An exciting account of a motor race at Donington (near Derby). The E. R. A. team were doing well until various parts failed.
“NARROW ESCAPE FOR RAYMOND MAYS
E. R. A. ‘s UNLUCKY AT DONNINGTON
Bad luck dogged the E. R. A.* works team in the Empire Trophy Race at Donington Park on Saturday and Raymond Mays, the Bourne Driver, had a narrow escape which his brakes failed at 140 m. p. h.
In their first race of the season, the works E. R. A. cars, two of 1500 c.c., were driven by Mays and Earl Howe, the former winning the trophy last year.
From the spectacular massed start, Mays was soon in the first three, and after going on the grass at the hairpin bend took the lead in the third lap. This he gradually increased, and in the seventh lap Earl Howe passed ‘B. Bira,’ the Siamese Prince, to take second place.
Thus the two E. R. A.’s led on handicap although they were three laps behind the Austins, who were credited with seven laps out of the 64, against the E. R. A.’s three.
Earl Howe had to retire in the 18th lap with valve trouble, but Mays looked as if he had the race in his pocket and was rapidly overhauling the small cars. With the race nearly half over, however, and when he was travelling at 140 m.p.h. down the straight towards the hairpin bend at Melbourne corner, his brakes failed.
‘NEARLY PULLED BACK AXLE OUT’
‘ The pedal went limply to the floorboards,’ said Mays in an interview. ‘The only thing I could do was to change down to first gear. It nearly pulled the back axle out, and the car ran on the grass, nearly turned over and stopped only a few inches from the densely-packed crowd by the fences.
The crown at the grandstand, including quite a number of people from Bourne, saw Mays roll up at the pits, where he made a lengthy stop, during which his brakes were adjusted. He had to retire soon afterwards, however, as the brakes still refused to function.
Much of the interest went out of the race when Mays retired, and Charlie Dobson, in the 700 c.c. Austin, crossed the finishing line nearly a lap ahead of Bira, driving one of last year’s E. R. A. team cars. Billy Cotton, the dance band leader, in another E. R. A., was third.
It is understood that Raymond Mays was testing out a new braking system which it is proposed to employ on the new 2 1/2-litre cars now in course of production at Bourne.”
The Stamford Mercury, 15th April, 1938.
*English Racing Automobiles – Mays’ business at Bourne.