COMMENT News and views from the B.M.C. Competitions Department by MARCUS CHAMBERS

T HE end of last month's tale brought us to the results of the Sestriere Rally,

in which Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom won their third consecutive Coupe des Dames. After this the girls were able to relax for nearly a month, the Lyon/Charbonnikres having been postponed until 20 March. Once again their main opponent was Annie Soisbault with a Triumph TR3, but this time Pat and Ann were using the A40 instead of the Riley One-Point-Five.

Since I was on my way to Florida at the time the girls had to make do without my help. Very nicely they managed it, too, finishing two places ahead of Annie Soisbault to collect their fourth Ladies' Cup in a row.

A week later they were in Ireland with a Minor 1000Ñth very same car in which they had won the ladies' prize and finished fourth overall in the 1958 R.A.C. Rally. Carrying No. 1, they thus had the honour of starting the 1000-mile Circuit of Ireland

Rally, the oldest event of its type in Britain, which is now included in the International Calendar. On the Sunday the tortuous and rather frightening Tim Healy Pass was traversed in a downwards direction as a timed section, and this Pat covered in a time that can only be described as indecent. She also made best time of the small saloon class next day in the timed ascent of the Corkscrew Hill in the west of Ireland. She and Ann finished up with second place in their class to a locally driven A35 and their fifth consecutive Ladies' Cup! Three Austin-Healey Sprites, driven by Robin McKinney, John McClean and Crawford Little, also did well to win the open-car team award.

But let us return to the other side of the Atlantic, where I was concerning myself with America's contribution to the World Sports Car Championship series - the Sebring 12-Hour Grand Prix of Endurance.

Sebring has got everything. What an

Marcus Chambers and Nancy Mitchell sort out a tricky point i n the regulations

before the start of a Continental rally

incredible mixture this event produces! This year we had the weather of the Le Mans 24-Hour Race, a touch of British Vintage Club event with some beautifully kept veterans on parade, something of the showmanship of the Indianapolis 500 with its band led by a bevy of gorgeous drum majorettes, an entry list worthy of an erstwhile Mille Miglia, and a race the same length as the Rheims 12 Hours.

One thing is unique-the enthusiasm of the spectators, the officials, and the drivers. Never have I felt under such an obligation to do the right thing by the officials; their charm is compelling, and one's pit marshals immediately identify themselves with the fortunes of the cars they are supervising. Alas, Florida-the 'Sunshine State'-let the side down. One practice period was

The scene is Sebring, Florida, and the time is just after the flag has dropped for the start of the 12-hour Grand Prix of Endurance. The drivers have sprinted across the track in the Le Mans type start, and leaping into their Sprites are seen Fred Hayes, Phi1 Stiles, and Ed Leavens; these three cars won their class and the team prize

Five in a row: Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom have now won the Ladies' Award in five consecutive major rallies. Their latest three successes were in the Sestriere Rally with a Riley One-Point-Five (at top Pat meets racing driver Nino Farina at Sestriere), the Lyon/Charbonni&res (centre, with an Austin A40), and the Circuit of Ireland (above, with a Morris Minor)

completely wasnea out, and it rained with tropical intensity for the best part of five days.

The ingredients of the B.M.C. teams were probably unique in the annals of Anglo- American relationships. Hambro Auto- motive Products of New York and B.M.C. Canada had put their heads together and entered a team of three 'MGA' Twin Cams and three Austin-Healey Sprites. The 14 amateur drivers were all either Canadian or American, and there were some 15 Canadian mechanics. John Thornley, Director and General Manager of the M.G. Car Company, came to supervise the whole outfit, whilst my job was to co-ordinate the activities of the two teams. In this I was ably assisted by Peter Millard, Service Manager of B.M.C. Ontario, who had under him Geoffrey Healey for the Sprite team and Duggie Watts for the M.G. team. John Thornley was assisted by Frank Harrison, Service Manager of Hambro.

Elsewhere in this issue another cor- respondent comments on the smooth way in which this organization did all that had to be done. Such a heterogeneous mixture could have become very disjointed indeed, but, in fact, it ran better than some more experienced outfits, and I still marvel at its efficiency and the complete absence of friction.

We had some problems, of course. Not the least of these was the pressure refuelling device that Gus Ehrman and Ha1 Wallace were working on. This gadget, which resembled some sort of space pressurization chamber, was, alas, still in the prototype stage. To say I was alarmed by the amount of fuel that found its way onto the pit floor is an understatement. At last I had to draw the line: either the leaks stopped, or the device must be banished.

