WORLD’S RECORD

Hokitika Guardian, 23 February 1933, Page 5

WORLD’S RECORD

SPEED OF 274 M.P.11.

SUCCESS FOR SIR M. CAMPBELL.

(United Press Association—By Electrio Telegraph—Copyright) (Received this day at 10 a.m.) DAYTONA BEACH, February 22. iSir (Malcolm Campbell. /broke the world’s land speed record at Daytona with a speed of 273.556 miles an hour. He attained this astonishing record on tho first official run, despite the fact that visibility was not good. He clocked over an officially measured mile in 13.16 seconds.

In the second run ho reached 270.676 miles an hour, an average of 272.108 for the new record.

H e thus exceeded by 18.11 miles an hour his old record of 253.968 miles an hour. He made th e second run in 13.60 seconds, for an avehage elapsed time of 13.23 seconds.

It was a thrilling, breath-taking dash over th e beach speedway and the sand was- hard packed. At the same time as he set the mile record, Campbell also sot a new mark of 271.631 miles an Four ov e r the one kilometre route, his previous record being 251.340 miles an hour. The first run took 8.18 seconds for a fipeod of 271.802 miles an hour, and the second run 8.24 seconds for 271,472 miles an hour.

FURTHER PARTICULARS,

“WORST RIDE IN MY LIFE.”

(Received this day at 10.30 a.m.) DAYTONA BEACH, February 22

Though beach visibility was none too good, Sir Malcolm Campbell, who has been forced to delay his record attempt for two weeks because of unfavourable conditions decided to make th e trials on Wednesday, after the beach had improved rather than risk a further postponement. Taking a four mile start, he quickly drew the car into high gear and shoved th e accelerator Of ‘the /twelve cylinder aeroplane motor towards the floor board, and was off on a terrific burst of speed rapidly gaining momentum., the c a r approached top speed as it neared the officially measured mile, and in only a few seconds streaked past tli e timing towe r to disappear in a light- haze at the south end of the course. Because the visibility 'was- so poor the spectators at the timing stand were unable to gee the machine until it was only a mile away Jumping out of the cockpit, Campbell hastily inspected the car and gave the officials word, that., be-was ready ~40, start 0 n the second run. In an instant he was off again on another mad dash north. In computing the speed, the officials averaged th e eiapsed time for two trials, and divided that average into thirty-six hundred or the number of seconds in an hour, explaining that this procedure was the most accurate system to determine the average speed in miles per hour. \ '• Campbell said “It was the worst ride I ever had in my life.”

CAMPBELL DROVE ONE HANDED. (Received this day at 1L25 a,m.) DAYTONA, February 22 Suffering from a sprained arm received last week in making repairs to the Bluebird, Campbell said that he was forced to drive with only one hand. “The Beach was so rough,” he said, “that on several occasions I thought that I was gone. If I had not been able to control the car I should have landed either in the sand dunes or in the ocean.

“On my first run my tachometer, or engine speed indicator, showed that I was doing 330 miles an hour, but, because the course was so rough, my wheels were spinning almost constantly so that my actual forward speed was greatly reduced. I did not encounter any mist on my windshield as 1 had expected, but the visibility was very bad. First I was heading for the sand dunes, and the next instant 1 was heading for the sea. The car was snaking all over the course.”