41 replies to this topic

[Marcor]

I've read recently something about that event in Thoroughbred and classic cars (May 1977) including pictures of the 1946 edition (September 7).

Here some extracts of that interesting article written by John Bolster:

Like the annual London to Brighton Run, Brighton Speed Trials are still going strong and the next event will take place on 10 September (1977). Although no public road can be closed for racing in this country, the Madeira Drive does not come under this definition, so you can see modern racing cars screaming down the sea front at over 160 mph, or vintage Bentleys rumbling by in majestic splendour. It would be a surprising sight in any English town, but this place is still so steeped in the atmosphere of the Regency that one expects to meet Prinny round every corner. Actually, the Prince Regent would have loved fast cars, though the first Brighton Speed Trials of 1905 were a little after this time.

Many famous drivers, with their racing monsters, were attracted to that first Brighton meeting. Algy Guiness brought along his 200HP V8 Darracq, but he found his two-speed gearbox a handicap and was beaten by Clifford Earp, driving S.F. Edge's 90 HP Napier. The Hon. Charles Rolls had recently met a mechanic named F.H. Royce, but at Brighton he was driving the Dufaux from Switzerland, which failed to produce much speed in spite of having one of the biggest four-cylinder engines ever put in a car, with a capacity of 26.4 litres.

It was perhaps in the years between the wars that the Speed Trials reached their apogee. They took place in September, which was the last month of the racing season, so one had all the winter to repair a blown-up engine and driver often risked a few extra revs. The regular sprint men naturally attended, road racing cars were ideal, and even Brooklands outer-circuit cars, such as John Cobb's Napier Railton were sometimes seen. The Brighton and Hove motor Club always ran through an immense programme, starting soon after breakfast, with classes for every type of car.

There was something special about Brighton Speed trials in those days. While other sprints and hillclimbs were taken pretty seriously, Brighton was a sort of Brooklands by the sea - a social as well as a motoring event at which you met almost everybody. There were bars and entertainments galore, but if you wanted to watch the racing there was a splendid view from the upper galleries. It could be pretty exciting, too, when two closely matched cars raced side by side down that bumpy road.

Before the second war, the race was 1/2 mile long. Supercharged Bugattis and Alfa Romeos did well, but the ERA with its preselector gearbox was ideal, though the pre-war course record was taken by Geoffrey Taylor, in the 4-cylinder 2-litre Alta that he built himself. He averaged 80.18 mph, which is pretty quick for a standing half-mile, but fastest of all was Eric Fernnihough's supercharged Brough Superior motor-cycle at 89.86 mph.

After the war, the course was extended to 1 kilometre and the event took an international status. The greater distance allowed the more powerful cars to get into their stride, such as Prince Bira's 3-litre Maserati, Denis Poore's 3.8-litre Alfa Romeo, and various fast Bugattis and Altas, one of which was driven by Bob (later Roberta) Cowell. However, Raymond Mays beat them all with his 2-litre Zoller-supercharged ERA R4D, at an average speed of over 91 mph, this car winning the 1946 edition event and several that followed.

...

When the Raymond Mays era was over, Archie Buttleworth showed the advantage of 4-wheel drive, his jeep chassis carrying a V8 air-cooled Steyr engine. Since then, Brighton cars have become more orthodox, with mid-engined chassis and either the big American engines or machinery from Formula 1.

There were a severe setback when the RAC refused to sanction the course in 1967, because of those famous bumps at the fast end, which had grown worse with the years. In 1968, a sort of drag-racing Brighton was held over a 1/4 mile course, but it wasn't the same. For 1969, the surface was at last renewed and the famous old sprint revert to its kilometre length, though now classed as a national event. In 1976, David Render's Lotus covered the course in 18" 77/100, with a terminal velocity of 163 mph.

...

And now some questions and some comments:

1)- Does it exist some books or websites covering the history of the meeting ?

2)- Until when did some modern GP cars (F1 or F2) take part in the event ?

3)- I've not compiled the results of the Brighton Speed Trials. I have some figures and reports but they were not collected.

4)- Mike Hawthorn started racing in 1950 at Brighton. Stirling Moss and Peter Collins also took part in the event.

[Vitesse2]

I have a vague memory of a book about the trials, but the title escapes me for the moment.

