lost. Pew of the competitors even would credit that the ensuing climb led them to a point 1,500 feet above sea level. After that, country lanes led to the re-starting test of the performance, in which immensely varying results were experienced.

After the re-starting test, the novelty feature of the Trial occurred, this being a combined acceleration and brake test, in the course of which competitors were required to accelerate until the mark was reached, cross the mark, stop, reverse over the mark again and then accelerate to the finish. This modification of the usual fast, stop, fast test, was found to have several outstanding advantages. In the past, difficulty has arisen in judging this fast, stop, fast test owing to the difficulty of deciding when and whether the stop had been correctly made. This difficulty has not only been experienced by drivers but by officials as well. The test, as conducted on this occasion, although it increased the severity of the test, was nevertheless, easier to judge and afforded striking indication of the handiness of the control of the machines which took part. The results were as follows :

THE MIDDLESBROUGH & DISTRICT MOTOR CLUB.

The last event of the year for this Club was to have been a Hill Climb on October 4th. Unfortunately, the Rural District Council, in whose district the hill was situated, interfered, and it had to be abandoned.

The Prize Distribution, which is to take place in conjunction with a Smoking Concert, is provisionally fixed for November 21st, and will take place at the Corporation Hotel, Middlesbrough. The Annual Ball will be on December 12th, and on January 7th it is hoped to have a New Year Party.

The Hon. Secretary is A. V. Buttress, 18, Ayresonie Park Road, Middlesbrough.

THE SLOUGH Et DISTRICT MOTOR CYCLE & L.161-IT CAR CLUB.

This Club’s annual Reliability Trial for the Harris Cup and Medals was run over a sporting course of 83 miles on Saturday, the 4th ult.

The first competitor left the ” Crown ” Hotel, Slough, at 3 p.m., and the first secret check located 17 miles out, found the majority of riders at fault, all of them being early with the exception of Mrs. Smith (4 h.p. Norton and sidecar) and R. H. Dyke (21 h.p. New Imperial).

The course included a Colonial Section, which, however, was not too difficult, being actually an observed section of three-quarters of a mile of mud and clay, with two sharp turns. Every competitor lost marks on this stretch. R. Tuddenham (2/ h.p. Zenith and sidecar) and C. J. Sleep (11.9 Morris Sports) were completely stuck.

There were three observed hills and three checks in addition to another secret check at Marlow bridge, where again most competitors lost marks. The results were as follows A. Andrews (8 h.p. Talbot), Harris Cup and Gold Medal ; 2. E. A. Cullum h.p. Francis Barnett), Gold Medal ; 3. G. Slade

h.p. O.H.V. Norton and sidecar), Silver Medal ; 4. Mrs. Smith (4 h.p. Norton and sidecar), Silver Medal.

E. A. Cullum put up an exceptionally fine performance on his little Francis Barnett, while C. L. Rolls (21 h.p. A. J.S.), C. V. Wilson (21 h.p. A.J.S.), C. 0. Field (21 h.p. Beardmore), J. B. Bate (3i h.p. P. & M. Panther), V. J. Hartley (3-i h.p. O.V.H. Norton and sidecar), H. J. Tanner (4 h.p. Triumph), showed good riding skill and were practically all dead on time at all official checks, losing rather heavily, unfortunately for them, on the secret checks.

R. H. Dyke (21 h.p. New Imperial) ran steadily throughout, notwithstanding the accident at Pink Hill, when he hit a boulder. A. M. Farmer (2f h.p. New Imperial) had a bad puncture, but succeeded in mending it in the dark and making up time. All finished but R. Puddenham, who had clutch trouble, S. J. Osmond who had the misfortune to meet with an accident, and R. W. Judd, who had tyre trouble.

This Club is to hold a Hill Climb at Britwell on Saturday, November 1st, commencing at 2 p.m. Other events for the winter are under consideration and a programme will shortly be published.

THE EASTBOURNE Ec DISTRICT MOTOR CYCLE CLUB.

The final Reliability Trial organised by Messrs. E. A. Wood and H. V. Warren, took place on Sunday, October 12th, under ideal climatic conditions. In addition to the usual prizes, there were consolation awards to those members who had not won either a silver medal or a gold medal during the season now closing.

The attendance was good and the entry list satisfactory. A new course of 4I miles was marked and included a grass covered road leading down to a small hollow and a water splash, followed by a steep hill climb.

The contest for the consolation prizes was very keen, there being only six marks between first and second and three marks between second and third. The first prize of a Palmer Tyre was won by H. J. Goodwin, the second, a pair of Inner Tubes, by A. A. Simpson, and the consolation prizes of 2IS. od., 12S. 6d., and 7s. 6d. were awarded to Vaughan-Jones, C. C. Mitchell, and H. Stiles.

The Annual Dinner and Prize Distribution takes place on November 14th at the Sussex Hotel, Eastbourne.

The Hon. Secretary is H. V. Warren, Esq., 51, Ringwood Road, Eastbourne.

THE SURREY MOTOR CYCLE CLUB.

The Hill Climb which this Club had arranged for the 4th October did not take place, owing to police interference.

This Club’s Annual Dinner in conjunction with the Distribution of Prizes, which will be followed by a Dance, is to be held on December 6th, at St. Katherine’s Lodge Hotel, Guildford, at 6.45 p.m.

Tickets, which are 7s. 6d. single, and 12s. 6d. double, should be applied for before 3rd December and can be obtained from the Hon. Secretary, Mr. A. C. Brooks, Lyngarth., Upper St. Michael’s Road, Aldershot.