SPEED ON LAND

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 48, 27 January 1932, Page 2

SPEED ON LAND

TEN-MILE RECORD BROKEN.

MR “WIZARD” SMITH’S SUCCESS.

Per Press Association. NINETY-MILE BEACH, Jan.. 26. Mr Norman “Wizard” Smith this afternoon broke 'the ten mile record held by Marchand, the French driver, at 137.21 miles per hour, with an average speed or 164.084 miles per hour. He covered the southern dash in three minutes 89.402 seconds, or 164.084 miles per hour. . It was unofficially announced earlier that Mr Smith had broken the record, but. the official result was not known until about four hours after the event. It appears that after Mr Smith sets the timing apparatus working it cannot be stopped until he has finished his second dash. This is necessary in order to ascertain that he does not overstep the hour limit laid down by the International Body. Unfortunately, no intimation of the position was given until' about an hour and ahalf after the event and a number of people who waited on hoping to near the time were disappointed. , V Mr Smith this morning seemed determined to do something and 'preparations were early in hand getting the course flagged. As the beach was bad at the northern end the postal officials laid an extra mile of cable at the souihern end so that the ten-mile course could be moved further down. The first run was made from the north, Mr Smith taking about four miles to get up speed. Just after a quarter past five the powerful Napier-Lion engine was started and, wriggling into the seat, the “Wizard” set- out to break the record. The beach was wet over most of' the course, and the visibility was not too good. He approached the course at between 80 and 90 miles per hour and speeded up on entering the timed stretch. . Tearing through the wet sand the Enterprise sent up showers of spray, which coated the windscreen and at times caused him to slow down Near the oentre of the course, however, the engine was running beautifully and reached 200 miles per hour, holding that speed for some distance. The last stretch of the course was very wet and Mr Smith decelerated, causing the engine to splutter and miss. He slowed down'to 100 miles passing the final track switch and then gradually eased up and ran slowly to the dump four miles further on. The racing tyres were inspected by an expert and no wear was found on the front pair. The back two showed signs of cuts by toheroa shells. The wheels were then changed. The radiator did not heat above normal over the run and it was not found .necessary to use more water over the whole journey. , , , Getting the car ready for the return dash did not take more than 40 minutes, and Mr Smith set out once more. The engine was spluttering badly and. flames were bursting from the exhausts. , .. , , Passing the first track switch at about 100 miles per hour the Enterprise soon disappeared into the haze. The roar of the engine drowned the growl of the waves and the splutter became pronounced as the sound died “1 am very satisfied with the car’s performance/’ said Mr Smith on returning. “I am confident of the lamd speed record, although I will not try anything with the beach in such a C °The driver was covered in sand from head to foot and was wet through, while the Enterprise was coated witn Sll The efficiency of the gearless transmission and the Raysona ignition pleased the driver immensely and he stated that they in a small measure accounted for the success of the test.

CONDITION OF BEACH

According to a broadcast announcement from Ninety Mile Beach last evening, Mr Smith’s £nal commenced at 6.35 p.m. and was finished by 6.15 p.m. The course waß from the north end of the beach to the south, and against the wind. ...... , Talking to Mr Smith after the attempt, the announcer was informed that ilr Smith had no doubt about having broken the record by a big margin. The surface of the beach was good, the only trouble being that it was heavy and wet. For about seven miles of the ten-mile course -the water lay a quarter of an men deep on the track, making it hard to get up any speed. Mr Smith started at a point 18 miles up the beach, the ten-mile test stretch being in the centre. When he entered the timed area the speed registred was 90 m.p.h., which he increased to 20U m.p.h. when half the distance had been covered. At this, sp«ed, however, he "was showered with water and sand, which covered the .windscreen and the driver's gogles, with the resuit that he had to take his foot oft the accelerator. .He went out of the ten-mile stretch doing 90 m.p.h. Mr Smith said thathe was quite confident that the car would have averaged 200 m.p.h. under better conditions. ' On the way back over the > course there was no record taken of the speed, but to casual observers the car seemed to lie travelling at least one and three-quarter times as fast as during the special attempt. When the car reached the garage the windscreen was black with sand, as also was Mr Smith’s overalls, which had been white when he entered the car. Ho was soaked to the skin. The officials worked splendidly, and the flagmen had their flags out in splendid line. These, placed 30 yards apart looked like one white line to the driver as he speeded past. Mr Smith says that he was very pleased with the way the officials carried out their jobs. For the ten-mile test Mr Smith was allowed an hour in which to cover the run each way, this including turning, changing tyres, .oil,- and making pecessary adjustments. His actual time was 60 minutes. The attempt on the five-mile and one-mile records will not be undertaken until the beach is much better. With the water as it is at present, the great speed necessary could not be obtained. On January 11 of this year, at Ninety Mile Beach, Mr Smith gave the Fred H. Stewart Enterprise her first real test. Shod with road tyres the power machine hurtled over four miles, then attaining a maximum spsed of 125 miles per hour.

FRENCH DRIVER’S RECORD.

The international 10-mile speed record has stood to the credit of Marchand, a French driver, who has at various times held records up to 1000 miles achieved on the Montlhery track near Paris. Marchand’s record for the 10 miles was 137.21 miles an hour. Last year Mr Smith visited the Ninety Mile Beach with a specially built car, the Anzac, and he was timed by several' top-watches at 166.4 miles an hour for 10 miles. This could not be recognised as an international record as the rules for world recognition demand timing with electric apparatus, wlrich gives accuracy to several decimal points. Mr “Wizard” Smith is just over 40

years of age, and the urge for speed driving seized him 22 years ago. He was born near Sydney. At 17 years of age he acted as driver of a twocylinder car for a doctor. Things mechanical were almost an ' obsession with him, and when he was 18 years of age he joined a Sydney motor firm. He served with the Australian Forces during the war, and on his return engaged in driving in reliability trials and speed dashes between the cities. Mr Smith is recognised as the holder of over 50 motor speed records in Australia and New Zealand. Many of these are road record?, and Air Smith has been conspicuous as a competitor for the Sydney-AlelbQ.vme, and Sydney-Brisbane records. In 1928 he covered 1701 miles in 24 hours on the dry bed of Lake Perkollili, West Australia. His greatest road performance was the Australian trans-contin-ental record of 3811 miles in six days. His car, the Enterprise, cost about £15,000, and the engine supplied for it by the British Air Alimstry., is credited with developing 1700 horsepower. The high speed tyre* for the car cost £125 each. At the Ninety Mile Beach a large honeycomb radiator was fitted at Mr Smith’s request. The original design presented a better streamline, and prior to the alteration the Enterprise had actually 17 per cent, less frontal area than the speed car in which the late Sir Henry Segrave attained 231 miles an hour for the’flying mile.

The present holder of the land'bpeed record is the Englishman, Sir Malcolm Campbell, who attained a speed of 245.7- miles per hour in the Bluebird. Sir Malcolm Campbell increased the mileage by beating the late Sir Henry Segrave’s record of 231.36 miles per hour made on the Daytona Beach by the Golden Arrow. .