Talking with the great 'Steady' Barker (93 1/2 now, going on 23) a question arose which I cannot answer off the top of my head and am too busy (aka bone idle) to hunt down. 'Steady' recalls some kind of racing car exhibition held in the Royal Agricultural Hall, London, sometime in the 1940s. I certainly recall early BRSCC RCSes there but much later, circa 1961-62ish. However, in his case the exhibit which has stuck in his mind was Lee Guiness's widow's 200hp Darracq V8 LSR engine, the one now owned by the Walker family, and so heroically driven by Mark. Can anyone pin down this exhibition?
Intriguingly, 'Steady' also recalls making an early visit to Talbot's Suresnes factory, where - if his recall is correct - he was fascinated to see a sister Darracq V8 engine, stored in a corner. It does seem unlikely that if Darracq produced one massive V8 for record breaking, they did not produce at least a twin set of spare castings, fabrications and bits. If one big V8 was secreted away in England, was there really this second unit stashed in France? And if so, where is that second unit - if it has survived - today?
DCN
Edited by Doug Nye, 14 March 2013 - 21:43.
