Innes Ireland Wins 1957 "Motor Sport" Brooklands Memorial Trophy

WHEN Innes Ireland took his Lotus-Climax to Goodwood on the last day of August for the third B.A.R.C. Members’ Sports-Car Meeting of the season, he led the annual Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy Contest by 16 points, to 10 points each scored by Foster and Page, nine by Bristow and eight each by Greene and Charles. In his first race Innes spun at the first corner and was disqualified, Bristow’s Cooper-Climax winning and increasing his total to 13, while Greene’s Cooper-Climax was third, moving his score up to 10 points. In his second race Ireland made no mistakes, leading all the way, to win with 20 points. Bristow breathed down his neck all the way and in a gallant last-lap effort got by going into Woodcote Corner. He failed to stay on the road round that corner (where Tony Brooks once went straight on in similar circumstances in his Frazer-Nash!), let Greene by, but crossed the line third, only to be disqualified under the B.A.R.C.’s rather distressing “no-spin, keep-to-the-road ” rule. So the score was: Ireland 20, Bristow 13, Green 13. Greene then won his handicap race, thus clinching second place, with 17 points. Mike Hawthorn, who won this Motor Sport contest with his Rileys in 1951, presented the Brooklands Memorial Cup and cheque for £75 to Ireland, who was congratulated by His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. Greene was presented with a cheque for £50 and Bristow with one for £25. Previous winners have included the late Jim Mayers, Mike Hawthorn, Oscar Moore, Cliff Davis, R. Watling-Greenwood, George Abecassis and Peter Lumsden.

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The meeting opened with the course slippery from fine rain, which caused Ireland’s spin at Madgwick, as recorded. Bristow’s Cooper led the whole of this 10-lap scratch race, pursued by Hill’s not-entirely-fit Lotus. Several drivers found adhesion lacking but Gibbs’ Lotus stopped with a broken throttle rod. Fowell’s Lotus indulged in a fierce duel with Greene, which ended in Fowell retiring on the last lap. Ireland made fastest lap, at 84.37 m.p.h.

A 5-lap Handicap followed, splendidly won by Fitzwilliam’s ex-Lord Selsdon Lago-Talbot at 77 m.p.h. from Goddard-Watts’ Berkeley, Steel driving with determination in Rosemary Seers’ Cooper-Zephyr to finish third. It was a photo finish of 0.6 sec., the old Talbot bunching itself up to pip the buzzing Berkeley on the line. Mrs. Ashby’s Lew-M.G. retired in flames, and Parvin’s Ford Special shed its near-side back wheel.

Next we had a 5-lap up-to-350-c.c. race of ten Berkeleys, against which the lone Goggomobil, in the absence of the sports coupe Goggo, was completely outclassed. The Berkeleys cornering in an incredible manner, nose down on three wheels, and seemed entirely spin-proof, until Jameson proved that they can run out of road, at the chicane, Derisley scraping past to take his third place. Meisl’s car all but seized solid, Catt’s hit the scenery, but Goddard-Watts won at over 63 m.p.h., lapping at 64.38 m.p.h. (a 350-cc. lap record), to win from Graham and Derisley. Williamson had twin silencers exposed beneath the nose and Burgess drove a coupe which exhausted out of side port-holes.

When the blue haze had dispersed, Shaw drove a Tony Crook conversion Fiat 600 right away from the field in a 5-lap Handicap, beating easily a twin-S.U. Renault Dauphine. Baldam’s fast-cornered Standard Ten was second, ahead of Odoni’s Ford. Sparrowe’s M.G. coupé sounded to have blown-up expensively, a Panhard rod didn’t help Barker’s Ford to a place, and a Hillman Minx rolled horribly through the chicane to the level cornering of two VWs.

There followed the 5-lap Scratch race already described in which Ireland won and Bristow made such a gallant bid for victory, only to be disqualified for his effort.

An interesting 10-lap Marque Scratch Race followed, Looker’s Morgan Plus Four leading the elite of sports cars for three laps, being passed by Carnegie’s Le Mans disc-brake M.G. and Foster in Jacobs’ M.G. MGA, until Foster out-drove Carnegie, even on braking, to lead. When Carnegie pulled in Looker was second and then what appeared to be fuel starvation brought Foster to a crawl, after which he would pick up, only to crawl again. Looker thus led again for the last three laps, but he had done some mild ploughing at St. Mary’s in trying to hold the M.G.s so the B.A.R.C. said no and gave the race to McCulloch’s steady Triumph TR2, with Robinson’s A.C. Ace [I still say they roll under racing cornering. — Ed.] second, Hubner’s Morgan Plus Four third. Good show, Morgans! Looker’s even made fastest lap, at 77,28 m.p.h.

Two 5-lap handicaps concluded the dicing, Cuff-Miller, after a bit of pre-race under-bonnet flap, winning the second race that day for the old Lago-Talbot, from Coles’ re-bodied blown 750 M.G. and Leighton’s Lotus-Ford, while Greene took the last race from Lawrence’s “limit” Rotacks-M.G., making up 2 min. in the five laps, with Duckworth’s Lotus-Climax third. Charles (Jaguar D-type) went off the course at Madgwick. — W. B.

Brighton Speed Trials (Sept. 7th)

In spite of the presence of racing cars, several of them supercharged, and one aero-engined, a sports car surprisingly set up the f.t.d. at Brighton on Saturday, September 7th. This was achieved by a very neat “special,” the Sadler, driven by Bill G. Sadler, a Canadian who was responsible for its construction. This car was powered by a 4,640-c.c. Chevrolet Corvette engine, and clocked 25.44 sec, over the standing-kilometre stretch.

