THE GORDON BENNETT CUP.

Otago Witness, Issue 2690, 4 October 1905, Page 60

THE GORDON BENNETT CUP.

That the committee of the English Automobile Club should have decided not to chnllenEfe for the Gordon Bennett Cup of 1906 will no doubt have come as a surprise to many motorists who believed that the club was practically committed to a racing programme. Whether the committee has acted on its own responsibility or whether it has consulted the manufacturers concerned docs not appear, nor does it really matter. It caw hardly be supposed that British makers wera very keen on continuing tho struggle to regain the cup, for it was a very costly adventure, and the results a considerable 'c.«s in the case of failure, while the gain in :he ca^e of sneross is yearly becoming less important. France ha-s certainly succeeded by her quibbling and endeavours to pull down the cup race its lofty standing in robbing it of much of its interest. With both Fr3iicc and England refusing to compete, next year's race will hays but slight significance, for however, good the German and Italian cars m-xy be. they cannot make much of an event of it by themselves, and they seem likely to he the only entrants. It seems probable that there will be no l<igi international race next year. The other nations will not enter for the nice little race- which France is so ingeniously poposing to organise for her own benefit ; and she will doubtless return the compliment as le^ards Germany's great congest. England will not take part in any of these struggles ; so that altogether it looks as if the- day of great races of this kind w&s past. Nor is this to ba regretted. They have outlived their utility, and there is no longer any plausible excuse to be made for them. When, as in the case of the Gordon Benne-S race, a whole district is practically shut up for weeks to allow the cays to practise, when thousands of pounds have to be spent in preparing, fencing, and bridging the course, and when from first to last probably £150,000 would not cover the cost of the event, the situation has become ridiculous in view of the fact that the vehicle evolved by the contest has no practical value. — [The whole crux of the question is contained in this sentence. Tyre troubles and other influences having no bearing on the efficiency of the motor cars enter far too largely into these contests, and rob them of proving whether- such and such a maker's car is really superior to the car of another maker.— Demon."] That is to say. while the efficiency of certain methods of construction i* demonstrated, it could have been proven equally satisfactorily and afc -less cost.hy a ]*»sa sensational and dangerous contest Ths irend of competitions nowadays is towards those which develop the touringi car, and it is probable that before iong no one wotild trink of institut- ! ing a race, for speed monsters, such as have served to create amazerne ii during the past year or two. — Field.