There's a lot on the web, but most of it is pretty ephemeral - a Google search turns up over 2000 hits! This was the best of the bunch:

http://www.pistonhea...peed-trials.htm

There are extensive photo galleries at Bolide too:

www.bolide.co.uk

[Marcor]

I would be interested to know which F1 (or GP) cars took part in the event. As a Connaught A-type "specialist", I know that Rob Walker drove there with his A-type A3 in September 1953. He already promised to his wife not to compete but speed trials were the exception.

I also made this research with Google. I've seen more or less 25 "interesting" websites but no one with a good history reports or stats.

[Vitesse2]

Racing Cars table from Motor Sport October 1950. Fastest times achieved by all entrants in racing classes, Brighton Speed Trials, Sep 2nd 1950

1 R Mays (2.0s/c ERA D-type [R4D]) 24.4
2 JB Norris (2.0s/c Alta) 25.4
3= APR Rolt (2.8s/c Alfa Romeo) 25.6
3=K McAlpine (3.0s/c Maserati) 25.6
4 E Lloyd-Jones (21.0 Triangle-Rolls Royce) 26.0
5 PH Bell (2.0s/c ERA [?R5B]) 26.6
6 Miss Betty Haig (1.0 Cooper-JAP) 27.6
7= Mrs SH Allard (5.4 Allard J2-Cadillac) 28.0
7= P Mould (2.0s/c GP Bugatti) 28.0
8 PJ Collins (750cc V-twin Cooper-JAP) 28.2
9= HA Richards (1.1 Cooper-JAP) 28.4
9= J Goodhew (2.9s/c Alfa Romeo) 28.4
10= MB Hukins (2.3s/c GP Bugatti) 28.6
10= F Lycett (8.0 Bentley 2-seater) 28.6
11 AS Raven (3.0 ex-Bear Bugatti) 28.8
12 PJ Stubberfield (2.3 Bugatti T35) 29.0

I can also provide class winners if you would like them Marc.

I've just acquired a long run of Motor Sport, so should be able to come up with more ...

[Roger Clark]

Originally posted by Vitesse2

4 E Lloyd-Jones (21.0 Triangle-Rolls Royce) 26.0

For those who think the 1908 Grand Prix cars were a bit mamby-pamby...

[Vitesse2]

*$&£!! It looks even more fearsome than Motor Sport's description:

"The fastest unblown car was Lloyd-Jones' 21-litre Rolls-Royce "Kestrel" rear-engined, four-wheel drive Triangle "Flying Saucer", a deadly weapon even on a straight course. It lost all its oil pressure on its first run, but, in spite of slowing down before the finish, clocked about 120.9mph over the 100 yards ..." [I think that should read 1000 yards!]

[Marcor]

Thanks for the infos. I'm happy that this thread is not forgotten... Yes I'm interested by the class winners.

[Milan Fistonic]

Motor Racing 1946 has a brief report and results of that year's Brighton and Hove Motor Club's speed trials on the kilometre stretch of the Madeira Drive. The event was held on September 7. The report mentions that this was the first time the full kilometre had been used since 1905.

Racing
1. Mays, 2-litre ERA S, 24.47 secs, 91.03 mph
2. Bira, 3-litre Maserati S, 25.60 secs, 87.38 mph
3. Poore, 3.8-litre Alfa-Romeo S, 26.09 secs, 85.71 mph
4. Taylor, 2-litre Alta S, 27.75 secs, 80.62 mph
6. Cowell, 2-litre Alta S, 27.80 secs, 80.47 mph

Sports
1. Featherstonhaugh, 2.4-litre Alfa-Romeo S, 31.78 secs, 70.34 mph
2. Mays, 4.2 litre Vauxhall U/S, 33.46 secs
3. Emery, 4-litre Hudson S, 33.49 secs
4. Fry, 2.3-litre Bugatti, 33.78 secs
5. Gilby, 2.3-litre Alfa-Romeo S, 34.0 secs
6. Innes, 1.1-litre MG S, 34.2 secs

[Roger Clark]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
*$&£!! It looks even more fearsome than Motor Sport's description:

"The fastest unblown car was Lloyd-Jones' 21-litre Rolls-Royce "Kestrel" rear-engined, four-wheel drive Triangle "Flying Saucer", a deadly weapon even on a straight course. It lost all its oil pressure on its first run, but, in spite of slowing down before the finish, clocked about 120.9mph over the 100 yards ..." [I think that should read 1000 yards!]

100 yards is correct. THEy had a timing beam to measure speed at the end of the course.

