From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Race report from 'The Motor' magazine on the R.A.C. Tourist Trophy, detailing Dodson's win in an M.G. Magnette.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 90a\2\ Scan085 | |
| Date | 4th September 1934 | |
| The Motor 194 September 4, 1934. DODSON (M.G.) WINS THE Triumphant Vindication of R.A.C. Ban on Superchargers Terrific Duel Between Hall (Bentley) and Hon. Brian Lewis (Lagonda) for Second Place. Dodson Finishes Within 2 secs. of Estimated Handicap Time! Aston-Martins Win Team Prize TO the utter confounding of all pessimists who had prophesied a complete débâcle, the seventh R.A.C. Tourist Trophy Race, on the Ards Circuit last Saturday, September 1 (in which all supercharged cars were unconditionally barred), proved not only an outstanding success, but provided the 500,000 spectators with one of the finest struggles for the first three places ever seen in the British Isles. The Hon. Brian Lewis (4.4-litre Lagonda) and E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} R.{Sir Henry Royce} Hall (3.6-litre Bentley) fought neck and neck for second place behind C. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} P. Dodson's victorious M.G. Magnette for lap after lap in the closing stages of the 6½-hour race, passing and repassing all the way round the 13¼ miles Ard Circuit. For eight laps these two big cars roared round the circuit a few lengths apart, now one ahead, now the other, until on the 33rd of the 35 laps, when Dodson was 1 min. 23 secs. ahead of them both, the finest duel that has ever been seen in the T.T. came to an end—Brian Lewis was forced into his pit to replace tyres worn to the breaker strip. Little Charlie Dodson drove a magnificent race. He sat in the cockpit of the wonderful 1,287 c.c. M.G. Magnette bolt upright, driving like a seasoned veteran, although this is his first season of racing on four wheels; without taking any chances, without a skid or a bump, he averaged the excellent speed of 74.65 m.p.h. to win the third Tourist Trophy Race for the marque M.G.—their second victory in succession. His average with an unsupercharged car compares very favourably with Nuvolari's winning speed of 78.65 m.p.h. with the supercharged M.G. Magnette last year. With Brian Lewis's Lagonda out of the running, Hall went on to make a desperate bid to overtake the Magnette with only two laps to go. He clipped 21 secs. off Dodson's lead on the 33rd lap and 29 secs. on the 34th. On the last lap he was 42 secs. behind at Newtownards, 35 secs. behind at the Moate, reduced the lead by another 4 secs. before Comber's famous butcher's shop, lay 26 secs. behind at Ballystockart, crept to within 22 secs. at the Dundonald hairpin and, with a last mighty effort, closed to within 17 secs. on the uphill rush to the finish as the M.G. shot over the line to win. Another feature of a race packed with surprises was the speed of the Lagondas, and of the Aston-Martins which ran away with the Team Award after a first-class performance. The two Talbots ran well and very quietly, the Rileys were outpaced but always in the picture, and the Frazer-Nashes, having set out on a sort of high-speed reliability trial, were impressively reliable and fast. The Story of the Race A BRIGHT morning rapidly gave way to an overcast sky while the long streams of traffic were wending their way by devious routes to the various positions of vantage around the 13¼ miles of the Ards Circuit hours before the race. Huge masses of clouds rolled threateningly over the horizon in the distance, but fortunately apart from a sharp shower in the late afternoon at Comber, the threats of rain were unfulfilled. By 10 o'clock, an hour before the start, all Belfast and its teeming visitors seemed to have emptied itself on to the Ards Circuit, and no fewer than 12 boat loads of visitors had been disgorged at the quays that very morning for the same purpose. The attendance was estimated at 500,000 people. On the wide road between the R.A.C. grandstand and the long curved line of pits there seethed a mass of excited spectators, pressing around the racing cars despite the good-humoured efforts of the police; flags floated in the breeze, the air was rent by the sudden clamour of a started engine, and the roar of excited talk, greeting, good wishes and chaff combined in that atmosphere peculiar to the start of a classic road race. The starting hour drew near. OFFICIAL RESULTS 1. C. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} P. Dodson (M.G. Magnette) 6 hrs. 13 mins. 24 secs., 74.65 m.p.h. 2. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} R.{Sir Henry Royce} Hall (3.6-litre Bentley), 6 hrs. 13 mins. 41 secs., 78.40 m.p.h. 3. T. Fothringham (1½-litre Aston-Martin), 6 hrs. 16 mins. 15 secs., 74.53 m.p.h. 4. Hon. Brian Lewis (4.4-litre Lagonda), 6 hrs. 17 mins. 31 secs., 77.57 m.p.h. 5. S. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} Hindmarsh (4.4-litre Lagonda), 6 hrs. 18 mins. 29 secs., 77.38 m.p.h. 6. L. P. Driscoll (1½-litre Aston-Martin), 6 hrs. 18 mins. 47 secs., 74.03 m.p.h. 7. C. Penn-Hughes (1½-litre Aston-Martin), 6 hrs. 20 mins. 5 secs., 73.78 m.p.h. 8. John Cobb (4.4-litre Lagonda), 6 hrs. 23 mins. 23 secs., 74.58 m.p.h. 9. A.{Mr Adams} W. K.{Mr Kilner} Von der Becke, (Riley Nine), 6 hrs. 33 mins. 27 secs., 70.02 m.p.h. 10. T. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Rose-Richards (2.9-litre Talbot), 6 hrs. 34 mins. 56 secs., 72.76 m.p.h. 11. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} McClure (Riley Nine), 6 hrs. 37 mins., 69.68 m.p.h. 12. P. G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} Fairfield (Riley Nine), 6 hrs. 37 mins. 38 secs., 68.54 m.p.h. 13. Lord Howe (2.9-litre Talbot), 6 hrs. 46 mins. 20 secs., 71.67 m.p.h. 14. N. P. Hamilton (M.G. Magnette), 6 hrs. 48 mins. 28 secs., 68.24 m.p.h. 15. Hon. Peter Mitchell-Thomson (1½-litre Frazer-Nash), 6 hrs. 48 mins. 41 secs., 68.58 m.p.h. 16. S. H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Newsome (Riley), 6 hrs. 49 mins. 8 secs., 67.37 m.p.h. 17. N. A.{Mr Adams} Berry (1½-litre Frazer-Nash), 6 hrs. 52 mins. 22 secs., 67.85 m.p.h. TEAM PRIZE Aston-Martin team.—T. Fothringham, L. P. Driscoll and C. Penn-Hughes. (Above) Charles Dodson and his wife meekly suffering congratulations after his splendid win. 17 secs. in front of E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Hall (Bentley), who is seen (on the right) with Mrs. Hall, celebrating the result. | ||