TROUBLE ON CLAY ROAD

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1053, 18 August 1930, Page 7

TROUBLE ON CLAY ROAD

TESTING MOTOR-CYCLE RELIABILITY ANNUAL CLUB RUN HELD A ten-mile clay section on the reliability trial held by the Sports Motor - Cycle Club during the week-end was one of the main means of separating competitors. The trial left Auckland on Saturda afternoon, crossing the Hauraki Plainto Thames, where the night was sper. r . Yesterday morning riders travelled through Te Aroha. Morrinsville and Ohinewai to Rangiriri. where a ha was made for lunch. Road surfacehad been fairly good up to this an-, competitors were separated by only a few points, chiefly through punctures, which caused delays at the various time checks. The route now lay throug. Glen Murray, Pukekohe and Drury zn Auckland, and rough going for the first few* miles spelt disaster to severs Failure to apply his foot-brake in turning a sharp bend led to S. M Robinson capsizing the combination Neither rider nor passenger was injured and the machine was not dan. aged. Half a mile farther on an extr: large bump caused another side-car to part company with its motor-cycl'. and yet another combination struck trouble on this section. R. O'Brien breaking a spring in his side-c- r chassis. Right through the clay section long skid marks told their tale of unex pected broadsides, which often carried rider and machine into the watertables. Many a man dismounted in an unorthodox and undignified manner, but machines were little damaged and occasional broken spokes, puncture* and damaged foot-rests alone bore testimony of the many spills. One rider had a minor collision wit'-, a motor-car, escaping with a damage i headlight, and R. Moorcraft was forced : into a ditch by a passing service-car on the Hauraki Plains. The results of the trial, which wa« an annual event for the Pascoe Cup. will be known tomorrow. There we:« 2S competitors, including three traditeams and two teams each from the Sports and North Shore clubs.