[dbw]

i assume that this is the same john bolster that believed there was no limit on the number of engines one can stuff in a car[well,sort of a car].....however i'm curious about "bob[later roberta]cowell"..can someone illuminate this a bit?

[2F-001]

re: the "Triangle Flying Saucer"..

This may well have been a fearsome carriage for Brighton seafront, but it also competed at Shelsley Walsh hillclimb - not the twistiest of hills but quite a handful I should think. For eg, it made 'fastest special' at Shelsley with 42.23 - only 3sec behind the BTD of Wharton, Poore & Butterworth. Austen May's ''Speed Hill Climb'' describes the machine thus:

"That inveterate builder of ever-more spectacular Specials, Ted Lloyd-Jones unleashed onto Shelsley's slopes his ultimate creation, the 'Triangle Flying Saucer'. In essence this fantastic device, beloved of the crowd, combined a 21-litre RR Kestrel aeroengine rear-mounted into a four-wheel drive Daimler Scout chassis (a military vehicle??), with transmission through a 'Midland Red' bus gearbox...

In looking for more details - I noted that Chris Mason's 'Uphill Racers' mentions (amongst all the other weird Shelsley Specials) something called the ''Mephistophelgatti'' - a shortened Bugatti T30 with a V12 Lincoln Zephyr engine. Would anyone do that to a Bug these days?!

[2F-001]

Getting back to the original point of the thread... I don't recall what Lotus David Render used for that 1976 run mentioned, but he did have use of a redundant Lotus 76 (ties us into another thread!!) for use in speed events and I think he ran it at Brighton at some point.

[fines]

Originally posted by dbw
i assume that this is the same john bolster that believed there was no limit on the number of engines one can stuff in a car[well,sort of a car].....however i'm curious about "bob[later roberta]cowell"..can someone illuminate this a bit?

(s)he changed sex in his/her later life... y'know, dock the dick and fit breasts...

[Vitesse2]

Marc: I'll post those class results sometime in the next couple of days. There's also a little more detail I can extract from the report ...

[Doug Nye]

Bob Cowell raced an Alta at Brooklands just pre-war with a youthful (clean-shaven) DSJ as his mechanic there. He married the first girl ever to graduate from London University with an engineering degree, they had two children (I believe) and he served in the RAF as a fighter pilot operating Spitfires. His father was Surgeon-General to the Army. Cowell returned to racing postwar and in partnership with Gordon Watson formed the Cowell-Watson racing team. He co-owned Leacroft of Egham, coachbuilders, who bodied many of the pioneering British sports and racing cars of the late 1940s/early 1950s including many Altas and the HWMs.

Something had been bothering him for some time - he journeyed to foreign parts to have other parts removed in a Bob's your Auntie operation which Jenks always reckoned he'd had done "purely for the publicity" - yes, DSJ was a sensitive, caring flower like that.

Roberta Cowell subsequently published his/her autobiography which sold very well indeed as he was apparently one of the very first transexuals to have been sorted out in this way.

Anyway, Bob - divorced from his luckless lady wife - became Roberta and returned to competition to win the Ladies' Class in a handful of mid-1950s hill-climbs. Still alive this time last year, living in Richmond, Surrey. His ex-wife remarried and lives on the Isle of Wight, smashing bright lady but has been beset by rotten luck - desperately badly injured in a road accident in the 1950s when riding as passenger to a famous racing driver, survived but badly crippled, subsequently fell still relatively youthful victim of arthritis which rendered a difficult situation much, much worse. Indomitable lady though, really an object lesson in sheer triumph of the will...

DCN

[Milan Fistonic]

This item appeared in Motoring News in October 1970.

Roberta Cowell come-back

While browsing through a Mallory Park entry list for this Sunday's meeting we were amazed to see the name of Roberta Cowell entered in a Kitchiner K2. Apparently Miss Cowell, no mean driver in the 1950s, wishes to make a come-back to the tracks. However her debut will not now be at Mallory but it is possible that she will be racing in some Libre races at Brands in the closing months of the season.
Tony Kitchiner told us that at present he didn't want to elaborate any further than the fact that Miss Cowell (formerly Robert Cowell) had been entered at Mallory but would be able to announce some more news in the near future. The famous sex-change driver was best known for performances in an ERA.

[Roger Clark]

And for anybody who thinks 21-litres is for girlies, this is F M Wilcox in the Swandean Spitfire Special, in 1953. 27-litres and supercharged. The pace of development was such that by 1956 it had bodywork.

