THE HERKOMER MOTOR CAR COMPETITION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2692, 18 October 1905, Page 60

THE HERKOMER MOTOR CAR COMPETITION.

This competition was brought to a conI elusion last month. With the exception of the teams of English Daimlers, there were few cars represented other than those of German make, and it was not surprising that the event ended in a Teutonic triumph. The Germans' thoroughly deserved their victory, although, had the conditions governing the trophy been, in one) respect at least, more in accordance with the latest ideas as to the regulation of such 'trials, the victory would, in all probability, have gone to .an" English car. The defect in the rules concerned the loss of marks due to tyre troubles. It is manifestly unfair that no distinction should be made between stoppages 'for tyre troubles and -those due to mechanical causes. Beyond the loss of time in repairing punctures, the ordinary ' tourist can almost invariably cope with r~tyre troubles; but with a break-down in > the mechanism of the car he may often be hopelessly stranded. In the three days' reliability tour, which was the principal item of the contest, the cars had to iravel over' 700 miles, and tho strong sunlight and heat worked havoc on the tyres exposed to their- influence from early morning to sunset. Tim English torn, with a limited stock of tyres, suffered considerably owing to this reason, and lost marks suffii cient to deprive them of any chance of i winning a prizse. Thus the issue was ' governed almost .entirely by a factor which deserved only to be reckoned as of secondary , importance. ! This was very galling for the English representatives, as in the preliminary hillclimbing and speed trials the team of Daimlers did- exceedingly well, and the drivers had' great hopes of securing good places in the final classification.' As regards mechanical efficiency, the -Daimler team ran excellently from beginning to end of the > tour, and on the hills they invariably showed themselves to.be more' powerful " than ' the" -majority of the German cars. •But ,the^tyres upset ail their calculations. It is (interesting, to note that the conditions for next year's contest nave already been amended so as to differentiate between stoppages "for '"tyre troubles and those due to a break-down of mechanism. The official lisfc of winners has now been made known, 'and ' is. as follows : — Firstr-ißerr B. LsCdenburg (40 h.p. Mercedes). Second. — Herr H. Weingand (<EO h.p. Mercedes). Third. — Herr" 1 ?/. TPoege (60 h.p. Mercedes). Fourth— Herr -F;'" Opel (35 Kp. Opel). Fifth.— Herr' F. Werner (35-40 h.p. Clement). One of the most pleasing features of the contest was the courtesy extended to the English competitors. The Bavarians showed themselves to' be thorough sportsmen, and nothing could have been more gracious than the reception accorded to the British team. Mrs Edward Manville was the only lady competitor," and she was delighted i with the kindness and courtesy extended to her everywhere. All the school children in the towns and villages along the route had been granted a holiday whilst the cars passed through, and, escorted by their teachers, they lined the roads, cheering heartily and flinging bouquets of flowers at the cars. When Mrs Manville 1 drove into Munich at the conclusion of the tour a band struck up the English Nationai Anthem, and, amidst a scene of great enthusiasm, she was presented by the Bavarian Automobile Club with- a -magnificent laurel wreath as a mark of appreciation.