Cycling and Motor Notes

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 63

Cycling and Motor Notes

At a committee meeting of the Canterbury Automobile Association held last week it was resolved jo apply to the Akaroa County Council and the Akaroa Borough Council for permission to hold a hill-climbing competition from Barry's Bay to the top of the hill, in .connection with the forthcoming reliability trials. When the last mail, left, the BayaroTClement cars were -warm favoiirites for' the Grand Prix de Paris. Gabriel, in one of them, covered a kilometre on part of .the Dieppe course- in 21seo,_ which is an average pace of 106.5 miles per hour. The Motor selected the -winner to come from BayardClement, Brasier, Dietrich^ Renault, Fiat, Itala, Benz, Mercedes. This was a good selection, as it included the three makes of German cara, and the cable announced that they were. jail well up, one — the Mercedes — winning. Mr S. F. Edge .wrote to the Royal Automobile Club just prior to the departure of the last mail, seriously questioning the accuracy of the time vouched for by the Brcoklands Automobile Club in the Fiat-Napier match, and he has called upon the R.A.C. to institute an investigation. It will be remembered that Nazzaro was first of all credited with 120 miles an hour, and then with 135. Mr Edge thinks that a mistake has been made.

The Automobile Club of Australia has deoided to hold a' championship motor contest at the Viotoria -Park racecourse on September 30. The event is open to the fastest racing cars in Australasia. The first prize will be a 100-guinea trophy presented by Mr J. Joyntoa Smith, to celebrate the opening of- his new racing track. It will be remembered that when the last championship was run at Victoria Park the looseness of the oinder surface" made high speeds impossible. v For the coming championships, however, Mr Smith has decided to Temove the cinders and, to have the hard' clay surface thoroughly rolled. This should -make- it -possible for speeds of 50 to 70 miles an hour to be attained. It is understood that the fastest care from New South Wales, Viotoria. and other Australian States, 'as well as New Zealand, will take part in the great race.

Dick Arnst. who recently boat H. Pearoe in a match over three miles for £100 a-side on the Pa-rramatta River, is now predicted as the coming champion souller of the world. Whether the exracing cyclist is class enough — and such good judges as Beach and- Stanbury express the opinion that he is — will be deoided .n December next, when Arnst rows Webb in New Zealand for the World's Championship. Cyclists in general are pleased at Arnst's success, for when racing on the road and track he was always popular with both riders and the public. Arnst's beat performance on the road included a third (off 10 minutes) in the TimaruChristchurch Race (N.Z.) in 1903. In the Dunlop Road Race of the same year he was partly responsible for his brother Jack's wonderful victory from scratch in ■world's record time, for Dick did the lion's 6hare of the pacing for the first 96 miles, and the then established second fastest time. In 1904 he again helped his brother to victory in the Dunlop Road Raco from Goulburn to Sydney through his fine pacing. In the Warrnambool Race for the same year, Dick Arnst again scored second fastest time, T. Larcombe beating him for the blue riband by the small margin of a minute only over a 165 miles" course. On the track Arnst's great achievement was his winning the Sydney Thousand (£750 first) in 1906, his great lap sprint on the Sydney Cricket Ground being a fitting close to his cycle-racing career. From present appearances his great strength and endurance are going to earn him even a more brilliant niche in the aquatic world.

Doping i 3 said 10 bo rampant amongst racing cracks both in Europe and America this year. A well-known English rider and ex-world's champion, wb&n recently interviewed, confessed that he always resorted to artificial methods before starting on a big race, but, he added, " I dope myself. I know what suits me. In the six days' race at New York I was doped by the attendants, and, of course. I was absolutely at sea, as they gave mo-sc-mething that completely upset me, and I couldn't ride for nuts. What the racing man aims at," he went on to say, "in these big encounters is just that little stimulant, in the shape of artificial heJp, that makes all the difference between victory and defeat." In reply to a query as to what kind of doping materials were used, the ex-champion stated that cocaine was one of the favourite drugs, strychnine was another, and some Continental cracks went in for a mild preparation of something akin to nitro-glycerine, which acted like magic, but left permanent effects, as ther always showed signs that the tide of their energy was out immediately after they had taken it. He also stated that he had known racing men. who. after a time, could hardly walk across the street without taking some of these drugs. In his own case he was extremely careful. Experience had taught him to use only a special tonic prepared by himself, which had all the advantages and "none of the disadvantages of a dope. and. so popular had this preparation become that he now supplied it to some of the fastest racing men in France. • In proof of this statement be ehowed a letter received that morning from i, rider of world-wide repute, in

which he requested him to send on some of the" stuff "that makes you go so fast."It is to be sincerely hoped that the prac- . tice will not spread to this country, for. besides travelling outside the domain ofi sport altogether, the effect of drug-taking, leaves behind a craze like opium-eating and other pernicious habits. An automobilist named J. M. Mur-

dock, in a, Packard car, with a party o£ six, has driven from lios Angeles to Nero York in 32 days 3 hours,, which is Btatedi to be a record. No travelling at night or\ on Sundays was done.

The provisions contained in tha Motor Cars Bill now before the Victorian* House are, in the main, favourably re-, garded h\- the car-owners. Thanks to tha efforts of the Automobile Committee, a material of the maximum fines proposed has been secured, tbeee being, from £20 and £50 to £10 and £25; and! even these' figures appear high compared) with those applicable to drivers of other, vehicles.- The committee also desired that"' the age of drivers be raised from 16 to 18 years, while the registration fees were, onr ■the club's representations, reduced by 50 per cent., the proposed charges now being^ 10s for cars and 2s 6d for motor cycles.