Lure of Speed

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 869, 13 January 1930, Page 8

Lure of Speed

“WIZARD” SMITH’S ATTEMPT THIRTY-SIX years ago in France, the pioneer land of motor-car racing, a queerly-assorted group of “carriages” set out on the first big speed-test for lneehanicallypropelled vehicles. At an average speed of 12 miles an hour the winners chugged their way to A’ietory over a course of 78 miles. On March 11, 1929, Sir Henry Segrave stepped into the cockpit of his giant “Golden Arrow” at Daytona Beach. Florida, and hurtled with demoniac speed along a measured mile of hard sand, shattering the world’s land record to the tune of 231.36 miles an hour. Such has been the progress of the motor industry as on the speedometer of its history.

Something of the glamour and excitement of juggling with speeds that make the impossibility of yesterday the goal of today and, perhaps, the commonplace of tomorrow, rested on the Ninety-Mile Beach on Saturday when “Wizard” Smith, holder of New Zealand and Australian records, achieved success in the first of his thrilling attempts. ■lt is extremely likely that Smith’s achievement will give a great impetus to Dominion motor racing of both the “stunt” and the regularly competitive variety. The Ninety-Mile Beach, he asserts, is eminently suitable for attempts on motoring records. This has yet to be proved in the gruelling crucible of speed, but it is encouraging to learn that a driver of Smith’s calibre and experience actually regards it as the possible scene of an attempt to cap Sir Henry Segrave’s mighty achievement. It would be impossible, within the limits of a tabloid review, to trace fully the rise of speed records in the realm of motoring, complicated as they are by national and international statistics, but certain events stand out as milestones of progress on a highway that, even today, appears to have no ending. One of the earliest of motor races was the Paris-Rouen contest of 1894, organised by the French newspaper, “Le Petit Journal,” as a “competition for carriages to be propelled without horses.” The actual date of the trial was July 22, and more than 100 “cars” entered. These pioneer vehicles included 38 petrol cars, 29 steam carriages, five electric carriages and fiye compressed air carriages. The remainder were “mystery” cars, one being announced as being “driven by the weight of its passengers only.” A similar claim might be made for a child’s perambulator—running downhill. SEVEN MILES AN HOUR The minimum speed required to qualify was 73 miles an hour, and the trial was over a course of 78 miles. Of the actual field of competitors, 14 were petrol cars, and the remainder steam carriages. The others withdrew earlier. The average speed of the prizewinners was 12 miles an hour, the machines being a h.p. Panhard, a Peugeot of similar power, and a de Dion Bouton “tractor” steam car, which had the outward appearance of an ornate little dray being pulled b*y a horseless water-cart. The firstnamed machines tied for first place, and the de Dion secured third prize. The next contest was in 1895. The distance was 732 miles, and half the twenty-two starters failed to finish. The race, organised by the Comte de Dion, was won by a 3J h.p. Panhard, which added a meagre 3 miles an hour to the record average speed. Between 1895 and 1900 races were held every year in France, and in every case a Panhard was successful. As the horse-power of each successive winning machine increased from 4 to 6 and up to 16, so the average speeds improved in leaps and bounds from 15i miles an hour to 23, 29, 33J and finally, In the Circuit du Sud-Ouest of 208 miles, to the dizzy level of 43* miles an hour. Later that year a Mors car attained 48 miles an hour over a 200-mile course, and so it went till, in the mem-

orable Circuit des Ardennes race of 318 miles in 1902, a 70 h.p. Panhard swept along the track at an average of 541 miles an hour. Five years before at a banquet a speaker had been bold enough to prophesy that at some future date speed would rise from 15 to 50 miles an hour, whereupon M. Panhard whispered to the chairman that it was unfortunate on such occasions there was always someone to make an ass of himself. BRITISH SUCCESSES As time went on, Britain though late in beginning, paralleled foreign achievements until records began to come her way. From then on to the present day the British have been well to the fore in international motor racing. In a flying start at Saltburn in 1907, Lee Guinness covered a kilometre in 20 seconds, his average in miles an hour being set down at 111.8. At Brooklands in 1907 and 1908, S. F. Edge set the 1,000 miles and 50 miles’ world’s records at the speeds of 67.1 and 79.4 miles an hour respectively. C. Earp and F. Newton were other successful British pioneers in this field. » Then America became the scene of competitive attempts, and in 1911 at Jacksonville a driver named Disbrow sert a series of records in the “all in’’ class, maintaining an average of about 75 miles an hour for distances ranging from 150 to 300 miles. In the same year Burman covered 20 miles at an average of nearly 92 miles an hour. Two years previously Bruce-Brown at Daytona had covered 10 miles in 5 minutes 14.4 seconds. Attempts at straight-out speed records with flying starts and over short distances now came thick and fast until today Britain and America have been left to vie with each other at colossal speeds. There was a lull during the war years, but before and after that period naipes such as De Palma. Milton, Frank Elliott, Lockhart and Ray Keech sprang into prominence in the U.S.A., while those of J. G. Parry Thomas, Captain Malcolm Campbell and Major Segrave, to mention only three, attracted attention in Britain. Thomas, holder of many records, was killed by his car “Babs” on the famous Pendine Sands in March, 1927, his gpeed being 179.5 miles an hour. Lockhart and Lee Bible were killed at Daytona in 1928 and 1929 respectively, the former’s estimated speed being 220 miles an hour. Recent records are: — Thomas (Britain), 170.62 miles an hour. February 4, 1927.—Campbell (Britain), 174.2 miles an hour. March, 1927.—Segrave (Britain), 203.9 miles an hour. February, 1927.—Campbell, 206.95 miles an hour. March, 1928. —Keech, 207.55 miles an hour. April, 1928.—Lockhart, 220 (?) miles an hour. March, 1929.—Segrave, 231.36 miles an hour. Since the last-mentioned date, Campbell has failed in an attempt with his “Blue Bird” on the Verneuk Pan, South Africa, but is preparing to try again. Ray Keech is actively planning another attempt. E.H.S.M.