WHAT SEGRAVE FELT.

Shannon News, 7 May 1929, Page 4

WHAT SEGRAVE FELT.

HIS EXPERIENCES DESCRIBED RUGBY, Aphil Hi. Major Seagrave, at a dinner in his honour, attended, by the Prince of Wales, at the Royal* Automobile Club lf:st night, 'described the sensations he experienced in his racing car at the. high speed he attained at Daytona Bead, when he reached 231 miles an hour. He said one first felt the unleashing of a tremendous mechanical force and then a peculiar feeling that the -car was getting out of human control. Majoi Seagrave" mentioned discussing this matter with his American ,competitor,-. Lee Bible, shortly before the .latter made his attempt, during he lost his life.

Bible said his machine seemed to get out of control when he took his foot of.' the accelerator, and Seagrave warned him that it -would do so if he did this suddenly because the reversal of the stresses in the car would be so tremendous."

Bible thanked Major Seagrave for this tip and said he would reduce' speed more gradually. Seagrave said he thought, the tragic death of Bible happened through the latter's foot slipping off the accelerator, thus causiing a toe rapid deceleration. Major Seagravo attributed his own success to the British genius for engineering. \

The Prince of Wales paid a glowing tribute to Major' Seagrave. "Nobody," he said, "knew the risks better than Major Seagrave, except possibly Mrs. Seagrave. He took this chance, and ■he did a thing that no human being has ever done before, thanks to his own nerve and to his own ".skill;"

The Prince also praised the British designer and mechanics who built the Golden Arrow car, which he rescribed as a British motor manufacturer's challenge to the world. Man had always been trying to go fast and nature had always been trying to stop him. A hundred years ago man thought ' he was going quite well -at 20 miles an hour. Now Major Seagrave, travelling at 231 miles an hour, was driving so fast that even the modern cinematograph man could not catch him.