The Accidents at Brooklands (August 3).

Progress, Volume IV, Issue 1, 2 November 1908, Page 25

The Accidents at Brooklands (August 3).

The following account (from the "Auto-Cai"; of these disasters will serve to account for the serious consideration now being given by practical motorists to the question of preventing over-speed. The i ace for the O'Goimau Tiophy was maired towards the finish by two bad accidents which happened to competing cms Fast the Grand Pnx Napier driver, Reynolds, went clean oft the track fortunately without doing sezious damage to the thnei or Ins mccl anic, who weie lucky to get off so lightly. At the time of the accident, which is ascribed to a deflated tyie, this Grand Pnx Napier was a probable winnci of the Trophy, as it had been dnven ueJl within its known maximum speed, the idea being to save the tyres as much as possible. The ntnnmg of ttie white Mei cedes entered by Mr. Burford was a rex elation to the crowd It Core away smoothly from the start, appeared to increase its speed at an exceptionally high rate, and Avas soot doing the circuits at the rate of over one hundred miles per hour The critics prophesied that such a speed could not be maintained, but they weie wrong, as sixteen laps out of the thirty-six had been completed before the car had to pull up for a punctured tyre At this junctuie it was leading by almost two laps fiom the ultimate winner This stop for tyres, however, gave the Giand Prix Napier its opportunity, and, going along at a decent pace, it quickly gained a lap lead At this point the- 60 h p Napier, driven by Newton, was gaming, and ultimately wiped out Lane's lead. The Mercedes was again got moving, gaining speed at every yard Lane began to draw away from Newton, but after another lap the engine misfired badly down the railway straight, and ultimately the car was pulled up at the fork. In the meantime, Hutton had been going at a good high average speed, although several laps behind, and just after he had passed the Mercedes, Lane got his car going again, and began to pile on the pace Passing

under the members' bridge, he was rapidly gainDig on Hntton, and ultimately whizzed past high up on the bank, about two hundred yards past the members' budge Immediately he got past, the car appeared to be steered dead to the inner poition oi the track, and at this moment it was appaient that it was out of hand. Desciibnig a wild turn, it appeared to shoot backwards into the air. The mechanic and drivei vreie thrown forward into the air clear of the car, whilst the engine and the hamework of the car paited company, going in different directions before coming to rest. When this happened the car must have been ti rivalling at almost 115 miles an hour. It was at once leahscd that a serious accident had happened, and the ambulance officials rushed to the spot by the budge under which the llivei Wey luns. Lane was bi ought in on a stretcher with a damaged eye, and severely shaken, but he was reported to be quite conscious. The mechanic, Burke, had not been so foitunate. He had evidently been killed instantaneously. This ■s<id ending to what up to that point had been a vny fine iac« natiirally upset the spectators. The stoudids of the Club immediately declared the lace oft between Mi. Edge's Grand Prix car and yh Jarrott's nominee on the Mois, although the cais were weighed and ready to take the track From our peisonal observation, it would appeal that Lane was endeavouring to emulate the feat of Nazzaro m going right up to the top of the banking and making a bee line down to the straight, thus taking advantage of the bank to give a tremendous spuit down the lailway level stiaight The precise cause oi the accident is unknown, although it maj, piesumably, be clue to failure of the steer ing gear, 01 to a violent skid which the driver was unable to coirect. It was stated tlia'j the tyres weie quite intact at the finish. Beth this car and the Napier caught fire after falling, and burned for some tune, emitting volumes of smoke <md flame.