Hard work prevailed and, thanks to Ha1 and Gus, it produced the fuel with little or no trouble on race day. The gadget certainly had its attractions, for it could fill a tank at the rate of one gallon per second. Next time it will be considered essential . . . and with production modifications, perhaps it will be less frightening than the prototype.

The day of the race dawned fine, and everyone was more optimistic. We were safely installed in our pits by 8.30 a.m., the cars having been drained, refilled with the regulation AMOCO fuel, and sealed.

The Sprite entered by Sir Sidney Oakes was still on the reserve list, so the drivers- after coming all the way from Nassau-had to sit by and watch. We had a visit from the American and Canadian 'top brassy-Tony Haigh, Peter Miller, Leston Suffield, Tony Birt, Babe Learoyd, and many others whose names I did not know.

The first drivers were standing by, chewing their finger-nails. Stan Nicholls, the chief timekeeper, had his watches ready.

At 10.0 a.m. the race started, and all our cars got away without incident. These were as follows:

Sprite No. 53 : Ed Leavens/Harold Kunz. Sprite No. 54: Phi1 StilesIHugh Suther-

land. Sprite No. 55 : Fred HayesIJohn Christyl

John Colgate Jun. Twin Cam No. 28: Ray SaidelIGus

Ehrrnan. Twin Cam No. 29: John DaltonIJim

Parkinson. Twin Cam No. 30: Ray PickeringIJack

Flahertylsherman Decker.

The above was the order of driving. The M.G.s were in stock condition, but the Sprites had a few extras to make sure they were fast enough to please the race organi- zers.

As the race story has been told very adequately by other journals, I don't intend to tell it all over again, but merely to fill in a few details concerning the adventures and fortunes of our own cars. The first concerns Ed Leavens, who found some of the conical rubber markers obstructing the course and achieved the near-impossible by arriving at the pits with two of them jammed in the left rear wheel arch. The wheel had to be removed to get them clear, but no damage was done. Another of the Sprite drivers, John Christy, had an incident when the

Flying down to Florida. Relaxing at 20,000 ft. with the 'funnies' is Duggie Watts, of the 6 .M.C Competitions Department, who was chief

mechanic to the 'MGA' team at Sebring

throttle spring broke and he did some cross- country motoring, damaging the exhaust. Some time was lost in repairing this.

For the remainder of the 12 hours stops were made according to plan and all the Sprites finished with creditable average speeds. No. 53 covered 141 laps at 61-65 m.p.h., No. 54 covered 148 at 64-16 m.p.h., and No. 55 covered 140 laps at 60-77 m.p.h.

This gave them the first three places in the 750 to 1000 C.C. class. They also won the manufacturers' team prize-an award that seems to be shrouded in mystery, since the nominated teams were not shown in the programme before the start of the race.

The Twin Cams started well and were purposely held back to see how the race would develop. Unfortunately, heavy rain coincided with orders to increase speed, so that we did not get the full benefit of our plans. Rain undoubtedly reduced the aver- age speed of these faster cars by about 5 m.p.h., as the course became very slippery. Car No. 28 had a good run, apart from a minor incident with a straw bale which caused no damage. Car No. 29 had the misfortune to develop a fault in the starter motor after one hour, which cost about an hour's running, but apart from this had a reasonable run on much the same lines as their team-mates. These two gained second and third places in the 1300 to 1600 C.C.

category. After 10 hours of racing Car No. 30 ran

into mechanical trouble, but its drivers managed to keep it going to cross the finishing-line just after the chequered flag. Jack Flaherty and Sherman Decker thus did a good job in the best tradition of long-distance racing. The race over, we all returned to our motels, wet but happy, for a much-needed 'Scotch on the Rocks'.

The Editor welcomes readers' letters suitable for publication in these columns, but does not necessarily agree with opinions expressed in them

O U R FIRST ISSUE

I VERY much doubt if anyone else read through your fine first issue of SAFETY FAST with greater eagerness and

interest than myself. Having been so closely connected with its predecessor, The Sports Car, I was more than delighted to find that, among others, you had chosen contributors who had figured in the first issue of that journal also, and this link cleverly bridged the gap between the two publications.

I appreciated very much your acknowledgement of Mit's efforts of long ago in connection with the Club, and feel sure members will greet the arrival of the new magazine with great enthusiasm.

Very best wishes for the long success of SAFETY FAST and my kind regards to its Editor. -

London S. W. 1 3. MARY GRIFFITHS {formerly HARRIS) . We are particularly pleased to receive this letter from the widow of 'Mit' Harris,

Editor of The Sports Car and General Secretary of the M.G. Car Club for many years. Taking up the S.E. Centre secretaryship just after the Second World War with only 76 members, Mary Hams paved the way to its present membership of over 1000.-Editor.

