MOTOR-CAR TRIAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16493, 7 March 1914, Page 14

MOTOR-CAR TRIAL.

RELIABILITY RUN REVERSED. JRAKAIA GORGE VISITED YESTERDAY. TOUR TO AKAROA FIXED FOR TO-DAY. A score or two of expectant motorists arrived a/t Latimer Square yesterday morning with rugs and hand-bags in anticipation off a morning’s run to Akaroa in the annual reliability trial, an afternoon’s leisuro, a night’s rest, and a return by way of Rakaia Gorge to-day. While they assembled the committee met, and. decided that the lain overnight had rendered the roads Jo Akaroa,- by the ' route proposed, altogether too dangerous and slippery for motor climbing and that it was better to take the second day’s run first and, go out by the flat and safe, if road,to Rakaia Gorge, reserving Akaroa for the following day and finer weather. The decision was inevitable although it halved the pleasure of the outing by cutting out the stop over at Akaroa. To run to Akaroa by way of Governor’s Bay, Purau, Pigeon Bay, Okain’s Bay and Long Bay would have been a fofmidable^test ;for a - gbod car in good weather, likely to weed out. firstly the bad drivers and secondly the bad cars. On slippery clay surfaces tho good drivers alono would have _ got there, and then only by taking risks. THE STARTERS. Ten cats competed in two grades, private owners and open. Tho order of starting and the. wfeight drawn'by j each :car was as, follows i- —.

k Tho weights did not indicate the ! car weight, bnt merely the .gross weight with passengers and tlieii' impedimenta. Tho high-powered cars put on weight, to..give, themselves tho , better' clianceon .'petroPebijsumption, | worked out off the mean of ton miles and car miles. Thus, tho big Tanhard, Vauxhall and Sunbeam by loading up, evened themselves against the lower powered and lighter cars. . . ; .THE' TEST, . ' ; - The trial was a test of non-stopping capabilities. Stops were permitted m the luncheon control and for traffio. such as getting through sheep, or for tyre troubles, 5 which after all may come to the best car and driver by sheer bad luck.'. For these no penalty was exacted, but for unpremeditated stops caused by'engine troubles or kindred mishaps; points were deducted »y the judge. Each competitor started with a maximum of 1000 points, and it lay witli him whether ho lost nnv on the way. A non-stop run cn both days was tlio prayer of every driver ns ho cranked up in Latimer Square. Next to that he hoped , follow petrol consumption, for all other things being, eqiial, the prize would : go to the most Economic engine,' judged j on the comparative merits of weight j and petrol consumption. . The spirit was measured out by officials, and it was well husbanded, which meant that there was no prodigality in the matter of. speed. t 1 THE START. So it was that the cars .rolled, away from Latimer Square at eight o’clock, loaded with observers and passengers, and drew their weight at tho City Council’s weighbridge, before heading for Tai Tapu on the road to Rakaia. Mr F. .TV. Johnston was courteous enough to make himself custodian ol tho newspaper representatives for the day, and for this they had to be devoutly thankful, for the big Panhard 1 flow ont tho miles without even a permissive trouble, and brought up at the end of the day without a black i mark and just nicely inside her time, j The morning was chill, and twenty- j five'miles an hour 'did not improve 'if. j Occasionally tho sun might be seen ■ warming a spur of the hills on the j left of the road, but the. car sped on through driving rain and occasionally \ hail, and all were glad that they - were not tackling the lulls. The roads | were .greaiy, loose, leading ‘to for in- j judicious steersmen. , One could not ■ help contrasting the beliaVioui; of the cars. ■ Some, stripped of silencers, j chattered along like overworked sausage machines, while others, again, 1 purred liko a sewing machine. Some machines wore stripped of wind, screen and hood to give them greater speed. OVER. FIAT ROADS, Tho route was through -Tai Thpu, Lincoln, Springston, Leeston and Southbridge to Rakaia, and 'through the Gorge back to Christchurch by way of Glentunnel and Durfield, a total distance of 135 miles, for which six and a half hours’ running time was allowed. It was. not till Leeston was reached that the clouds lifted on the horizon, and thero was promise of a better day. From there on tho wca-j tber lifted gradually, although' if was cold. ■At the Rakaia bridge; there were .traffic stops with nearly all the care. Horses had to bo led past the motors, and there were mobs of sheep to be i divided. Slow, driving through. sheep took off time, ' which had to be made j up later on the road. An awful stretch 1 of (road, with frequent water races and ; pools lying in ruts was met with' tin, the Rakaia plains, and some of tho cars slipping and sliding progressed more like a crab than a motor-car. 1 Along towards Mount Hutt mixed 1 roads wero met with. At' one stage all tho cars were side-slipping at a: precarious angle, to avoid a bod of: shingle, called by courtesy a road, but | further on through the Gorge no such j difficulties were met with. There was I a fifteen minute * luncheoif control at the Gorge, but most of the. competitors -went unsatisfied, having counted on luncheon at Akaroa. Mr R, B. Walker, in the first car, strewed confetti at tho corners to give- others tho road. s THE RETURN. All the cars were timed in within the limit and did not lose marks for overtime, but only six had non-stop runs. These were the two Panhards, the Hupmobile, Calthorp,- Vauxhall andi F.I.A.T. They arrived about three' o’clock in . the afternoon, and were put Vi control at Dexter and Cjpzier’s garage. ' ‘ '"g, 7 V. ; R. B. Walker’s Sunbeam was first 'jm. Its . net running time was shr ’34 •min 17sec, but it had a short circuit itop of 65sec and an engine stop of i7sec while going slow in traffic, the stop being caused by the cutting- off of pet-'bl. These were the only penalty itouv • A. Morten’s Sunbeam would have re. gisteied a non-stop, but Mr Morten found one of hig headlights working loose, and rather than lose it he spent 2min 65seo in fixing' it. His net time was f'hr 59min ISsec. D. V. Grant’s Vauxhall had a nonstop, although there was a stop without penalty for tyre troubles this side of the Gorge. , „ , 7 _ M. W, Stevenson’s Panhard and F. W. Johnston’s Panhard, which arrived together, had non-stops without any troubies. , _ . It. Ivennett’s F.1.A.T., 6hr Bmm, F. fit or ov’s Calthorp, 6hr 11mm 30seo. and L. N. Montgomery’s Aupmobil'j, 6hr Slimin, also had non-, stops.

