1932-03-12 — Page 9

MOTORING

SUPPLEMENT

OF

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH

SATURDAY 12th MARCH. 1932.

Being The Officiat Organ of

THE HONGKONG AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION.

ロコウ ハ

SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL ON RECORDS.

Slr Malcolm Campbell nt Daytona, in Bluebird I, with which he set a new world's motor land speed record.

The following article was writ - | Improved his previous records and | Many people have asked me why ten by Sir Malcolm Campbell, for etablished the following:

Flying Mile, 253.968 m.ph, First run, 267.469 Roturn run, 241,773-

ani daing this, since my ear still holds the world's recarit, I will tell you.

First of all, I do not believe in resting on one's laurels. That

The Daily Mail, shortly before he set out for the United States with the "Blue Bird" where he created new world's records for speed. In the last paragraph of his interest-

At that time, the famous Aus-way lies stagnation, and neither ing review, Sir Malcolm stated

« nation nor individuals that his ambition was to travel tralian motorist. "Wizard Smith" afford to stand still in these days at the rate of five miles a minute, Litempted to break Sir Malcolm's of strenuous ilving. although the tremendous speed[ (existing records, but he failed to did not quite reach this figure, he

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achieve the distinction, although he broke the ten-miles speed eveurd, reaching 178 m.p.h.

CAN

that attempts on the records which For some time I have known are now held by my car Blue Bird were likely to be made, and we have accordingly been quietly preparing Blue Bird in case it should be necessary to defend her

conie

"Wizard" Smith was driving the "F. IL Stewart Enterprise," a Par specially built for the at- title. templ and with the additional I always look upon any record object of attacking Sir Malcolm as an achievement that can be Campbell's 245 miles an hour for easily improved upon by the next the measure mile.

man, provided, of course, he has the right car and suitable condi-

My Rival's Chance.

:

remember once #pending

away on first and second gears, great care h to be exercised, months on preparing a car for n Violent application of the thrut- tle is not to be recommended, so that the distances I have men- tioned are conservative estimates.

Now Is The Time.

"Wizard" Smith originally con templated making his first at tempt Inst November, but owing to delay in putting the finishing touches to his ear it was post- poned till December, and then again till last month. Actually the first trials took place 10 days

ago.

Now the bench at Daytona is at ita buat during February. In March and April the chance of the course being gond enough becomes progressively re- mote. I suddenly realised a weak or two ago that if I did not go out to Florida pretty' noon it would mean that I should have to wait for another year to make a new attempt.

"Well, why go until your re- cord in benten?" in what many people have asked me.

is ready, and it seems all wrong I feel this way about It: Mý car

to keep her standing by for 12 | months or more, when a new re ¡cord would be of a certain amount

and to the prestige, of benefit to our motor industry of British engineering

generally. It

149 for these two reasons, and the fact that I feel sure my old car is capable of improving on her present record, that I decided to go out again immediately.

Power Trebled.

י

| certain race. Then connecting- rod bolt broke and smashed up the entire engine when victory Was in sight. Now that ball might have insted until the end of the race.

Good weather conditions miest nine-tenths of the battle. Who can tell to-day what the surface of the beach at Daytona is likely to be in 4 month's time, or from what direction or at what velocity the wind will blow. It may be necessary to wait a month or more before I enn make the attempt, and then other konditions may

Bot be right.

· Expensive Waiting. The great problem la expense. The longer one in there the greater the expenditure. Again, waiting over a long period for weather lo improve is inclined to get on a driver's nerves when he realises how expensive is delay, and he is inclined to chance it if the bench improves even slightly, although he knows that discretion says "No."

Ideal conditions mean a per- fectly smooth and even bench. The slightest unevenness may

sond

We began building Blue Bird in 1924, but she was not completed until the latter part of 1926. She Ju his first run at Kalaiations.

was originally designed to reach according to a special report from

a maximum speed of only three Wellington, the "Wizard" accom-

miles a minute, orginally designed pilahed the ten-mile burst in under

(tp reach a maximum speed of only It has seemed quite feasible to four minutes giving, an approxime that the "next man in the three miles a minte, or 180 milen mate speed of 150 miles an hour. case

would be "Wizard" Smith, Per hour, but she has already covered the mile at a fraction over His second run he completed in Australia's crack racing motorist, 216 m.ph. That is wonderful mich beiter time, the official time

who has taken an Australian-

testimony, surely, to the being 3 minutes 18,868 seconds, bulit cur to Ninety Mile Beach, superiority of British workman-

the car hurtling through New Zealand, for the purpose of ship, and a striking example of epialling approximately 178 miles attempts on my record and others. the lasting quantities of British

Compared with this machine, material. The two runs taken together Blue Bird is now old. My rival's

remodelled give Smith a speed for the recordar a built on the very latest

lines

from time to time, but the original (of 164,684 miles an hour.

and is equipped with B Napler-Lion supercharged motor chasala frame is still retained, as which was lent by our Air Minis-re the front axle, brakes, steer- Csential tralian Government for this purparts.

and many other try at the request of the Aus-ing.

an hour.

