CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XV, Issue 895, 2 May 1907, Page 12

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES.

The following entries have been received for the Onehur.ga Cycling Touring Club’s ten miles road race for the Pardy Cup, presented by the club captain, Mr. T. H. Pardington:— D. Howard, N. Wadman, F. Roget, E. Pople, B. Flewellyn, W. C. Hill, J. Fletcher, T. Pardington, O. Melburn, A. Mason, Cyril Rushbrook, Chas. Rushbrook, B. Pullan, E. Spiers, H. Thompson, E. V. Sutherland, R. J. Sutherland, H. Sayers, C. Denzie, P. Groove, J. Duthie, A. Perrin, H. Christini. The race will take place next Saturday. Dr. Raynor, a well-known Auckland motorist, now drives a Simms-Wel-beck car. ♦ * * * The following handicaps have been declared by Mr. S. H. Brooking, handicapper to the Onehunga Cycling Touring Club, for the 10 miles Pardy Cup Road Race, to take place at Mangere next Saturday afternoon: — O. Melvern, scratch; A. G. Mason, 155.; E. Spiers, 305.; N. Wadman, lm.; Cyril Rushbrook, Im. 455.; H. Thompson, 2m.; F. Roget, 2m. 155.; D. Howard, 2m. 155.; T. H. Pardington, 2m. 305.; Chas. Rushbrook, 2m. 305.; C. Denize, 3m.; H. Christini, 3m.; B. Flewellyn, 3m. 155.; E. Pople, 3m. 305.; B. Groove, 3m. 305.; R. J. Sutherland, 4m.; A. Perrin, 4m. 305.; H. Pullan, 4m. 305.; A. Sayers, 5m.; J. Duthie, sm. 305.; Ed. V. Sutherland, 6m.; W. C. Hill, 7m.; J. Fletcher, 7m. 30s. « * * ♦ The American Automobile manufacturers are adopting a novel means of introducing the American-built motor car into Europe. A reliability trial extending over 60 days is to be held in June and July, over a distance of 4000 miles, for a gold cup valued at £6OO. The route will lay through France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium and England,, the only restriction being that Americanmade cars are to be used. The entrance fee is £2OO, which amount covers the whole expenses of the tour. It is said that the output of cycles in Great Britain for the year 1906 totalled a million machines. No wonder the principal English cycle manufacturing concerns are making big profits. * * * . *■ An English rubber manufacturer states that during the last 15 years

the demand for rubber has more than doubled in quantity ard nearly trebled in value, while there is every probability that the demand will continue to increase at a proportionately faster rate than the supply. Rubber plantations have been, ruthlessly destroyed in the haste to secure a large quantity of the precious product, and until the rubber-cultivating areas in Ceylon and elsewhere are yielding their full quota to the world’s supply, it will be difficult to keep pace with the present demand. If the raw material increases any further in price, as seems not improbable, cyclists and motorists will be faced with the prospect of either dearer tyres or the far more serious alternative of tyres containing a smaller quantity of rubber. * * * * The Dresden Cycle Racing Track, one of the finest and fastest in the world, and upon which many of the big motor-paced matches and contests have been held, has been ordered by the German authorities to be closed. The trouble was that the patients in a hospital close by complained of the noise of the big powered cycles, with open exhausts, thundering round the arena, the result being that the fine track which cost £7OOO will have to be shut up, for sprint racing will not draw a payable gate in Germany. * * * * Last year the Dunlop Rubber Co. substituted bronze and enamel time medallions in place of the usual certificate previously given to riders that covered the Dunlop Road Race course from Warrnambool to Melbourne within the set time limit, an innovation that proved most popular with the contestants, albeit an expensive one for the Dunlop Co., for out of the 206 starters, 149 medals were won and presented to the successful riders. This year medallions will again be presented, the same design being used, with a different coloured ring of metal. The big Australasian Road Race will be held on Saturday, September 28, the League of Victorian Wheelmen having granted that date.

The cycling novice who is desirous of taking up the sport of cycle racing and wants to be a success at the game, should note that the two most essential qualifications of a first-class crack are intelligence and will-power, and, therefore, novices would do well to cultivate these early. Beginners are very apt to gear too high, and the result is that they never acquire that style which is one of the secrets of success so far as short distance work is concerned. Zimmerman, who was an ideal sprinter, and the fastest pedaller the world ever saw, attributed his successes to riding a small gear, but nowadays novices commence with gears that champions of the past left off with, and despite the advantages gained by the use of wood rims and light tyres, they cannot in any way approach the times of the old flyers. Spirits and drugs of all kinds should be carefully avoided. The embryo crack should live a regular life, and not expect to become a champion in one season, and not be discouraged if prizes do not come his way at first, as perhaps a little change in position or alteration of work is all that is required. * * * * Particulars of an interesting fuel test are to hand from New York, the object of the trial being to determine the relative propelling power of petrol, kerosene and alcohol for motor car use. Three identical cars, with practically the same load up, were utilised for the test, held over a distance of 249 miles, between New York and Boston, heavy snow laying over the greater portion of the route. The actual running of the three cars was satisfactory, the average speed being 15% miles an hour; whilst no adjustments were made, the same pattern carburetter being used on each car, although the density of the three fuels differed materially. The number of miles driven on the gallon were as follows: —Petrol 10 1/10, kerosene 7 4-10, alcohol 8 13/100, the heavy nature of the road keeping the figures considerably lower than they would have been. The cost per mile was in favour of kerosene, with petrol a close second. Alcohol cost three times as much as the kerosene.

The scheme proposed by the Dunlop Rubber Co. for organising the

Brisbane-Adelaide Motor Contest for adoption by the Automobile clubs and subscribers to the fund, for carrying out the proposed test, is roughly as follows: —“The automobile and allied trades subscribe from £6OO to £7OO. The Brisbane-Ade-laide course to be motored over at an early date, and after inspection of the route, alternative scheme of organisation and conditions of test to be laid before the subscribers by the Dunlop Co. Suggested lines of contest to be then submitted to the Automobile Clubs of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, and the recommendation of each club to be finally discussed by a sporting executive committee composed of three club representatives and two subscribers or trade delegates, and a definite scheme of organisation, and the details of test decided upon. The arrangements for the test through each of the States is to be handled by its respective Automobile Club, the expenses for the same to be. drawn from the subscribers’ fund, which will be placed to the credit of the executive committee. The Dunlop Co. will partly bear the cost of the inspection of the route in addition to their donation of £lOO to the fund, and as soon as the trial trip is completed and data obtained for organising the test, will then hand the whole matter over to the clubs and subscribers, and take no further responsibility, except as a subscriber, as regards the test. A sum of £4OO has already been promised by the Automobile trade, and as a considerable number of Sydney and Adelaide subscribers have to yet come in, it is anticipated that sufficient funds to warrant carrying out the test in a thorough manner will be forthcoming by the end of the week. It is proposed to utilise any surplus funds towards lessening the. cost of competing to entrants.