200 MILES AN HOUR

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16534, 29 December 1927, Page 13

200 MILES AN HOUR

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE The “Autocar,” England, publishes a very interesting interview with Major H. (>.' I). Segravo, holder of the world's speed record of 205 miles per hour, established at Daytona, U.S.A., in March, 1827, in which he relates his greatest thrill in his motor-racing experience, ns follows: ( “ What is the greatest thrill you have ever had in your racing experience?” This*.is # a. question I have been asked times out of number, and, frankly, it is almost impossible for me to say or describe or even recall to mind at the moment any one particular incident which stands out. “ I have driven cars for the Sunbeam and Talbot companies for something like eight years in all the international races abroad, and it is natural that- in the course of these eight years many incidents occurred that might be described as thrills from the point of view of the layman.

“ When the 1000 h.p. car attained a speed of 200 m.p.h. at Daytona, I was eternally questioned by almost everybody I met as to what it- felt like. It was certainly a thrill, but thrills may he divided into- two classes—frightening and pleasing. This was a pleasing thrill, because it was over so quickly that One had not time to analyse one's feelings. I was. more worried before this attempt than I have ever been before, much more so than just before a Grand Prix, largely,. I think, owing to the fact that the whole record had been given such extensive publicity. “ According to the calculations which had been worked out with such meticulous care by Captain ,T. S. Irving, wo were fairly certain that, all things being equal, no great risk was run up to about 180 miles per hour, but after this point was passed one stepped off into the unknown, and certain forces came into being which were not evidenced below this speed and the action of which, n,s applied to the car, was 'unknown.

“ First and foremost in my memo, ries of this' record. will stand out the foi'co of tho wind pressure. The first time I ever drove this car at all fast I was almost blown out of tho fcockpit, even though wc bad the usual form of floorboards fitted. Eventually, so great was the wind pressure inside the shell that we were forced completely to insulate the cockpit from the rest of the car by means of steel plating. “ Again, the strain oil the muscles of one’s neck when one was endeavoring to keep One's head upright was rather femarkablc. In order to explain this more simply, the pressiu'e on one’s forehead at 200 m.p.h. was equivalent to a hundredweight and .a half of lead. Steering, too, was not quite the same as at speeds of 100 nl.p.h. If one wanted to change-,the direction at all at a speed of 200 m.p.h., Ohe had to make up one’s, mind to start, steering the car towards gvhtre one wanted to go almost a mile away. *

“ Vision was very difficult. I discovered that the focal point of one’s vision was between a quarter and half a mile away from the. front of the ear; it was impossible to focus anything closer than this. Objects seemed to fade out as they do on a film when the operator alters tho focus of tho lens, and to show hoy serious a. feature this was, we were forced to erect concrete pillars about 20ft. high, having largo discs about- 12ft. or 15ft. in diameter on (he top, which were painted in various gaudy colors, and these were, placed at the beginning and end of the mile, kilometre, and five kilometres,.serving to indicate when I was approaching the measured distances, but even these disappeared when Pile came within a quarter of a mile of them.

“All these various discoveries which we made, coupled with the thrill of being lucky enough to bo’the first man to attain a speed of 200 m.p.h. on land, will remain in my memory as the greatest and most pleasant thrill I have ever bad.”