Record Motor Drive at Brooklands.

Progress, 1 October 1907, Page 435

Record Motor Drive at Brooklands.

The 24 hours' record set up by Mr. S. F. Edge at Brooklands track on Friday and Saturday, June 28th and 29th is likely to stand for some considerable time ; for it must surely be a long while before any motorist gets so ideal a day, such fine running with his car, and is able to have so splendid an organisation to look after his requirements

The great motorist was as fit as the proverbial fiddle, and at the end of 24 hours was in better form than many who had seen the whole drive through and had done nothing more strenuous. His bodily fitness for the task was never questioned, his confidence was of the surest, and his high spirits carried him to the end of as great a ride as any motorist has ever achieved. The track has not survived the test so well, and before it is ready again for racing it will require a considerable amount of money to renew the worn patches which are now prominent. During the drive, patches of wet sand were placed on the spots affected, but the dressing lasted a very short time. Edge was accompanied on his long journey by two other cars similar in make, horse-power, and cylinders, one painted red and the other white. These were driven by relays of drivers — not by one driver and mechanic, as in the case of Edge's car. The distance covered by Edge in 24 hours was 1,581 miles 1,310 yards, his average hourly speed working out at 65 miles 1.594 yards lft. The white car covered 1.538 miles 160 yards, and the red, 1,521 miles 80 yards. The previous record was 1,096 3-16 miles by Merz and Clemens who drove alternately, at Indian-

apolis, in 1905. The Americans' average speed per hour was 47 J miles. Frequent changes of tyres were necessary, but these were generally effected very rapidly, as the cars were fitted with detachable wire wheels. A few water and petrol stops had also to be made, and the red car was delayed half an hour through breaking a spring, and the same car on Saturday morning had to run for some distance on the rim of one of its wheels owing to a burst tyre. On this car, however, Newton did the best single hour score in the tenth hour, when he covered 72 miles 610 yards.