.The Overland entered by the Farmers* ■ Co-operativo Association, ana , driven by IS. Edmunds, had a penalty j stop, of 7mm 39sec for ignition troubles. ; After a non-penalty stop for a pimcturo the engine again refused to start, \ and 13miii Iffsec wero lost in penalties.

P. Climie’s Buick had a puncture, and spent some time without penalty in putting on a now tyre, but in coming over, a water-race dirt got into the carburettor and points were deducted whilo it was cleared. j

' TO-DAY’S RUN. Akaroa is to-day-B objective, and if tho hill roads are too slippery it is probable that somo heavily shingled roads will bo selected on the more direct route, and that the run will bo made under altered conditions. _ Tlie cars will return to Christchurch in the ©Veiling. ,

mighti So Tons. owt. qr. 2—R. B. Walker (Sunbeam) . 1 8— L. M. Montgomery (Hupmo13 2 bile) * 6 0 1_D. V. Grant (Vauxholl) . 1 13 2 4 —A Morton (Sunbeam) . . 1 9 • 8 5—F. W. Johnston (Panhard) . 1 1C 2 fi—P.. R. Climio;, (Bnick) .. . 1 . 7-=-N.Z.' Farmers’ Co-op. (Over4, 3 land), E. Edmonds . . 1 6 3 W. Stevenson (Panhard) 1 - 6,, 1 9—F. Storey (Calthorpe) . . 1 10— R. Itennett (F.I.A.T.) . .1 1 0 4 1