SPEED-RECORD

Hokitika Guardian, 29 April 1933, Page 3

SPEED-RECORD

SPOT FOR THE NEXT VENTURE. NINETY-MILE BE vCTI SUGGESTED. 'V'LGNODN,: March 14. On his return from America, Sir Malcolm .Campbell was-'Onteitaii-ed at a dinner given by the Daily Mail. Ihe ZIO gue.--t,a present included nearly all uiio.se who have established fame in speed on land,, on the sea, and in. the air.

Sir Malcolm gave a long impersonal account of - the''-difficulties which preceded his great adventure’, and of hi« experiences during the race, and tv'as subsequently ■ presented by Sir Geo: ge Sutton, on behalf of the Daily Mail, with a magnificent grid cup, surmounted by a bird of flight. The Prince of Wales sent a mwsakc : “Owing to a previous engagement I was unable to roi’;;idcr your kind invitation, to tli'e dinner being given to Sir Malcolm Campbell. Please convey t-o him my sincere congratulations on his safe return and on the pluck and persistence which has enabled him to establish yet another wonderful record for this country.” Many- mcmtiers of Sir Malcolm’s family shared in his triumph. His wife sat. near him, «nd h'« mother smiled proudly on him; She has never, T believe, yet seen him in one of his record-breaking races. His son, Don*l cl 12 rears old, had special leave from school and- sat up straight .and •around under big father’s ewe... Hil: ambition, lie told me, is to become a wing driver in his turn. A"d. indeed, few boy; have a better right to make a hero of their father.

SIR MALCOLMS “WE.”

At the top table, Sir Malcolm’s glance travened constantly with alfccaoimie uiidei.stanuiiig to a group ol men, his meUiwnics, who accompanied aim to Daytona., and shared now in jvery moment of his triumph. One cf olie warmest parts cf Iris speech was a*hen ho referred to their work and mid of these, his comrades, who, after uhe liiist trial at Daytona,,'spent no .ess than three days and nights in absolutely continuous work, condition.ng the car for its triumphant u,d- . cuture. t All through 'Sir Malcolm’s .speech her,a ran tne note of united, not of Aitgle-haucled, oft*.n’t. lib- was coiritantly speaking of “we.”’ This was lot the editorial “we.” Nor "a.s it, ,S: ■ one presently discovered, a “we” vliicli -einbraced t.ny occupant of the .aim When Sir Malcolm spoke ol ‘we” lie was,deferred to himself and a is,, ~eatt.... 1 ‘ Wo, ’’ q uite uuooiwcioui-.ly •.lipd, meant that in an indissoluble jnion of'that., .epic run . driver'. and ..machine,.wor o a <» con l pt> »i to. ,:ptU'so na 1 ity-.

It was thus that S’m Malcolm ‘spoke Imt9; u n.e moti o n iJI y of the dangers of that:terrific: adventure. One realised, liclced, in .the use of the -plural pi'6loun the fact 'that as machine and man liuitlecl over the sanils 'of Florida at rorp than four miles A minute the Iriver must have been thinking less if his own incalculable dangers than of die possibility of an accident to the iar which at that moment completed -is being. He gave a lr/'g and coir.irehcnsive account cf the ,preparations 'or the attempt' to break the record, nd of the difficulties which were oulounteied. It was evideiit that- the : -tter were exceptional, 'and indeed ’n-’h greater than thrive "which .have ’icon met in any recently, previous attempts. '

BAD STATE OF THE COURSE

Tides had made the sands bad. There ..as a ramp, so tout one Grove at any ingle. Large shells strewed the course. \\ heel spin developed 'abnormaly. Visibility at the rate of travel was limited to a distance one second ahead', and through it all Sir Malcolm was fighting with a damaged wrist that •we” might keep the course. All out the o„r developed 2700 horsepower, and the engine revolutions ran up to 3750 a minute, although he had Peon warned by the makers mot to exceed 3200. But Sir Malcolm liim.-elf wa.s not afraid. He knew that he had under his hand the reliability of British manufacture, (and “we” were safe icyond all the strains to which man jr lr.achin.g, were subject. Without one vord of heroics or even of permissible elf-congratulation, ho held one of the nest distinguished audiences of mod--rn days—an audience moreover that could appreciate and even seek to >mulate his fonts—listening intently b his every word. His account raised lira, if that was possible, in their >sti mation.

Sir Malcolm .summed up lvis porformrrce sirs follows:—“I am the, greatest '■‘iSiliever in the words ‘Good luck or good for nine.’ Without them wo canact really get away with it.” EiYES ON NEW ZEALAND. In aii interview, Sir Malcolm si; id : ‘’People, I believe, have asked why 1 ’id not try again. It was impossible, ’’enific storms have absolutely ruined the beach for high speeds. It will no. be the slightest use going hack there lext year. I must look around Tor another spot. It will be difficult to in , but perhaps T may be lucky in Vow Zealand. ‘•I have no "or lmd such an expev'>iico in try life; it was ghastly. The -hells on the beach and the co’uh'tion -)f the sands wen? .worse, than I have •wer known them to he. T' ’swung '’rein side to side c” the 40 Vmls wide -..nurse. One second I was filming the (Ip trs on e"e side; the uevt T was on soft, treacherous s?,nd actually in the

water. I lost 10 per cent, speed through wheel-spin. By the' revolutions the engine was doing I ; should have been travelling at least 320 miles p?r hour. I would probably have met with -disaster if I had tried again. It wats of no use waiting for the conditions to improve; that beach might never be right i.-.gain.” pSir Malcolm Campbell is probably not thinking seriously yet of his next effect, lilt it is known that the question of the Ninety-M-ile Reach in Now Zealand hno been put to him. It is suggested that 1m could casi-lv nay his expenses if hi. showed the Bluebird in, the chief centres of New Zealand.