DAYTONA BEACH

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 32

DAYTONA BEACH

WORLD'S SPEED TRACK

FLYING MILE HISTORY

Up to the present time Daytona Beach justly lays claim to being the world's fastest land course. Efforts have been made to find more suitable spots but none of them have succeeded in superseding Daytona. It is interesting, therefore, to note that a* German is to attempt the record on one of the great new highways being built in his country, and that perhaps at last a track suitable at any time may be within reach of aspirants to exceed 300 m.p.h. Daytona Beach is far from ideal, because quite apart from the necessity of weather, wind, and tide all combining to provide1 reasonable surface conditions the scope is limited, the course providing only 12 miles of runway, with a width of approximately 500 feet^

Here are the high spots of the flying mile history at Daytona Beach:—

' In 1898, Chassaloup-Loubat, driving a Jeantaud car, covered the mile at 39.24 m.pJi. . •

In 1902, Alexander Winton, driving his famous Winton "Bullet," covered the distance in 52.2055ec. This was reduced the next year by Henry Ford, on the ice-covered Lake, of St. Clair, Michigan, to 39.405 ec, which record held until 1904,- when William K. Vanderbilt, the American millionaire, driving

a Mercedes, managed to clock 39sec dead.

In 1905, Arthur Mac Donald, of Britain, went to Daytona with a Napier, and easily lowered the record, covering the mile in 34.45ec. Immediately after, however, a Boston driver, H. L. Bowden, took the record from MacDonald , with another Mercedes, his time being 32.8 sec. This was again lowered in 1906, when Frank Marriott, with, a Stanley Steamer averaged 126.76 m.pi.

Four years later the American Barney, Oldfleld piloted a" Benz over the mile in 27.335 ec, only to have the record taken from him in the following year with the same car driven by Bob Burman, who reduced the figure to 25.45ec,' which is equivalent to 131.38 m.p.h. It is also interesting to record that in 1914 L. G. Hornsted drove a car of the same type an equal distance at Brooklands and covered the mile in 29.015e£ r

Burman's recorU held good ior five i years, for it was not until 1919 that Ralph da Palma, with a Packard, clock-1 ed 24.02 seconds and made all straight- j away records from one mile to " 40' miles. In 1920, however, Tommy Mil-1 ton on a Duesenberg, still further lowered the time to 23.07 seconds. After that date the Americans were* entirely eclipsed; while-there followed a series of British successes by K. Lee Guinness (Sunbeam), the late J. G. Parry Thomas (Leyland Thomas), E. A. D. Eldridge (Fiat), and Captain Malcolm Campbell (Sunbeam), the fastest of which) was that',of Captain Malcolm Campbell, ' ■who , covered a mile in 20.63secs, or close > on three' miles a minute. By this time, however, English competitors for''the title had realised, that there was only one place, namely, Daytona Beach, on. which to achieve speeds^ of over three miles a minute. 'Sir Henry Segrave was the first to go to Daytona" to,attempt to raise the record,to 200'm.p.h.i ,On bis first venture, driving a 1000 h.p. twin-en-gined Sunbeam, he attained a mean speed of 203.79' m.p.h. That was in 1927. The following,year Captain Malcolm Campbell crossed the Atlantic with his Napier Campbell "Bluebird" and bettered Segrave's figures by nearly 3 m.p.h., his average speed being 206.95 m.pJi. Two months later, however, the late Ray Keech got back the record for the United States by driving J. M. White's Triplex a mile in 17.345 ec, or 207.65 m.p.h. America only held the record for one year, for Segrave made a return visit, this time with the Irving-Napier Special, better known- as the, "Golden Arrow."' He placed the mark at 231.36 m.p.h., or 15.5 sec for the mile.

In 1933 Malcolm Campbell raised the figures to 272.11 m.p.h. On his return to England he was knighted.

This year Sir Malcolm Campbell beat his own record, covering the mile at a speed equal to 276.87 m.p.h. Although the foregoing details deal only with the mile record, scores of other sprint, middle, and .long-distance records ha^e been obtained on the beach. European manufacturers and drivers hold by far the greater number.- Victor Demogbetr driving a Darracq in 1906, was.the first man to cover two-miles in less than lmin,.his time being 58 4-ssec. .