MOTOR RACING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 143, 19 May 1932, Page 10

MOTOR RACING.

AUSTRALIAN WOMAN DRIVER. ENTERS FOR 1000 MILES RACE AT BROOKLANDS. The Australian, Mias Joan Richmond, a member of the. party which drove overland from Australia to England, has entered with Mrs T. H. Wisdom for the Brooklands 1000-mile race, to bo decided on June 3 and 4. Their opponents include Kaye Don, Sir Henry Birkin, Earl Howe, and George Eyston, holder of the light car speed record of 1174 miles per hour. For the first time in the history of the race, which is one of Britain’s premier track events, two women will drive together. They will take three-hour turns at the wheel throughout the two days. Mrs Wisdom is the holder of all British women’s hill-clmbing records. She has entered a Riley car, and she and Miss Richmond will shortly take a technical course, as competitors must be mechanics as well as drivers.

MOTOR RACING CHALLENGE. Having a secure hold, for the time being-, on the world’s speed record, Britain is now preparing to enter the international motor-racing field with new racing cars driven by men of acknowledged skill and courage. There are now building at Coventry three cars which will involve an outlay of £50,000 to construct and “keep up.” These are intended to answer the challenge to British motor-racing supremacy to be found in the racing cars now being prepared by France, Italy, and Germany. The power behind the venture is said to be Mr Victor Riley, of the Riley Motor Company, and the two most eminent drivers mentioned in association with the scheme are Mr Kaye Don and Mr G. Eyston, who recently set up a new world’s speed record for baby cars. That the decision is a bold one 5s indicated by the fact that in the past British manufacturers have been loth to face the cost and risk of developing purely racing models, which, in the most optimistic eyes, are regarded as experimental. Builders have been inclined to confine their racing activities mainly to events for sports cars, but they have done so well in this field that success has begotten ambition. Tho three new models will embrace the lessons of experience, and will be equal to the tremendous tests called for in Grand Prix races. . Apart from his wish to add to British motoring prestige on the Continent, Mr Rilev is nnxious to try put several theories which, if they survive tho gruelling conditions of racing, will bo incorporated in standard cars. Like other enthusiasts, he is confident that the world is on the eve of very big motoring developments in the .sphere of stream-lining and super-charging. Indeed, he predicts that the racing car to-day may be the touring car of tomorrow —an uncomfortable prospect for traffic authorities the world over.