MAD MOTORING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18173, 19 August 1922, Page 2 (Supplement)

MAD MOTORING.

DUKE OF LEINSTER'S DASH. FOR A £3000 WAGER. The Duke of Leinster has recently driven a motor-car from London to Aberdeen in, according to his own statement, 14i hours of actual driving time., The duke declared that he won a wager of £3000 which he had made with another member of the peerage by completing the journey in less than 15 hours. ' Leaving London at 3.7 a-m., he reached Aberdeen at 9.7 p.m., a certain amount of time having been spent on the way at meals and in waiting for a ferry across the Firth of Forth. Tho distance from London to Aberdeen, according to the road maps, is 518 miles. The speedometer on the duke's car recorded 557 miles, the difference being accounted for by the fact that the road was lost twice in Yorkshire. \ It is understood that the duke had an argument as to tho time that the journey from London to Aberdeen should take, and it was suggested that a motor-car could reach Aberdeen sooner than a train which started at the same time. The fastest express trains complete the journey (522 miles by rail) in 12 hours. Train or Car? "The wager came about in the usual way," the' duke told a London roporter before he set out. " There was a discussion as to whether it was quicker to go to Aberdeen by train or by road.

" I made a level wager that I could do it in 12 hours, the time a train takes. But we decided, in view of the wet condition of the road, that another three hours should be allowed. "My motor-car can do 80 miles an hour all out, and I shall certainly have to touch that speed at times —it wjll cost me £3000 if I don't." The duke left the boundary of London at 3.7 a.m. in his motor-car, which carried a perfect cargo of spare wheels. He was accompanied by Mr. Kenneth Cameron, a bookmakeij', who was the referee of the' performance. The car travelled at high speed throughout the whole journey. Th© highest sustained speed was 75 miles an hour. There was no tyre trouble, end the roads were in good condition. T he duke said that he had been extremely fortunate in regard to the weather. He was very tired when he reached Aberdeen. The average speed of the duke's journoy was nearly 40 miles an hour over the wholo distance—a journey carried out over publio roads and through many towns. It will be remembered that Jean Chaaeagne, who won the motor-car tourist trophy race in an 8-cylinder car in the Tsle of Man a couple of months ago, only covered 1302 miles on the course at an averace speed of 55.78 miles an hour. Speaking of the run after his arrival at Aberdeen, the duke said he lost his way when 45 miles out of London, as well as in Yorkshire, thug losing an hour in time. He reached Wetherby, Yorkshire, 194 miles from London, at 8.30 a-m. Near Aberdeen the fuel supply became exhausted, but there was a tin of benzole nnder one of the seats. This was put. mtt > .the tank and the journey completed. A big wolfhound travelled in the body of the car as a mascot. It was not necessary, the duke eaid, to d .*2P <«* of top gear once, even on the stiffest gradients. The consumption of petrol waa 37 gallons.