ANOTHER HILL-CLIMB AT DANCER'S END

ANOTHER HILL-CLIMB AT DANCER’S END

In spite of the failure on the part of the Bugatti Owners’ Club to convert the hill at Dancer’s End farm, near Tring, into a ShelsIey of the South, the Berkhamsted and District M.C. staged another successful meeting at that picturesque venue on the Sunday of September 13th.

The Shelsley rain of the previous day had made the course rather tricky, though not dangerous, as we appreciated as we drove to the Press arrangements at the summit.

Although this was a meeting run under a closed permit the entries were encouraging and the crowd considerable. M.G.s dominated the 850 c.c. sports category, A. G. Sanderson’s Midget winning with a climb in 33.5′ secs., while the 1,000 sports category was the domain of the Fiats, E. Leigh making the best’ ascent, in 31.2 secs. G. Bagratouni carried off the 1i-litre class with his familiar T.T. M.G. Maguette in 29 secs., beating Ivo Peters (Frazer-Nash) by a clear second. The Hon de Yarbrough-Bateson ran his L.M.B. Epoch with Marshall blower and independently suspended front wheels. I. F. Connell produced a rapid blown M.G. Midget to win the 850 c.c. racingclass, beating B. Rogers’s blown sister car

by 1i secs. R. J. W. Appleton’s Special made a rousing climb in the 1,100 c.c. section, putting up fastest time of the day in 26.8 secs., which in the all-comers’ class it still further improved to 26.5 secs. Richard Bolster ran second in 28.2 secs. The Bolster-Special now has an external oil-cooler, but it is losing nothing of the Shelsley-Special touch, as a discarded petrol tin serves as a silencer, and the body just manages to accommodate Richard. Sumner spun the Sumner J.A.P. right round at the tricky hair-pin bend, which might be part of a trials gradient in its looseness of surface.

A very tired Instone had brought the Martyr down from Shelsley. On his next run Appleton was not so rapid, though he won the 1i-litre racing-class, with Connell’s Midget second. Finally, Appleton made best time of the day in winning the all-comers’ class, with Richard Bolster second in 27.6 secs. New-comers to the gentle art of sprint motoring Should note the date of next year’s Dancer’s End fixtures. Incidentally, can anyone tell us why R. Magnus’s 1,050 c.c. Emeryson is classed as a sportscar at these meetings ? Similar apparent leniency was displayed towards Horn’s stripped Talbot 8-18, and Christen.sen’s

Darracq. In the paddock Almack’s Austin attracted attention by reason of twin straight-through exhaust tubes, and H. B. G. Watts produced a skeleton G.N. with splayed-valve push-rod heads, the identity of which puzzled a wellknown G.N. exponent.

RESULTS

Sports Cars up to 850 c.c. : 1, A. G. Sanderson (847 c.c. M.G.), 33.5s.; 2, F. R. Smith (847 c.c. M.G.), 33.88.

850 c.c.-1,100 c.o. : 1, E. Leigh (995 c.c. Fiat), 31.2s.; 2, It. N. Sanford (995 c.c. Fiat), 32.2s.

1,100 c.c.-1,500 c.c. ._• 1, G. Bagratouni (1,287 e.e. M.G.), 29s.; 2, I. 0. F. Peters (1,496 c.c. FrazerNash), 30s.

Racing-cars, up to 850 c.c.: 1, I. F. Connell (747 c.c. M.G. S.), 28,6s.; 2, B. Rogers (747 e.e. M.G. S.), 30.1s.

850 c.o.-1,100 c.c.: 1, It. J. W. Appleton (1,089 c.c. Appleton-Special), 26.8s. ; 2, R.. V. C. Bolster (1,098 c.c. Bolster-Special), 28.2s.

Up to 1,500 0.0. :1, R. J. W. Appleton (1,089 c.c. Appleton-Special), 27s.; 2, I. F. Connell (747c.c. M.O. S.), 28s.

All-comers 1, B,. J. W. Appleton, 26.5e, (best time of day) ; 2, It. V. G. Bolster, 27.6s.

Admission money was handed to the Chesham Old People’s Outing Fund, as is the practice after these meetings.