RACE THROUGH A CITY

Taranaki Daily News, 17 June 1933, Page 15 (Supplement)

RACE THROUGH A CITY

THE MONACO GRAND PRIX. CHAMPION DRIVER DEFEATED, Exceptionally keen competition between 18 of the world's finest racing drivers marked the recent Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most difficult road races in the world. The event is i unique, as drivers may compete only i by invitation, and in consequence only i the cream of the world’s racing experts i face the starter. The course lies through the city streets, and drivers have to cover, 100 laps of a course so winding and difficult that they are able to use top gear only once, and then for a few yards, each lap, before changing down to low for a wicked hairpin. / There were 18 starters in the last race, three famous makes of car, AlfaRomeo, Bugatti and Maserati, being represented. The starters included three Britishers, Earl Howe, Sir Henry Birkin and Williams, who were matched against Nuvolari, the European racing champion for -1532, Chiron, Varzi, Bor? zacchin;' Etancelion, DrejTus, Fagiblo, I Wimille, Lehoux, Trossi, Zehender, Benoit, Siena, Somner and Hartmann, i the Hungarian champion. : . j. From the start it was obvious .that ’there would be a great race .between Nuvolari, in an Alfa, and Varzi, in his Bugatti. The two men, probably, the , finest road-racing drivers of the world, are keen rivals, one using an Italian I car and -the other a French machine. ! Nuvolari had enjoyed .an almost , unbroken record of successes in recent ' Continental events, and the Bugatti pack was at his heels throughout. For the first six miles Varzi was ahead, but a great roar from the assembled thousands announced that Nuvolari. had flashed past, his motor screaming ; . at over ’ 6000’ revs., in third gear.. The French car was not . long in second place, however, Varzi pushing his blue straight-eight past the scarlet Alfa after another three laps had been covered. Constantly passing and being , passed, the leaders’ soon drew away from: the pack, but at no stage was there move than 20 yards between Varzi and Nuvolari. At times a bare six inches separated the two cars. Retirements were ..many and frequent, engines, and transmissions failing under the stress, of such exceptional ‘revving” in the Tower gedrs. The leaders continued at unabated speed, however, and on the: last lap Nuvolari • was ahead. Varzi, . close behind, risked everything . fhr .his last -hapne of passing, and pushed his. motor over the 7000 revs, mark in third gear, passing his rival. Nuvolari promptly dropped into third, but at 7000 : revs, an oil pipe broke and the fluid gushed over the hot exhaust pipe, causing a fire. The driver refused to stop, in. spite of frantic signals from the. pit, and, with only 200 yards to go, the motor of the Alfa, starved of oil, failed suddenly. Nuvolari attempted to push his car., in, but stopped at the pits,exhausted, leaving his team-mate, Borzacchini, to take second place to the delighted . Varzi. RECORD-BREAKING ENGINE. . • 1 . • . - • Very great interest was aroused generally by the recent news that the world’s air speed record, had been broken by an Italian seaplane at a speed of nearly 424 miles an hour, and there is a decided link with ■ motoring interests in that the engine used in the Macchi type MC72. machine was of. Fiat manu-. facture, says the Autocar.. To meet the necessary requirements an engine had to be developed to give considerably over 2000 b.h.p., with as small a frontal, area as possible, and a unit of. entirely new design but based on , previous’, typesi as regards well-tried details was evolved. The. cylinders are divided into two groups of twelve, placed one in front ,of the ’ other,' the twenty-four cylinders having a total capacity of over .50 litres. There is a common crankcase, but each bank of cylinders has it own crankshaft, the two crankshafts rotating in opposite directions, ; coupled by. spur gear reducing units driving two . airscrew shafts, likewise rotating .: in opposite directions ' and situated close together, one iri front of the other. There is a' common induction system from an eight-jet carburetter . attached directly to a centrifugal super-charger at the rear of the engine unit and driven through a special clutch coupling the main induction pipe. being carried along'the top of the engine. . Each bank of cylinders has two. overhead camshafts. Four valves and two plugs are used for each cylinder, and each twelvecylinder unit has its water pump and pair of magnetos. It is said that the engine develops 2900 b.h.p. at 3200 r.p.m., the weight of the engine being 20451 b., giving, a power-weight ratio of 1 b.h.p. . for each 0.7051 b.

“OLD CROCKS” RACE.

'A MELBOURNE EVENT. Recently in Melbourne the Victorian Light Car Club organised an “old. crocks’ race” to Brighton Beach and back, and 24 cars took part. The drivers tffid ppgsp-ngprs ■ dressed for . the part, and the early 1900’s and even the ’9o’s :liyed again. ■ Most of the cars had been given quite effeminate names by their owners, such as “Plain Jane,” “De Luxe Annie,”:, and “Galloping Gertie.” “Galloping Gertie” was an ancient but skittish Vauxhall, driven by H. Drake Richmond, the racing driver. On each of the irregular occasions on which. her cylinder fired, “Gert” gave a lively bound of several inches on her springs. “Two more payments and she’s mine” was written across the rear of a 1905 Grayson.

However, several "of these bld cars are still in active service. A little Clement-Bayard, certainly modernised with electric lighting, took its Owner quite a long Easter tour. Another one, a Fiat, bought in 1906, is. still serving as delivery truck for. a soft drinks manufacturer. ■ ’■

The parade created extraordinary . interest, and a large crowd saw the start and finish, and lined the route. A collection was taken up in aid of the Lord Mayor’s fund, and quite a substantial amount is expected. Most of the cars started remarkably easily, some of them , pouring out clouds of oil smoke, and as they snorted along, they left a trail of oil and. water, bn the roadway. . ' - The all-round aver, ge of the cars was about 18 miles per hour, and of the large number that finished the race, Mr. A. Bedford, in his 1900 Wolseley, was the first home. . The entrants, in order of age, were as follows: 1898 International Rugby, 1899 2-cylind.r Ford, 1900 Wolseley, 1902 2-cylinder Fiat, 1902 Oldsmobile, 1902 Grayson, 1902 De Dion, 1903 ..Cadillac, 1903 Vauxhall, 1904 Cadillac, 1904 Napier, 1905 Tarrant, 1905 Fiat, 1905 F.N., 1906 Mclntyre Buggy, 1906 Belsize, 1906 Pilain, 1906 Humber, 1906 Adams, 1906 Cle-ment-Bayard, 1906 Fiat.