T HANK you for the first issue of SAFETY FAST and heartiest congratulations on this excellent magazine. I do

feel that the new magazine fills a much-needed want, and will be appreciated everywhere,

As an owner of an early M.G. (Magnette 'NA' 1935), the articles about early M.G.s and their history will be very much appreciated. I do hope that from time to time you will be able to publish photographs of the early types.

Very best wishes for great success for SAFETY FAST. Wallington, Surrey. J. V. FOSTER.

c ONGRATULATIONS to SAFETY FAST-although I am only one of many thousands of Club members and my

small message may not mean much to you, your new monthly book means a whole lot to me! May I wish you and your staff every success with this new venture?

Painswick, Glos.

c ONGRATULATIONS on an excellent magazine. I am looking forward to the next edition.

N. SYRETT Secretary, British Racing & Sports Car Club. London W.C.2

c ONGRATULATIONS on Number 1 of SAFETY FAST. This is excellent and richly deserves a wide readership.

H. J. MORGAN, General Secretary, British Automobile Racing Club. London W.I.

M AY I congratulate you on the first issue of SAFETY FAST -it certainly fills a long-felt demand. The article on

'Old Number One' was fascinating. As an enthusiastic owner of an M.G. 'TC', it occurs to me

that owners of 'T' type and other pre-'MGR models would be interested in the road tests of their models when the cars

1 Gathered around this 'M* type M.G. in the Henry Ford Museum at Detroit are members of the M.G. Car Club, Detroit Centre. Left to right they are: J. Hargreaves (Centre Chairman), 1. Gahman, D. Dohman, H. Lance, and J. Vlossak; in the driving seat is Bill Wood, who drove an 1 'M* type in the early thirties

Could it be that the Detroit M.G. is amongst these 'M' types pictured below, leaving the Dispatch Depart*

ment at Ablngdon around 1930?

in Detroit -in the Ford Museum!

my JOHN VLOSSAK Founder of the M.G. Car Club Detroit Centre

H ERE, at the very seat of the vast American automotive empire, stands

a fine tribute to motoring in the sports-car way and to the talents of the men of Abing- don. Standing in silent splendour at the Henry Ford Museum is a perky yellow 'M' type M.G., and the proud owner of this Midget was none other than Edsel Ford, Henry's own son. Edsel having been a gifted automotive designer and stylist in his own right, it is no wonder that he chose the most popular small sports car of its day, the 'M' type, as his own personal runabout. The car was purchased on 18 February 1930 through the Ford Motor Co. of London for £17 and was driven until some time in 1933, when it was donated by young Mr. Ford to the Museum.

The presence of such a particularly interesting automobile in Grosse Pointe, the fashionable Detroit suburb where Edsel lived, caused some of the red bloods to take note. I t wasn't long before three more 'M' types arrived in Detroit, imported by Wm. F. V. Neumann & Sons, a Pierce Arrow dealer. Eventually Bill Wood ac- quired one of these cars, and the ownership of the Midget, more than any other single

factor, probably determined Bill's motoring future. For he went on to become the first M.G. dealer in Detroit and a founder of the sports-car movement in this area. Bill's M.G. Car Club membership goes back to early 1947, when he began introducing the 'TC' to local enthusiasts.

All three 'M's have long since disappeared, probably under the breaker's hammer. All attempts at tracing them have proved futile -apart from a frame and running gear from one of the cars that we located, still hanging in an enthusiast's garage.

A TYPICAL 'M' TYPE

The Ford M.G. is typical of the 'M' types of its day. The body is built of an ash and plywood frame covered with fabric and sprayed in a light-yellow lacquer. The engine is the single-overhead-cam, four-cylinder unit with the larger 847 C.C. capacity (57 X 83 mm.) and three-quart stamped steel sump. The original S.U. has been replaced by an updraught Schriebler Marvel car- buretter.

Within the boat tail we found the top and bows, two spare tyres, and the standard tool complement. There is also a set of

replacement parts for the clutch, which had been blown at some time or another.

As you can see by the accompanying picture, the car has always been maintained in the best tradition and appears as a fine example of the very first M.G. Midget. In fact, the odometer reads only 27,509 miles, so this little automobile, now resting in Detroit, is probably the least-used and best-kept 'M' type in the world today. Only the radiator cap is missing, and the M.G. works staff at Abingdon are now moving heaven and earth to find a replacement.

An identification plate on the firewall reads :

M.G. Car No. 2 M-812. Engine No. 563-A.