£42,000 Car.

pose. The motor in identical with the one which I am using.

is of para- A perfect course

The car has been

Napier engines have always been employed. The one Arst installed gave approximately 550-

1,550-1.p. Not many would stand having their power increased by nearly 200 per cent.. but Blue Bird has.

cars

The record was created in a car which cost over over £42,000 to build. and which resembles. many features, the late Sir Henry Segrave's Golden Arrow which did a mile at over 203 miles an mount importance now that speeds.p. and the one now fitted close hour at Daytime a few years ago,are so high. I am told that the New Zealand course in dend By the time these lines are in straight for more than 18 miles print I shall be on my way to Florida to make another attempt and that the sand over that dis on the world's land speed record.

Now, do I feel confident of suc- tance in as hard as a board.

To obtain the maximum possible cess? I am never brimming over speed from one of these racing with self-assurance or confidence.

THE MODERN

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ARIEL

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The £42,000 car in which "Wizard" Smith broke the world's land

spoed record for ten miles.

space

for 50 fact or more.

When I was making my attempts 1929, our course was on the record in South Africa in far from ideni.

On one occasion the car hit a bump and covered 41 feet before touching earth again. Had I not been strapped in I should certainly have been thrown out at a speed of 215 m.p.h..

A course otherwise perfect may be completely poilt by one ridge or hummock. These trials have to be accomplished without delay, owing to the incoming tide, so there is no time to cemedy matters of that sort

The wind is an Important item. A strong wind blowing across one's track present a great dan- ger, as it may take charge of the car when she is travelling at a really high speed, and blow her right off the course. The higher the speed, the greater does this menace become.

Visibility also is very important. Last year at Daytona, owing to the mist, I could see very little farther than 300 yards. As we were travelling at the rate of more than 120 yards per second, this mennt that I had less than three seconda' vlaibility in front of me. Not very much when decisions have to be made in a second or even lessi

The course must be free of shells and stones, as well as of soft patches of sand. A shell can quite easily cut one of those This special tyres to ribbons. occurred to Blue Bird at Pondine in 1927, hut fortunately the car was travelliar at only about 176 miles an hour at the time.

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monsters a long run before reach-I think that is the wrong attitude Ing the measured mile is essential, to adopt. I fool that the old car The following calculations which, bas it in her to do considerably apply to my car will give some better than what she already idou how important this is.

nchieved. But whether she is successful or not must depend to Blue Bird is capable of ae- a large extent on luck with the celerating from a standstill to a weather and the condition of the car, and if I get, as the Americans did 206.96. In 1929 she failed to 246.786 m.p.b.. which involved At Daytonain February 1928 she she set up the latest figures of speed of 200 miles per hour in bench. Luck or call it anything say, "all the breaks," then I feel exceed the record for the mile covoring the mile in and direction approximately a mile and a half,

I have every confidence in my

but to increase that speed to 250/las you like-must be with, the aure Blue Bird wili annex another established by that great sports- | at 246.575.

m.ph. a further distance of nearly two miles in required, making

car as well.

record.

Luck Plays a Part,

We have done everything we

it for the fray. But there are

8 miles in all. From 250 to 275 m.ph. another two miles is neces-over to make Blue Bird

ENCY.

It will be soon, therefore, that so many things that cannot be

it is essential to have plenty of foreseen or guarded against that space to obtain its best perfor the element of luck must come mance. Moreover, when getting into the picture,

Bine Bird's Career.

This will make my tenth at tempt altogether on the world's land speed record, and the fifth with mv present car.

· Blue Bird_gained her first dis- tinction at Pandine in February 1927, with a speed of 174.8 m.p.h.

man, the late Sir Henry Segrave,

My ambition is to travel at the but Blue Bird annexed the 5 mile rate of 8 ralles a minuts, or 300 and the 5 kilometre records at a miles per hour; but I'm afraid spend of 216.4 and 311.8 in. April that it will be impossibleprach. of that year, under conditions this speed: N PROFSTRALE VARE which, to say the least, were far

building anothers. may necessitate from ideal.

machine, but I do not expecti modelling the car, and last year renched that goal..

The year 1980 was spent in re-shall rest content until I havə