WORLD’S MOTOR SPEED

Wairarapa Age, 13 March 1929, Page 5

WORLD’S MOTOR SPEED

MAJOR SEGRAVE REACHES 231 MILES PER HOUR. ACHIEVEMENT AT DAYTONA ON MONDAY. PAST RECORDS ECLIPSED. United Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. DAYTONA BEACH (Florida), March 11. Major H. O. D. Segrave, the British driver, set a new world’s automobile speed record, on Monday at 231.36246 miles an hour.— (Australian Press Association.—

United Service.) (In 1927 Major Segrave established the record of being the first to drive a motor car over 200 miles, an hour, his actual figures over the measured mile at Daytona being 203.79 miles per hour. On February 19, 1928, Captain Malcolm Campbell, in his “Bluebird” machine, beat this record by attaining a speed of 206.95 miles per hour. Assisted by a strong wind, the tachometer registered 220 m.p.h. at one stage. On April 22 last, Ray Keech, driving a Triplex Special, raised the speed record to 207.5526 miles per hour. Against this Major Segrave, with his specially-built Napier-engined car, *‘Golden Arrow, ’ ’ has set a new record, nearly 25 miles an hour faster. Captain Campbell, the rival British speed merchant, is at present in South Africa with his re-model-led “Bluebird,” preparing for an attempt to beat the record on Verneuk Pan, the dry bed of a sunken lake in the north of Cape Colony.)

240 MILES PEE HOUR. ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO BE MADE (Received Tuesday, 9.30 p.m.) NEV/ YORK, March 12. Major Segrave is reported to-night to have stated that he would attempt to reach a speed of 240 miles per hour if a minute inspection of the “Golden Arrow” shows that the attempt is feasible. Captain Irving, designer of the car, said that he believed the car would reach a speed of three hundred miles per hour. J. M. White, triple holder of the former record, will attempt to beat Segrave’s new record to-morrow. White said there was more speed in his car than anyone will ever be able to get out of it, while the result depends wholly on the law of gravity.—(Australian Press Association.) SEGRAVE CONFIDENT.

(Received Tuesday, 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, March 12.

Sir Charles Wakefield, who is an ardent supporter of Major Segrave, delightedly disclosed that Major Segrave, before attempting the record telegraphed saying that he was confident of winning the Wakefield Gold Cup for a land speed record, carrying with it a pension of £lOOO yearly while the record is retained. Sir Charles said: “ Segrave’s is the world's greatest achievement. He is perhape the most courageous Englishman of his secade. I believe he will win the motor boat racing blue riband with my ‘Miss England.' Then Britain will hold all the three records which count, for we are already supreme in the air. This is the proudest day of my life, for which I have worked/years long”—(Australian Press Association.)