TOURIST TROPHY RACES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20596, 21 June 1930, Page 38 (Supplement)

TOURIST TROPHY RACES.

PERCY COLEMAN CRASHES. Once again the annual Tourist Trophy races attracted huge crowds of enthusiasts to the Isle of, Man, and judging by the brief paragraphs • cabled, the races this year roust have been even more thrilling than those of previous years. The biggest event of the year, the Senior, took place yesterday, but the results are not yet to hand. . . Percy Coleman started in the Junior and crashed on the first lap. Cable advice states that ho was not hurt, but po other details are available. It is believed that Coleman will start in the Senior event, if lie has not received too severe a shaking as a result of his'crash. It is not yet known what machine ho rode in tho Junior, but it was at first stated that for the Senior ho had secured «a Royal Enfield. The local Rudge-Whitworth distributors, however, advise that he .has obtained a Rudge-Whitworth. Coleman has won fame in New Zealand almost exclusively on his famous big-twin Harley* Davidson, and it will be interesting to see how he fares on a lighter mount in, tho Senior. Although a world's champion on the grass, Coleman will bo taxed to tho utmost riding against tho most famous riders of Britain in - the Senior event. The most optimistic New do not expect Coleman to win "the Senior, but there is a general feeling of confidence that he will be a ;worthy representative of New Zealand in' the world s most celebrated motor-cycle classic. Difficulties of the Course. The three races, the Junior, the Senior and the Lightweight, are all three run over the same distance, some 264 miles, which represents seven laps of the.course. The course takes the competitors over steep mountain roads, across bridges, rouud sharp bends, and includes a long descent of the mountain, where some of the machines frequently exceed 105 m.p.h. The whole race is a gruelling test of the capabilities of both riders and' machines, for any mechanical, defect or an error of, judgment would probably result in a very serious accident. The cycles are the product of months of research and years of experience, and the greatest value of the T.T.,' from tho point of view of the average motor-cyclist, is the bearing it has on design of the next year's road models. The honours are keenly contested by foreign concerns, but so far the races have proved an absolute triumph for British manufactures, the only foreign victory being in 1907, when an Indian machine won. Junior and Lightweight. the Junior race lias resulted in a sweeping victory for Rudge-Whitworth machines, which were placed first, second and third,.the riders were H. G. TyrrellSmith, G. E. Nott and Graham Walker respectively, and Tyrrell-Smith succeeded in making an average speed of 71.08 m.p.h. F. G. Hicks won on a Velocette last year, and this and other famous makes were again represented this year. It is not yet known how they fared, but as the cables make no. mention of any serious crashes, it is a matter for conjecture as to what happened to the others.' The results of the light-weight race wore not known at the time of going to press, but it was considered the event would bo keenly contested. The race, which was limited to machines with engines, of 250 c.c. capacity, was expected to be a particularly exciting event, and some good times were expected. There was a large entry,-including some of the overseas riders, and some new and interesting machines were prepared for the race. Last year's winner was S. A. Crabtree, who completed the course at 63.87 miles an hour, on a 246 cSc. Excelsior. The Italian rider, P. Ghersi made the record lap at 66.63 miles an hour, on a Guzzi machine. SIDE-CAR OUTFITS. For a quarter of a century, in fact, ever since it was introduced, the side-car, according to wise-acres, has been doomed. Yet last year there were well over | 200,000 side-car outfits licensed in England. To say the least, the side-car is an unconscionable time a-dying. Unmechanical it may be, but it is inexpensive , and highly satisfactory, and, surprising as the fact may seem, a side-car outfit is almost entirely free from the bugbear of skidding, more so, indeed, than any other vehicle. Popular as the figures prove it to.be to-day, the "side-car; is not receiving a fair chance at the hands of manufacturers. ** There has been practically no development in side-car design during the . last" ten years. Some side-cars are now smarter in appearance, but in springing and general comfort there seonjs to be stagnation. Will manufacturers allow this market gradually to slip beyond their grasp, or will they, in their wisdom, mako an effort to retain and extend it? That it' can be extended is. certain, but the difficulty with which the industry is faced is not that it cannot improve the • side-car, but that of producing better sidecars at the price motor-cyclists are prepared to pay. Admittedly, tho problem is difficult, but it is one that, if tackled energetically, is capable of solution. NOTES. Alec Bennett, tho well-known racing motor cyclist, is to take up car racing. Motor-cycles to the estimated value of £649,331 were exported frota America dur : ihg 1929. Great Britain's figure is £4,015,233. An overseas motorist, .stated... to have been convicted for failing to give audible warning of approach, wag .fined. recently for using his motor-horn unnecessarily. . Canon Norman Pares, of Horsell, Surrey, who is over 70 years old, has been presented with a motor-cyclo. by his parishioners. Recently his pedal cycle was damaged beyond repair in a collision with an omnibus. . ■ In 1929 no fewer than 197 new 1 clubs affiliated to tho German. Motor-cyclo Union, with a total membership of 8500. The Union now has over 22,000 members. During the same period 170,054 new machines weie registered. .