PARTNERS—SUNSHINE AND Q-TOL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 307, 29 December 1931, Page 12

PARTNERS—SUNSHINE AND Q-TOL.

Partners in the creation of the lovely golden sun-tan tint every girl wants to possess. Start with a gentle coating ot Q-tol, and the sun will do the rest. Bathers —always apply Q-iol to race nad neck, arms and legs' before bathing or basking. Make your bodyguard.— (Ad.)

The greatest run that "Wizard" Smith has ever accomplished was that transcontinental record attempt in 1928. He covered 3811 miles in six days three hours. One fine April morning Smith and his mechanic left Fremantle at six o'clock. Smith drove without a stop until five o'clock the next morning, being 23 hours at the wheel. Smith slept for ten minutes while the mechanic drove, and then Smith took the wheel again and drove for the next 24 hours. At no stage during the whole journey of over six days did Smith sleep more than ten minutes a day, and usually he was able to drive for 24 hours on end. When the car 'was crossing the desert Smith was driving through a rainstorm most of the time. There were no roads, and Smith had to drive along a track, dodging the stumps of trees. It was hard work.

Half the distance had been covered now, and with only five minutes' sleep each day, Smith drove on to Brisbane. At one stage of the trip the rainstorms were so bad that at times the mechanic had to walk in front of the car to show the depth of water ahead- So fierce was the storm on one occasion that Smith had to turn the car round with its back to the wind. But it would take more than a rainstorm to stop Smith when he was after a record, and one morning at 11 o'clock he pulled up outside the Brisbane U.P.O. Even with the little sleep he had had on the journey, Smith was not exhausted, and he was not allowed to go to bed until 11 o'clock that night —newspaper reporters were chasing him all day. And Smith's record still stands. Smith Wins Wakefield Cup. In 1920 Lord Wakefield offered a cup for the competitor who received the biggest aggregate of points for the year in K.A.C.A. contests. "Wizard" Smith won easily, and in addition won about 24 other trophies. New Zealauders will remember that in 1930 Smith brought his racing car, the Anzac, over to NinetyMile Beach, and on January 17 he established a world record of 164 miles an hour for ten miles. This record was not accepted officially by the French Automobile Club for the reason that tile method of timing the event was out of date.

The only race Smith has entered for sincc then was the Sydney to Bourke run, a distance of 512 miles. He won the event easily in tho record time of ten hours. Sincc then Smith has been concentrating on hie big venture.

Many interesting and amusing stories are told by Smith of incidents during his record-breaking runs. While he was establishing one of his Adelaide to Melbourne records, travelling across the Coorong desert it rained. The driver came across a flock of emus on the desert track. When the birds heard the roar of the car, they made off, all but two racing to the left. The odd two emus ran along in front of the car, and slightly to the right. They decided to join up with the rest of the Hock, and one of the birds attempted to step over Smith's car. The huge bird knocked the top off the radiator, rolled along the bonnet, broke the windscreen, burned its feathers on the exhaust, and raced a way.

For the rest, of the journey, while Smith was driving at SU and DO miles an hour, hie; mechanic rode on the bonnet of the car holding a bag over the water system to keep the water in the radiator.

"His name was Emmcrson, and he was the greatest mechanic I have ever had —wonderfully game," said Smith.

When Smith was doing one of his runs between Brisbane and Sydney, a horse, frightened by the noise, got in front of the car on a narrow country road, and Smith could not pass. The horse raced ahead for a fair distance. Then a stone got caught in its shoo., and the stone was flung through the radiator of the car. For 70 miles Smith drove carefully, without a water system. When the next town was reached, they pulled up at a garage, "stole" the radiator off a car which belonged to a man who was away in Sydney, fitted it to their own ear, and went on to break the record.

Now Smith is ready for the biggest raec of all. He may add to his already huge collection of trophies, and everyone in Australia and New Zealand—in fact, every motoring man in the world—will wish him the best of luck.