Aston - Warvick Farm June 1963

VINTAGE CAR Club

of QUEENSLAND

member

Other members pages

Listed by make of car

Continued from here

In 1935 there was no race at Le Mans, owing to industrial troubles, but in 1937 the Aston Martin, which in the mean while had been in use as an ordinary road car, returned to the fray. Now it had changed hands, and had become the property of the Hon. J.M.Skeffington. It was entered in the race Jointly by Skeffington and R.C.Merton Neale, director of Speed Models Ltd, and thus lost its qualification for the Bicentennial Rudge - Whitworth Cup, in which contest it is the entrants previous qualification, and not the car's which counts.

This left the car with two objects, first to compete in the race for the longest distance - a stiff task, as it is only 1.5 litre engine capacity - and secondly to qualify for the 1938 Bicentennial cup. Both these aims were nobly fulfilled In the Grand Prix d'endurance, for the longest distance the 1.5 litre Aston Martin competing against the fast foreigners with engines more than double the size, not to mention a number of larger British cars, actually finished fifth.

It covered 1790 miles, against the winning Bugatti's 2041 miles, and was the first British car to finish. The Aston Martins average speed was 71.6 mph it wan the 1500 cc class easily, and was faster than any of the 2 litre cars which finished.

Naturally this fine feat also ensured a qualification for the next Biennial Cup, while in the annual contest on the formula basis, the car was placed third. The performance was particularly creditable for whereas in 1935 Martin and Brakenbury, both drivers of great experience, covered a slightly greater mileage, the recent race was Skeffington's first effort at the wheel, and it is no discredit to him to record that his laps were necessarily slower than the experienced Murton - Neale.

THIS STORY CONTINUES HERE

(click)