Change Oil Every 1,500 Miles

And so we see that, although Edsel Ford was not actually an M.G. Car Club member, his possession of the 'M' type reveals his interest in the marque and the movement. Were he alive today, I am sure his sym- pathies and fond memories would surround that perky yellow M.G., resplendent in the lengthening shadows of the museum that bears his father's name.

Anglo-American goodwill was never higher than at Sebring this year

I F a motor manufacturer who goes motor- racing tells you, when asked why he

does it, that he uses his racing cars as flying test-beds for his production machines, don't you believe him! There are several good reasons why he should participate in motor-racing, but this is not one of them. The principal reasons are:

(1) That there is immense publicity if he succeeds ;

(2) That the need to get the vehicles onto the starting-grid by a specified date forces the pace of development and construction; and

(3) That the concentration of everybody -the designers and makers of all the components; the petrol, oil, tyre, and accessory manufacturers ; the builders of the vehicles; the pit crew; and the drivers-on the one par- ticular project creates a tremendous amount of goodwill, which in turn is reflected back through the person- nel of all the factories, even though these good people may not be directly associated with the racing programme. This latter is a benefit which is often lost sight of, but it is the one with which we are now concerned.

For a race like Sebring preparations must begin all of six months before the event. At the time of the 1958 Sebring race the Twin Cam was well on its way towards announcement. The ordinary push-rod 'MGA's had run successfully in the two preceding years, and for good or ill it was therefore decided that M.G. should not enter. Too late it was realized that far and away the largest number of any one marque of imported car in the car parks at Sebring was of M.G., and all these good folk had no one to shout for. Such a thing could not be allowed to happen again.

Thus it was that B.M.C. Canada and the B.M.C. Concessionaires for the U.S. requested that for the Sebring 12 Hours of 1959 a team of 'MGA' Twin Cams be entered. Meantime, of course, the Austin- Healey Sprite had appeared, and it was agreed that a team of these should run also.

Three Twin Cams off the production line at Abingdon were passed to Com- petitions Department to be prepared for the race. Three Sprites, also off the production line at Abingdon, were handed over to the Donald Healey Motor Company at War- wick for similar attention. In no time at all people in the competition departments of Dunlop, Ferodo, and Lucas, to mention but a few, were added to the considerable number already involved.

It had been decided as a point of policy that the drivers, of whom 12 would be required, plus reserves, should be amateurs and should be drawn from as widely spaced an area as possible of the U.S.A. and Canada. Mechanics, at two per car, would similarly be drawn from the workshops of B.M.C. Canada and from Hambro, New York. Team supervision, mechanics-in- charge, and a senior timekeeper would be flown out from England.

While these selections were being made the necessary accommodation was reserved in two adjacent motels some 15 miles out- side Sebring, and in due course, a week before the race, cars, drivers, mechanics and those in charge (not forgetting the wives, who were to do duty as spotters, chart-keepers and commissariat) converged on Avon Park in the Sunshine State of Florida. And it rained. How it rained!

Practice, pit practice, drivers' meetings, mechanics' meetings and all the thousand and one things that have to be done before

* This has no significance, except that it is the number of the Great Nebula in Andromeda.

Jubilant cosm~politan pit-staff -,&er the very wet SebrIng 12-hours race, when

WGA' Twin Cams took second and third places in their class

a race were carried through calmly and expeditiously. The natives were delighted with the way the cars had been prepared, and the drivers were pleased with the way they behaved. Whether the mechanics were really pleased that there was so little to do we shall never know.

Florida is built on a basis of sunshine: it is not terribly well equipped for rain, and one might have expected pre-race tensions to have gone ill among an amorphous group of Americans and Canadians, cooped up in unfamiliar surroundings and being kicked around all the while by a handful of Englishmen. But everything worked so well and so smoothly that John Thornley was heard to remark on the way out to the track on race morning that 'if we packed up now and went home the whole thing would still have been worth while'.

What happened in the race itself is told elsewhere in this issue, but it is with human values that we have here been concerned. Perhaps the third advantage of racing, as enumerated above, should be elevated in importance to first place.

Since the above was written the letter below has been received at Abingdon. I think it bears out my point without any further comment being necessary. Dear Sirs,

It was my pleasure to have been assigned to the M.G. and Austin-Healey Sprite pits as Steward.

I want to commend the entire group and especially 'Doug', your technician, on their efficient and courteous manner in carrying out their duties.

'Do& is a wonderful representative of true sportsmanship. I trust that 1 can look forward to working with your staff again next year. Yours truly,

Frank Sheffield 3020 Oxford Street, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.