[Ray Bell]

Shades of the Norman Double 8!

Drilled truck wheels, truck chassis, coil springs... what a device! Surely only intended for straight line work, however?

From Doug Nye's post above
......he journeyed to foreign parts to have other parts removed in a Bob's your Auntie operation which Jenks always reckoned he'd had done "purely for the publicity" - yes, DSJ was a sensitive, caring flower like that.

Can't say I'd be any different in conversation among friends... but his abruptness was legend.

and a spot of compassion and thought
.....beset by rotten luck - desperately badly injured in a road accident in the 1950s when riding as passenger to a famous racing driver, survived but badly crippled, subsequently fell still relatively youthful victim of arthritis which rendered a difficult situation much, much worse. Indomitable lady though, really an object lesson in sheer triumph of the will...

So many stories of tragedy in this world... just so many. An object lesson and an inspiration in many of them. Zanardi and Regazzoni spring to mind, but among the ordinary people...

[fines]

To extend the "off" topic further, multiple Motorcycle Grand Prix winner Mike Duff from Canada also changed sex, and published his autobiog by the name of Michèle Duff.

[Vitesse2]

Marc: as promised, more details of 1950 ...

1100cc Sports Cars
1 JM Hawthorn (Riley) 36.90
etc
Lafone (MG)
AJ Toulmin (MG)

1500cc Sports Cars
1 Major EM Mackay (Cooper-Rover) 34.15
etc

2000cc Sports Cars
1 G Tyrer (BMW) 30.11
etc

Over 2000cc Sports Cars
1 S Allard (Allard-Cadillac) 28.0
etc

Supercharged 2000cc Sports Cars
1 VJ Hern (Amilcar) 30.8
etc

Supercharged Unlimited Sports Cars
1 GD Parker (Jaguette) 29.8
etc

Bentley Drivers Club
1 AG Pitts (Bentley Blower 4.5) 30.6
2 G Grozier (Bentley "Whale") 30.99
3 K Place (Bentley Blower 4.5) 32.2
4 Sedgwick (Bentley 6.5) 32.8
etc?

500cc Racing Cars
1 D Parker (Parker-JAP) 30.2
etc

750cc Racing Cars
1 PJ Collins (Cooper-JAP) 28.2
2 Symonds (Austin) 29.8
etc?

1100cc Racing Cars
1 HA Richards (Cooper-JAP) 28.4
2 Richmond (Rapier)
etc?

1500cc Racing Cars
1 GR Hartwell (ERA) 32.0
etc

3000cc Racing Cars
1 R Mays (ERA) 24.4
2 JB Norris (Alta) 25.4
3 PH Bell (ERA) 26.6
4 P Mould (Bugatti) 28.0
5 MB Hukins (Bugatti) 28.6
6 AS Raven (Bugatti) 28.8
7 PJ Stubberfield (Bugatti) 29.0

Unlimited Racing Cars
1 APR Rolt (Alfa Romeo) 25.6
2 K McAlpine (Maserati) 25.6
3 R Lloyd-Jones (Triangle) 26.0
4 F Lycett (Bentley 2-seater) 28.6
etc
Southon (Delage)

Ladies
1 Miss Betty Haig (Cooper-JAP) 27.4
2 Mrs S Allard (Allard-Cadillac) 28.0
etc
Peggy Lambert (Lester-MG)
Mrs Stapleton (Aston Martin Spa)
Mrs Mortimer (Healey Silverstone)

I have not included Goodhew above, since the type of car is not stated, only "2.9 s/c Alfa Romeo" - any suggestions?
Also unclear:
EA Bradley (2.5 Maserati 2-seater)
Sir Clive Edwards (HRG Special)

[Roger Clark]

Originally posted by Vitesse2

I have not included Goodhew above, since the type of car is not stated, only "2.9 s/c Alfa Romeo" - any suggestions?
Also unclear:
EA Bradley (2.5 Maserati 2-seater)
Sir Clive Edwards (HRG Special)

Goodhew 2996 cc Alfa 38.40 secs
Bradley 30.70 secs
Edwards 31.80 secs

All in the 1500 - 3000 cc racing car class

[Vitesse2]

I've now had a bit of time to research these:

The HRG Special is then presumably the F2 car built for Peter Clarke in 1948? Or was it just a sports car running without mudguards? The Allard J2 is noted as having run as a sports car in Sidney's hands, but the mudguards were removed when his wife drove it, so she was technically in the racing class.

