A Blackburne broke its crankshaft; the forks on Emerson's Douglas broke; Jack Watson-Bourne's Rex cracked its cylinder; S. E. Longman's flat-twin spring frame Wooler had dire mechanical ills; and O.M. Baldwin's Indian broke its frame. Five bikes - a Harley, New Imperial, Massey-Arran, Hobart and Acme Junior - went out with piston troubles, while A. Milner's game little 250cc 2-stroke belt-drive Levis broke its seat tube but continued after jury repairs. Lunchtime was coming up and spectators adjourned for picnics, but for riders it was a snatched sandwich and a hasty drink during routine pit stops, often with the new-fangled cine-camera-film men recording the scene.
Le Vack's big red 998cc Indian was now a comfortable 12 minutes ahead of Dixon's Harley, and was lapping with metronome regularity. Officials studied their charts and watches, and just before 2p.m. began moving down to the finish line with the flag. Then, sensation, Le Vack was missing. Third man Reuben Harveyson came by on his Indian giving a vague signal, and Le Vack's anxious pit staff sent off a combination with a spare wheel by the inner road to the aerodrome in hopes of finding him. It looked as if Dixon might yet win, but then after three long minutes there came the familiar thudding exhaust, and Le Vack's Indian went past at speed. He had oiled a plug, and after changing it lingered for a smoke over on the Byfleet side of the track!
He completed the 500 miles in 7hrs 5mins 59.6 secs at an average of 70.42mph, still 9 � minutes ahead of Freddy Dixon's Harley-Davidson, with Harveyson (Indian) third, making it America 1-2-3. Fourth home, first of the 500s, and first British bike, was Vic Horsman's side-valve Norton, averaging 62.31 mph, and next home was rider/designer Cyril Pullin on an ohv Anzani-engined Zenith with belt-drive Gradua gear. Half a dozen more big "1,000's" followed in, and 12th-and-1st in the 750cc class-came a flat-twin Coventry-Victor ridden by E.W. Parham, followed by W.H. Bashall's Martynsyde.
A big surprise was the 350cc winner, N. Norris's very standard 2-stroke single cylinder Ivy, which beat all the 4-strokes in the class. The 250cc class fell to Bert Kershaw's side-valve New Imperial, followed by Milner's broken-framed Levis, while local boys made good when the three Woking-built Martinsydes (two 750cc class twins and a 500cc single) won the team prize. In all there were 32 finishers - 50percent of the field last of all being a Wooler, although a few other bikes struggled on until flagged off at the 12th hour.
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