Singer Team Wins 750 Club National Six-Hour Relay Race
The Six-hour Relay Race of the 750 Club, at Silverstone an August 30th. was this year deservedly of national status. It attracted 27 teams, which engaged in a carefree race in which each team had to circulate as many times as possible. Thus team chiefs had as busy a time as drivers and mechanics and, as any car could be put on at any time, much hard work on recalcitrant engines went on all the afternoon.
The handicapping, on credit laps, favoured the smaller cars and, although the Ford Saloons team led for a time, it was the Singer O.C. team, captained by R. C. Ince, which ultimately won. Appropriately, one of their cars was a long-tailed Le Mans car of the sort which formed the winning team in the I. I.C. Brooklands Relay Race in 1935. It was backed up by a Le Mans Replica Nine and the fastest running was made by James Tilling’s white “Auto-menders” 1½ litre Singer.
The courageous Fords consisted of two Export Anglia Tens and Orr-Ewing’s Popular Eight, the latter faster than the Tens, but succumbing finally to big-end trouble. The Austin Lotus, as a one car “team,” had continual carburation trouble.
The S.U.N.B.A.C. Jaguar XK120 team and the DB2 Aston-Martin team took matters seriously, and the closing stages of the race saw an interesting duel between C. M. Sears’ Lea-Francis-engined chain-drive Frazer-Nash and P. D. Gammon’s special 1.998-c.c. lightweight Morgan Plus Four. But the smaller cars scored on handicap.
In place of starting money the Club awards “stopping money,” to compensate for serious “blow-ups.” This year J. A. Williamson’s 4½-litre Bentley was the deserving competitor, for his crankcase developed a big hole as he sped past the pits.
In conjunction with the main race, Formula Austin Seven teams contested their own scratch race. Altogether a fine day’s sport; if any newspaper or trade organisation is seeking a race to sponsor next year, this would seem to be it.
Results:
1st: Singer O.C. Team (Eyre, Bailey, Tilling), 223 + 47 credit laps.
2nd: Ford Saloons Team (Reece Orr-Ewing, Armstrong), 192 + 70 credit laps.
3rd : Odds and Bods Team (Gould and Lewis (M.G.), Jenkinson (Bugatti), Count Maraldi (Fiat), Cuff (Cuff Special), 216 44 credit laps.
Formula Austin Seven Scratch Race: Notts and Midland Centre Team (Gahagan, Hole, Vaughan. Howse and Whitehouse.), 196 laps.
The Eight-Clubs are this year paying all starters in their Silverstone meeting 20s. in the £ of entry fees, a really excellent return, especially as 1s. per race entry was added as a donation, since brought up to 20 guineas, to the B.R.D.C. Benevolent Fund. The next Eight-Clubs fixture is the Eastbourne Rally on October 17th-20th, with a rallying point just north of London on the Friday evening, a night road section. including navigation, driving tests and regularity test, and further tests after breakfast, and after lunch at Eastbourne. Mileage about 300, at a 28.8 m.p.h. average. An Inter-Club team contest will be incorporated in which teams are not nominated in advance, as any member may score points.
Regulations from : A. Bolsom, 6, Alverstone Road, N.W.2.
Sir Algernon Guinness, Bt., has been appointed R.A.C. representative to the B.R.D.C . Silverstone Management Committee.