Bradley's red Maserati is described as "claimed to be" ex-Featherstonehaugh, ex-Birkin, so if the claim is correct it must be the 8C-2500 Birkin bought in 1931 and which he and Eyston placed 4th in the 1931 French GP. Bradley had apparently bought it in 1938 but this was his first outing with it!

Any thoughts on the Alfa anyone?

[David McKinney]

Goodhew's Alfa was a P3 (sorry, B-Type Monoposto), the car raced in much-modified form by Frank Ashby in the 1930s and by Ken Hutchison in hillclimbs in the 1940s. C/no 50005 or 50006 (whichever the Kenneth Evans car wasn't - I'm away from my files at the moment)
The Bradley Maser descrip doesn't quite ring true - I'll check that, too, when I get home

[Vitesse2]

Motor Sport obviously weren't convinced either back in 1950 David - that's why I quoted the "claimed to be"! I've learned to be VERY careful when describing Masers ....

[alessandro silva]

Richard, this I have found on Classic and Sports cars, October 1982 about the ex-Birkin Maserati 8C-3002, I was interested in it because it was raced by TASO Mathieson in 1946. It seems it is NOT your Brighton car.

[After Birkin's death] Maserati 3002 was raced no more that year, but in 1934 it was purchased by Noel Rees, a prosperous building
contractor, for the Hon. Brian Lewis to drive, He ran it at the International Trophy at Brooklands, coming up against
Whitney Straight in the newest 2.9-litre single-seater Maserati equipped with a Wilson preselector gearbox. After an epic
struggle, Lewis came within a whisker of victory, for Straight won from the older car by just 4secs, with one of his tyres
right down to the white breaker strip. One more lap and 3002 could well have won, but at least she shared the fastest lap
with her more modern rival at 55.13mph. In the British Empire Trophy at the same track the car misbehaved, a broken
connecting rod putting Lewis out when holding third place on lap 63. In 1935 another Tim, stockbroker T.E.
Rose-Richard, acquired the car, but his tenure was brief and his ride even briefer, his only race with 3002 being the
Mannin Moar at Douglas, Isle of Man, where he covered less than a lap before the universal joint broke.

By then so overwhelming was design progress with the comimg of the German teams, that the car which led the Tripoli
GP two seasons ago was now 'second division', contesting secondary races only. Lord 'Freddy' de Clifford drove it in
the Dieppe GP to a steady ninth place amidst a welter if single-seaters. Next, Austin Dobson, elder brother of Arthur and
a man who liked GP cars, bought the 'Maser'. In the 1935 Pheonix Park race he came within 0.4mph of setting the first
100mph lap at the Dublin circuit, but a broken oil pump was his sole reward. In the 1936 International Trophy he again
retired, and it was all too obvious that the new generation ERAs with half the engine capacity were faster than the great
old car.

But another Dobson brother, E.W.H., drove 3002 twice at Brooklands in 1937, picking up a third place in a Mountain
event, after which the Birkin Maserati entered a long spell of retirement. She languished unexercised for long months at
Thompson & Taylors down at Brooklands, while during the War R.F. Oats took her to safety in Cornwall. Not until the
return of peace did the grand old lady return to the circuits, but not, alas, to Brooklands, which was a lamented war
casualty. Yet it was the former Brooklands driver, Dudley Froy, who gave 3002 her first stretch in nine years at the
VSCC's Elstree speed trials at Easter, 1946. Incorrectly he was awarded first place in the over 3-litre class until it was
realised that 2992cc put him in the 2 to 3-litre category and demoted him to third place.

At that time the car was in the hands of John Wyer, then of Ace Motors and subsequently of Le Mans fame, but shortly
afterwards a long-term admirer of the Maserati, T.A.S.O. Mathieson, acquired the car and had it prepared by Wyer for
some Continental racing. In the anarchy of early post-war 'Grand Prix' racing, a 14-year-old supercharged Maserati was
no more anachronistic than superannuated voiturettes and stripped sports models, and 3002 had a new lease of life. As
the very first Briton to race abroad, 'Taso' was warmly welcomed at the Bois du Boulogne race in May 1946, where he
worked the 'Maser' up to fourth position, only to drop out after 22 laps. In the GP of St Cloud he came fifth behind three
modern 1?-litre Maseratis and a 4?-litre single-seater Talbot. At Perpignan in a very hot GP du Rousillon down in the
Pyrenees, he was sixth despite several pit stops, preceded by a 3-litre GP Alfa, two 1.5-litre Maseratis and a
contemporary Bugatti.


