311 MILES AN HOUR.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 304, 23 November 1937, Page 6

311 MILES AN HOUR.

Fkom 206 miles an hour in 1928 the world’s land speed record has been advanced to 311.42 miles in 1937, an achievement that reflects in the highest degree on botli the driver and British engineering. Captain G. Eyston, who has obtained this signal honour, is an accomplished motorist with many notable speed achievements to his credit. To beat Sir Malcolm Campbell’s record he had to surpass an average speed of 301.1 miles an hour, and Bonneville, in Utah, U.S.A., provided the course whereon this was made possible in conjunction with engineering technique and masterly driving ability. Captain Eyston and all his friends in Great Britain must be well delighted with his feat over the double mile, for he surpassed the record with at least ten miles an hour to spare, and lie now becomes the fastest car driver in the world. The progressive increase in speed has been truly spectacular. Sir Malcolm Campbell held the record, which is the average speed over two measured miles, in 1928 of 206 miles an hour; in 1929 it was the late Sir Henry Segrave’s year, when he advanced the figure .to 231. In 1931 he had another memorable achievement with 245 miles. This wasthe year of Sir Malcolm Campbell’s second success, for which he received the honour of knighthood, when the pace was taken to 253 miles. Two years later Sir Malcolm had registered 272; then in March, 1935, 276. and finally in September of that year he recorded 301 miles, beimr the first to race across the combined mile at more than 300 rgiles an hour, the goal which he liao set himself "to attain. Now Captain Eyston has sent the recoid to 311.42, his greatest speed being 319.11 miles. Such a performance’' enhances still further the already high prestige conferred by these remarkable performances of British engineering, for what was said about Sir Malcolm Campbell’s car is equally true of Captain Eyston’s—the machine, and the work and experiment and the brains behind it are British.