The driver genially credited his success to the weather, for soon after his run the dark clouds lowered and rain began to fall steadily, making a skating rink of the course and causing the faster cars to snake wildly when accelerating, thus losing them much valuable time. Few records were, therefore, broken, but Ian Walker in a Lotus broke the class record for series production sports cars in a time of 29.79 sec. and Don Haldenby in a 250-c.c. Scorpion took the class record in 44.00 sec. T. Dryver in the ex-Wharton 2-litre E.R.A. had his chance of f.t.d. spoiled by the wet weather, though he carried off two racing classes. F. M. Wilcock, who recently sold his famous twin Merlin aero-engined car to the United States, was using the ex-Ted Lloyd-Jones Triangle Special with only one Rolls unit, managing to score a class third. R. R. C. Walker took the up-to-1,500-c.c. class in his Formula II Cooper and took second place in the class for unlimited-c.c. racing.

In the ladies’ class, Mrs. Jean Bloxham, taking over the H.W.M.-Jaguar at late notice (George and Angela Abecassis still holidaying), performed brilliantly, but Miss E. Griffin, driving the Formula II Cooper belonging to Tony Marsh, beat everyone with a run in 26,55 sec., and this time was unequalled by any other racing car. Splendid, indeed!

Paul Emery was most unfortunate in having the con.-rod emerge from the Alta engine in his Emeryson before he could even make a getaway, whilst Jack Bond’s E.R.A. literally disintegrated just after the start, leaving hot spare parts lying around the course. — M. C.

Results:

Class 1 (Series Production Sports up to 1,500 c.c.): 1st: Ian Walker (Lotus), 29.79 sec. (class record); 2nd: J. Burke (Porsche), 30.40 sec.; 3rd: G. H. Williamson (Lotus), 32.76 sec.

Class 2 (Series Production Sports over 1,500 c.c.): 1st: J. Coombs (Jaguar XK,SS), 26.63 sec.; 2nd M. Salmon (Jaguar), 26.85 sec.; 3rd: W. J. Tillyard (Mercedes), 28.98 sec.

Class 3 (Sports up to 1,100 c.c.): 1st: J. Fisher (Lotus), 28.71 sec.;  2nd: J. Playford (Lotus), 28.91 sec.; 3rd: Miss P. Burt (Cooper), 29.16 sec.

Class 4 (Sports, 1,101-1,500 c.c.): 1st: W. S. Frost (Lotus), 28.20 sec.; 2nd: E. Lewis (Lotus), 29.72sec.; 3rd: M. H. White (Lotus), 30.10 sec.

Class 5 (Sports, 1,501-2,500 c.c.): 1st: P. J. Brazier (A.C. Ace), 31.39 sec.; 2nd: Sir C. Edwards (Cooper), 32.10 sec.

Class 6 (Sports over 2,500 c.c.): 1st: W. G. Sadler (Sadler Special), 25.44 sec. (fastest time of the day), 2nd: E. P. J. Alexander (Cadillac-Allard), 25.67 sec.; P. Woozley (Allard), 26.00 sec.

Class 7 (Supercharged Sports up to 2,000 c.c.): 1st: D. C. Bishop (M.G.), 34.50 sec.

Class 8 (Supercharged Sports, unlimited): 1st: M. Mostyn (Mostyn Special), 30.83 sec.

Class 9 (Racing, 250 c.c.): 1st: D. C. Haldenby (Scorpion), 44.00 sec. (class record).

Class 10 (Racing, 500 c.c.): 1st : M. G. Brackenbury (Cooper), 32.43 sec.; 2nd: D. Wagner (Cooper), 32.97 sec.; 3rd: M. Trackman (J.B.S.), 33.98 sec.

Class 11 (Racing, 501-1,100 c.c.): 1st: A. E. Marsh (Cooper), 28.50 sec.; 2nd: J. D. Farley (Farley Special), 29.95 sec.

Class 12 (Racing, 1,101-1,500 c.c.): 1st: R. R. C. Walker (Cooper), 27.91 sec.: 2nd : J. D. Farley (Farley Special), 28.98 sec.; 3rd A. E. Marsh (Cooper), 29.40 sec.

Class 13 (Racing, 1,501-2,000 c.c.): 1st: T. Dryver (E.R.A.), 28.20 sec.; 2nd: B. James (E.R.A.), 29.37 sec.; 3rd: R. D. Wilkinson (E.R.A.), 29.38 sec.

Class 14 (Racing, unlimited c.c.): 1st: T. Dryver (E.R.A.), 27.72 sec. 2nd,: R. R. C. Walker (Cooper), 28.18 sec.; 3rd: F. M. Wilcock (Swandean Flying Saucer), 28.61 sec.

Class 15 (Vintage): 1st: A. S. Raven (2.9 Bugatti), 29.54 sec.; 2nd: R. E. Hardy (Sumner-J.A.P.), 32.06 sec. 3rd F. E. Wall (2.3 Bugatti), 33.21 sec.

Class 16 (Racing and Sports, unlimited, Lady Drivers): 1st: Miss E. Griffin (Cooper), 26.55 sec.; Miss P. Burt (Cooper), 28.74 sec. 3rd Mrs. J. Bloxham (H.W.M.-Jaguar), 29.85 sec.

Bentley D.C. Class: 1st: C. H. G. Burton (4½-litre), 30.93 sec. 2nd: M. D. Hollis (4½-litre), 31.40 sec.; 3rd: R. W. Hogg (4½-litre), 32.94 sec.

Brighton and Hove M.C. Handicap: 1st S. B. Rolfe (Aston Martin), 19.30 sec. corrected, 2nd: W. Frost (Lotus), 22.39 sec. corrected; 3rd: K. N. Rudd (A.C. Ace), 24.06 sec. corrected.