Fastest Picardy Grand Prix Ever Held

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22819, 28 August 1937, Page 12 (Supplement)

Fastest Picardy Grand Prix Ever Held

A DESCRIPTION of the PicPL ardy Grand Prix in June, the Ji JL fastest Picardy event ever held, which was won by the British driver Raymond Mays in an E.R.A., is" given by Mr. 11. J. Butcher, a member of the Automobile Association (Auckland), who attended the meeting as the guest of the secretary of the Automobile Club of Picardy, M. Jean, Macquet, in a recent letter to a friend in Auckland. " Two French drivers, Bouri.it and Trintignant, were killed in the race in 1933 " writes Mr. Butcher, " and a handsome monument lias been erected to their memory near the finishing post. Before the race started the president of the club asked if wo would attend a ceremony at the monument and a New Zealand woman who was with the party laid ono of the wreaths at the foot of the monument. It was quite an impressive ceremony. "The course is about GJ miles and is not unlike what we call the Mangere circuit. Not more than 10 cars are allowed to start at the ono time and as there were 18 entries there were two elimination heats'of ten laps each. The first four in each heat and the faster fifth competed in the final of 15 laps, which was one of the most exciting races I have seen. Siamese Prince Competes

" Bira, tlio popular racing prince of Siam, took the lead in the first lieat, but his Delago developed clutch trouble in the ninth lap and he was forced to retire, thus letting Dreyfus win ill his Maserati. Hanson and Du Buy, both in Maseratis, finished next ih order. A lady driver, Madame Itier, was fourth. Two E.R.A.'s were forced to retire with piston trouble. " Mays' E.R.A. immediately took the lead in the second heat and tho British driver was never in danger of being caught.., De Graffenried and Wakefield both in Maseratis, were second and third, and two more E.R.A.'s again cracked up with piston trouble.

"Before the start of the final, Mays appeared to bo a little nervous but

Auckland Motorist's Impressions

this may have been caused by the fact that he was to drive the only E.R.A. loft out of five. At .the drop of the flag, Mays shot into the lead, followed very closely by Dreyfus and Wakefield, with- all the others coming up in a bunch, with motors screaming. A desperate fight at terrific speed with all the drivers endeavouring to force their opponents' motors to crack up was witnessed in the first two laps. Mays Does Record Lap

" Mays completed the second lap at the record speed of over 96J miles an ■hour, which meant that lie reached at least 130 miles an hour on the straights —tarsealed roads no wider than those at Mangere. It was a marvellous display of driving, and the pace was so fast and furious during the opening laps that the field began to string out. The tiny Frenchwoman, Madamo Itier, gave a wonderful exhibition in a Bugatti. " The cracking up of Bira's Delage robbed the final of what was expected to be a terrific battle with Raymond Mays for first place. This was ono of the few occasions when these two leading drivers were starting in a road race on equal terms, and although Mays finished tlio 90 odd miles at the record average speed of over 93 miles an hour this would no doubt have been' exceeded if Bira had beenthere. Dreyfus, however, gave Mays no peace and was on his tail the whole distance. The final placings were: — Mays (E.R.A.), 1; Dreyfus (Maserati), 2; Wakefield (Maserati), 3; Graffenried (Maserati), 4; Hanson (Maserati), 5." Mr. Butcher paid a tribute to the very lavish manner in which the party was entertained by the Picardy club. He was introduced to Mays when the presentation of trophies was made. E.R.A.'s at Donnington

Earlier in tho month, Mr. Butcher attended tho Nuffield trophy event at Donnington Park, near Derby. There were 26' entries and 17 starters. The Freddie Dixon Special, of which great things were expected, came to grief during practice. The race was Too miles (GO laps) for cars up to ]soocc. The winner was the late Pat Fairfield who was killed a few days later in the tragic 24-hour race at Le Mans. Austin Dobson was second and Raymond Mays took third place, all three driving E.R.A.'s. Percy Maclure in a Riley finished fourth,' after being caught at the 30th lap by Fairfield.

ing may be given by means of head lights. The present law in Great Britain is that an audible warning instrument must be carried on the car. There is no likelihood of a reversal of this rulo. Information Service Two oflicers of tho Automobile Association (Auckland) last week commenced a comprehensive tour of the South Island, which i<ill include an inspection of all the main routes and many secondary roads, the tourist resorts and other points of interest about which the association's Information Bureau receives innumerable inquiries during the course of the year. The Automobile Association is of tho opinion that its officers can only adequately cater for information service if they have a personal knowledge of the routes which they are called upon to describe and it is in furtherance of this policy that the tour was authorised. The officers will cover approximately 5000 miles before they return to Auckland,