Part Two of Zack Stiling’s look back at this week in April 1953 through the eyes of The Autocar magazine – this time focusing on motorsport.
Reading the motorsport news in Autocar would have revealed the results of the April meeting at Castle Combe, the first one of the year for the Wiltshire circuit. The meet on East Saturday, April 4, catered for sports cars and formula 3 cars. The sometimes dramatic formula 3 races were run by a broad range of Coopers and Kiefts, with more unusual entrants including two Martin Specials (as built by Ray Martin specially for the 1953 season) and J. J. Smith’s Kent-Smith.
The up-to-1,200 c.c. sports car race saw four cars retire in a crash on the first lap, thankfully without any injuries. First place went to Maurice’s Cooper-Riley, second to Tapp’s Buckler and third to J. N. Dobb’ J.N.D. The big scorers in the up-to-1½-litre race were Cliff Davis’ Cooper-M.G. in first and Beauman’s ex-Hawthorn Riley in second. Beauman raced again with a Tojeiro-Bristol in the 3,000 c.c. race but lost out to Mitchell’s Frazer-Nash, though he finished ahead of Currie’s Frazer-Nash. Mitchell’s Frazer-Nash appeared again in the unlimited-capacity race but was defeated by Oscar Moore’s H.W.M.-Jaguar.
The big event was the Goodwood Easter Monday Meeting for sports cars and racing cars, which ran well despite terrible cold and afternoon rain, albeit with scattered spring sunshine. Notable entrants included the Connaught of Roy Salvadori, which was employing an American Hilborn-Travers fuel injection system, as had been used by several cars in the 1952 Indianapolis, instead of carburettors, and the Cooper-Alta of Stirling Moss. After twelve, weeks, Ray Martin and Alf Francis only finished the car at 7 a.m. on the morning of the event, with Moss driving the car unpainted. Sadly, he had no success as a damaged carburettor caused misfiring.
The first sports-car handicap was fought by the likes of Healey Silverstones, Jaguar XK120s and C-types, Aston Martin DB2s and cars of that ilk, but A. P. O. Rogers was going hell-for-leather in his 2½-litre Riley saloon and he was only narrowly defeated by the old Darracq of J. Goodhew. A couple of Anglo-American specials entered the fray – a Cadillac-Allard and Chrysler-Allard.
In the racing-car field, the Lavant Cup ran for formula 2 cars and the Earl of March Trophy for formula 3 cars, while the Chichester Cup and Glover Trophy were formule libre races. Again, Coopers and Kiefts were most prominent, but there were to be seen two B.R.M.s driven by Ken Wharton and Reg Parnell and more obscure constructors such as Alvis, Staride and McCandless. Baron de Graffenried won the Lavant race in his 1953 Syracuse G.P.-winning Maserati, having run behind Salvadori’s Connaught until his throttle linkage became detached. Ron Flockhart succeeded in winning a racing-car handicap at the wheel of his pre-war supercharged two-litre E.R.A., formerly campaigned by Raymond Mays. The overly powerful B.R.M.s came unstuck when it rained during the Chichester Cup, leaving the path clear for de Graffenried to win, but Wharton was victorious in the Glover Trophy. Many eyes had been on Piero Taruffi in the 4½-litre Thin Wall Special Ferrari, who finished second in the Glover. Also of note was Baird’s four-cylinder Ferrari Saipa Modena.
On a grass-roots level, it is difficult not to feel some sadness when considering the 33rd Land’s End Trial and the 166 cars and 260 motorcycles and three-wheelers, along with the hundreds of spectators who packed the hill-climb sections. Is it not a tragedy that such a wholesome form of motorsport once regarded as warranting national attention is now hardly practiced at all, while the less-specialist motoring press lavishes all its attention on the corporate hubris of Formula 1?
Three starting points were used for the trial, at Virginia Water, Launceston and Kenilworth, the competitors setting of late on Friday night to convene at Taunton for breakfast. From there, all the cars would head across the hills of Somerset, North Devon and Cornwall to finish at the Land’s End Hotel on Saturday night. That 34 cars retired was not too bad at all considering the weather they had to contend with. Heavy snow fell in the night, the event’s whole duration was punctuated by vicious sleet and good measure of rain and fog. The Launceston starters experienced a lot of ice on the road, but as the cars ran through Devon they were rewarded with spots of warm sunshine, though their progress was opposed by a strong south-westerly wind.
A diverse assembly had formed at the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Virginia Water, comprising everything from the most spartan trials specials, through vintage models and up to modern machinery, many drivers appearing ‘almost spherical’ on account of the layers they judged it appropriate to wear. The 83 starters set off at one-minute intervals starting at 12.21 a.m. The run to Deller’s café in Taunton, via a time check at Willoughby Hedge near Amesbury, passed without incident despite drivers being severely impeded by heavy fog and sleet.
From Taunton, the cars followed country lanes to the various hill-climbs en route to Land’s End, starting with Stoney Street, progressing to Station Lane in Lynton, then on Beggar’s Roost, Darracott, a lunch stop in Bude and more hills at Crackington, New Mill, the densely wooded Hustyn, and the formidable Bluehills before finishing at Land’s End.
This was a form of motorsport for the true enthusiast and no one was discriminated against, however great or meagre their personal means. Among the newer cars was everything from a basic Ford Prefect to an expensive Jaguar XK120, with everything in between including a Riley 1½-litre saloon and the unconventional but highly competent Renault 4CV. Drivers of vintage cars were not shy either, with the likes of pre-war Riley specials and a Lagonda Two-Litre getting stuck in. The presence of a vintage Bayliss-Thomas would be a surprise today, since the marque is virtually completely forgotten, but we might still expect to see a handful of Trojans participating in trials. Though notorious for sloth, the Trojan is also noted as a staunch and steady climber of steep gradients.
Naturally, the smaller, lighter cars fared best, like Dellows, Morgans and some of the supercharged pre-war M.G.s. The Allards tended to do well – one showed off by pulling away in second gear on a steep section of Station Lane – but one ploughed into a stone wall at New Mill and wrecked a front wing. The Jaguar XK120 was a particularly questionable choice of trials car, and we can imagine how unhappy it was about the battering its elegant bodywork was forced to endure. Other cars to participate in the 1953 trial included a Ford Special, Ford Ten tourer, MG TA, MG TC, 2½-litre Riley, three-litre Talbot, 1½-litre Lea-Francis, sports Singer, ageing Alvis and BMW 328.
More than just a test of skill and endurance for the serious enthusiast, an event like the Land’s End Trial also provided opportunities for relaxation and the blissful enjoyment of the English countryside. Motoring along the country lanes of Devon and Cornwall, drivers are exposed to the most spectacular scenery. On the coast road, drivers must go gently, in part for reasons of safety, but also to take in the views across the sea and cliffs stained red with tin ore. At this time of year, the valley at Millook is resplendent with its primroses and violets. Reaching Bluehills at dusk, however, creates quite a different impression. The idyllic valley is no more, but the Romantic wilderness and crumbling granite of the abandoned tin mines is no less magnificent in its own way, and a sense of awe must be felt as one scrambles past.
Those were the days…