Conversion to road trim

Cylinder block troubles prevented Mathieson from
starting in the Nantes GP, and that concluded his
season. 3002 now underwent a somewhat protracted
conversion to road trim by the addition of lights, battery
and dynamo, a starter motor, a silencer to muffle that
lovely eight-cylinder blast, four shapely cycle wings, a
second seat where once a 10 gallon oil tank lived next
to the driver, and registration plates indicating that 3002
was now also *** ***, able to legally run on the King's
highway.

In 1947 'Taso' sold the car, still unfinished, to Mike
Oliver of Continental Cars (and later Connaught) of Send,
Surrey. Oliver exercised it in the Luton Hoo sprints early
in 1948, scoring a modest seventh in class, and not not
long after was persuaded to sell it to Squadron Leader
John Crampton, DFC, who had fallen for 3002 at first
sight. He drove her in a few more 1948 'shorties' such
as Prescott and Shelsey, and at Brighton and Goodwood
in 1949, after which a complete rebuild at the renowned
Phoenix Green Garage at Hartley Wintney was
undertaken by Alan Southon. This perforce included the
fitting of a removable steering wheel, Crampton being
well over 6ft tall.

The rebuild was both extensive and expensive, but what
a glorious road car resulted - 120 mph or more, over-80
mph cruising, 12 to 15mpg, prodigious acceleration with
circa 200bhp underfoot, equally prodigious deceleration
with four 15 inch diameter cable-operated brakes, all the
cachet of a real Grand Prix car, and such looks 'as
dreams are made on'. . .

A longish sojourn in the 'States followed, but eventually
that incurable Maserati addict, Cameron Millar, found
3002 and brought her back to Britain for yet another
rebuild, to the intoxicating condition in which she is
shown here.

[Vitesse2]

Wow! Amazing detail Alessandro! Thanks!

So, if Bradley had bought his car from Featherstonhaugh, what was its history I wonder, since it is demonstrably not the Birkin car ...

I hesitate to quote Pritchard, since he has been proved wrong before, but he does record Featherstonhaugh as driving an 8C-2500 for Whitney Straight in 1934 - did he purchase this car later?

[David McKinney]

I meant to get back onto this last night, but ran out oif time.
It looks as if the Bradley Brighton car might well have been the ex-Birkin car later raced by Straight and Featherstonhaugh.
The ex-Birkin car whose history is outlined by Alessandro was a different car (an 8C-3000, not an 8C-2500)

[David Beard]

As an excuse to dig out this great thread....

I have been told that John Fisher, private entrant of various Lotii, usually for Bruce Halford, and 1982 Mayor of Portsmouth, had some success driving in the Brighton speed trials.

Anyone?

[Ian McKean]

Originally posted by fines

(s)he changed sex in his/her later life... y'know, dock the dick and fit breasts...

A medical man I used to know referred to this operation as a "Pandoodleectomy".

If you go to the British Pathe site you can download a news film featuring Roberta Cowell winning the lady's class at Shelsley in a borrowed Cooper-Bristol in about 1955. The typically jolly '50's voiceover seems amazingly up front about the sex change.

[David Beard]

Taken on the way to the Goodwood Revival

Did anyone go to the Speed Trials? I wondered if it would be worth hanging about for after the Revival next year, if the dates are the same. Bealieu Autojumble was the same weekend, too, I think.

[Milan Fistonic]

Originally posted by David Beard
As an excuse to dig out this great thread....

I have been told that John Fisher, private entrant of various Lotii, usually for Bruce Halford, and 1982 Mayor of Portsmouth, had some success driving in the Brighton speed trials.

Anyone?

I just happened to have The Autocar report of the 1955 event on my desk when I saw this thread had been dragged up.

The winner of the Sports Cars 1501-2500cc class was J. Fisher driving a Kieft Bristol.

Rob Walker was a competitor in 1955.

"R.R.C. Walker, in brand-new G.P. Connaught, untethered too many horses on the starting line at his first attempt, and a flag marshal on the land side of the course prepared to leap to safety through a strong wire fence as the Connaught spun towards him."

The class for lady drivers was won by Angela Brown driving Abecassis' HWM-Jaguar with Mrs R. Sarginson second in the Type 51 G.P. Bugatti in which Varzi won the 1933 G.P. de Monaco.

