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).
Article from The Autocar magazine detailing E.R. Hall's Bentley T.T. race cars from 1934-1936, including a power development chart.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 160\5\ scan0263 | |
| Date | 7th March 1941 | |
| The Autocar, March 7th, 1941 215. Bentley for Racing Purposes E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} R.{Sir Henry Royce} Hall, with his wife, at the conclusion of the T.T. race in 1936. Power development in the T.T. races of 1934, 1935 and 1936. No. 1. 1934. 3½-litre. Compression ratio 7.75 to 1. 50 per cent. Benzol, 50 per cent. Shell No. 1. No. 2. 1935. 3½-litre. Compression ratio 8.25 to 1. 50 per cent. Benzol, 50 per cent. Esso Ethyl. No. 3. 1936. 4¼-litre. Compression ratio 9 to 1. Esso Ethyl. In Comber in the 1936 race. It is a curious point that the Bentley carried No. 7 in all three races. director of R.{Sir Henry Royce}-R.{Sir Henry Royce} whether he would countenance the running of his Bentley in the Ulster Tourist Trophy Race, to take place in September, 1934. Although Hall had never previously won this race, he had competed in it every year it had been held in Ireland since 1928. So the managing director asked the Technical Department for their views on the wisdom of such a procedure. Since 1906, when a Rolls-Royce won the Tourist Trophy Race in the Isle of Man at a speed of 39.6 m.p.h., no car produced by the company had been entered for a race. The Ards circuit is not ideal for a big car; furthermore, the race is run on handicap. The fact that the course does not suit a big car can be deduced from the result of the 1929 and 1930 races. In the first of these the old Bentley company entered five cars, and in the second four cars, and on neither occasion did any of their entries succeed in finishing in the first three. This was at the height of their racing career, since, in those same years, they twice won at Le Mans. Their speed for twenty-four hours at Le Mans in 1929 was 73.5 m.p.h.—not less than 4 m.p.h. above the average of their fastest car for 6½ hours on the Ards circuit in the same year. To run a single car, therefore, in Ulster without previous racing experience seemed, from an engineering point of view, exceedingly bad policy, as a puncture or any other minor mishap might ruin the car's chances in the race and impair its reputation. However, as a sporting gesture, it was decided to agree to Hall's entry as a private customer. The arrangement was that Hall would suggest such modifications to R.{Sir Henry Royce}-R.{Sir Henry Royce} as were permitted by the race regulations, and they, if they thought fit, would carry these out. The bodywork was left entirely to the owner. A 15 | ||