VALUE OF RACING

Taranaki Daily News, 2 May 1935, Page 13

VALUE OF RACING

ASSISTING RESEARCH.

USEFUL PURPOSE TO SERVE.

Brooklands. A dull, grey, cheerless day, rain falling fitfully. In the paddock the cars for the next race are congregating. Round them swarm friends of the drivers and the merely 1 curious. Bookies shout uninviting odds; knots of people buzz round them hoping for better prices. The competing cars move off to the start, the crowd in the paddock clusters-on the grandstand. “No good going up there,” says one of a group of half a dozen men who are chatting in the paddock. “No; can t see anything,” agrees another. “I wonder why most of these people come at all,” says a third. The race starts, the members of the little group click stop-watches as they identify various cars going round. For a few minutes their attention is held; then, having secured the lap times they want, the conversation .is resumed; the race’might be over as far as they are concerned. PAYING OUT. The race over, the cars return through the paddock to their sheds. The spectators swarm round once more. The bookies pay. out to the fortunate few who have been lucky enough to spot the winner. The rain still drizzles. “Same old cars; just a sprinkling of new drivers. Let’s adjourn,” says one of the group. Five minutes later, in comfortable surroundings, the conversation turns to the question of the future of motor racing. “Unless something radical is done racing will just slowly die out,” says one, and it is the general verdict; Heaps of people have said this before, but to find some of the best-known and most skilful drivers in the world saying it comes as something of a shock. One expects optimism, perhaps even a blind enthusiasm, from such men rather than the coldly reasoned and regretfully spoken verdict quoted. “I wish we could have a. race for racing cars,” says another. “There is nothing to.be learned from racing standard, or so-called standard, sports cars. Some designer may discover that his ideas of frame strength are not as sound as he thought, or that his springing is no good for an extra 10 or 15 miles an hour, or that his lubrication system, or steering, and so on, is capable of improvement, bur there is no real ‘research work’ in such racing, only unusually thorough testing.” “Look at the development in the Rolls-Royce and Napier aero engines,” continues the previous speaker; “a lot of it is due to the Schneider Trophy races.” “Bui would any manufacturer build special cars for such a race?” The question goes unanswered; the other members of the group remain silent. That, they know, is the problem. Motor racing is an expensive hobby; it takes up a considerable amount of time, and there are few who can spare both the time and the money to devote to it. SPECIAL RACING DEPARTMENTS. To race standard productions themselves involves a certain amount of factory disorganisation, which spells expense. If it is to be done thoroughly it means the maintenance of a special racing department. In fact, from the car makers’ point of view, the trouble and expense involved in racing to-day are much on a par with that of the old days. It would doubtless be more expensive still for them to build special racing cars, but not perhaps vastly so; and might not the expense be worth while? Who is bold enough to say that there is nothing further to learn from racing? Certainly not I. Shall we not one day see a return to the old-time racing, with specially built British cars competing with specially built foreign cars, perhaps on a limited fuel basis, or under other conditions devised to promote useful development of design?

There are those who still believe in steam cars; those who foresee the employment of the turbine principle; those who believe that the future will see the heavy-oil burning compression-ignition engine triumphant; those who pin their faith to the two-stroke cycle and, possibly, • supercharging. Racing has undoubtedly helped development in the past, and in the air it is doing so today. May it not yet obtain on road and track a new lease of life, and serve a useful purpose?—A. G. Douglas Clease, in an English periodical.