The 1955 event was the 50th Jubilee, the first being held between July 19 and 22, 1905. At that first event the kilometre course was entered from flying start. The fastest time that day was set by Clifford Earp, driving a 90 hp Napier; his time being 24.2 seconds (92.88 mph).

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Milan Fistonic
The 1955 event was the 50th Jubilee, the first being held between July 19 and 22, 1905. At that first event the kilometre course was entered from flying start. The fastest time that day was set by Clifford Earl, driving a 90 hp Napier; his time being 24.2 seconds (92.88 mph).

Earp, surely

Originally posted by Ian McKean
If you go to the British Pathe site you can download a news film featuring Roberta Cowell winning the lady's class at Shelsley in a borrowed Cooper-Bristol in about 1955.

**obscure pun warning**

Shame it wasn't twin-engined .....

[Milan Fistonic]

Originally posted by Vitesse2


Earp, surely

I'll have to take my new glasses back - there's obviously something wrong with them.

[David Beard]

Originally posted by Milan Fistonic


I just happened to have The Autocar report of the 1955 event on my desk when I saw this thread had been dragged up.

The winner of the Sports Cars 1501-2500cc class was J. Fisher driving a Kieft Bristol.

Thanks, Milan. Didn't know he had a Kieft.

[David Beard]

Originally posted by Vitesse2


Earp, surely



**obscure pun warning**

Shame it wasn't twin-engined .....

Both at the front, of course.

[Roger Clark]

Originally posted by Milan Fistonic

"R.R.C. Walker, in brand-new G.P. Connaught, untethered too many horses on the starting line at his first attempt, and a flag marshal on the land side of the course prepared to leap to safety through a strong wire fence as the Connaught spun towards him."

I'm not sure why they said the Connaught was brand-new. It was the car he had been entering for at least a year. He went on to set second best time of the day. Rob:

I had been doing speed trials with these cars of mine, and I was comparitively successful, largely I think because I had a better car than anybody else. This B-Type Connaught was a devil to get off the line, because if you dropped the revs it just went dead and if you got the revs too high the torque was such that it used to spin all over the place, and I had the distinction of being one of the few people who have spun at the Brighton Speed Trials. Reg (Parnell) had said, "Now for God's sake don't let the revs drop", so I had the revs right up and the tail began to wag and I wasn't going to lift my foot whatever happened, I was correcting first one way and then the other, and the wag got larger each time until I spun in the middle of the road and nearly wrote off a marshall.

[Milan Fistonic]

In 1956 J. Fisher was second in the 1101 to 1500 cc sports car class driving a Borgward Rennsport (1493cc). His time was 32.20 seconds.

The car is described as “a Borgward engine in an all-independent Revis chassis – [it] was very quick off the mark, its rear wheels giving it a knock-kneed look from the rear.”

And for Ursula.

The winner of the over 1500 cc production sports car class was C.T. Atkins driving his Mercedes-Benz 300SL with a time of 28.80 seconds.

[UAtkins]

Originally posted by Milan Fistonic


And for Ursula.

The winner of the over 1500 cc production sports car class was C.T. Atkins driving his Mercedes-Benz 300SL with a time of 28.80 seconds.

Thanks Milan, I have some good photos of Dad and Rob racing their 300SLs at Brighton.

Ursula

[Ian McKean]

Originally posted by Vitesse2


Earp, surely



**obscure pun warning**

Shame it wasn't twin-engined .....

Considering that many of our readers are not British, I think you ought to enlighten them about Cockney rhyming slang. It took me long enough to work out what you were talking about!

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Ian McKean



Considering that many of our readers are not British, I think you ought to enlighten them about Cockney rhyming slang. It took me long enough to work out what you were talking about!

I suppose you're right Ian .....

The word Bristol, in Cockney rhyming slang, is code for breast, specifically female. The derivation is from the name of the soccer club called Bristol City (city rhymes with titty!). The commonest usage of the word tends to be in the phrase "nice pair of Bristols", which was the source of the "twin-engined" remark

[fivestar]

Long time since this thread was active, but can anybody advise in which year and who was the driver of:
1. the Allard Steyr with Competition No. 8,
2 an offset Alta with Competition no. 32.

My belief is 1951 but am not sure.

thanks - Michael

[arttidesco]

No but this Allard Steyr link might help :-)