Now a touch of drama! Dixon's front tyre burst on the Railway Straight and he skidded the whole length of the measured kilometre before parting company with his Harley. Although shaken up he recovered his machine, which was undamaged, motored in to the pits and changed the front wheel; then rejoined the race!
Whilst all this had been going on Bert LeVack had taken over the lead and steadily increased it. With no serious opposition he now started to ease off on the throttle to conserve his engine, so much so in fact that George Shemans, on the new 499cc four-valve Ricardo-Triumph, was able to keep pace with him for a lap or two. Repairs, stoppages and retirements, were now taking their toll on the field. Dixon stopped, made a precautionary wheel change, refuelled, and was away again in less than 3 minutes, riding fast after the leader.
By 2.00pm Le Vack looked a certain winner failing accidents, so there was tremendous excitement at his pit when he became overdue on his 182nd lap. Reuben Harveyson, the other Indian team rider, signalled his pit as he went past and members of the Indian pit crew rushed off in a sidecar with a spare wheel down the road to the track by the Byfleet Aeroplane sheds, where Le Vack had stopped.
Just as spirits in the Harley-Davidson camp were rising in the hope of a Dixon victory, a small red dot appeared in the distance coming off the Byfleet Banking. As it got closer, the number '6' could be made out! It was Bert Le Vack! Three laps from victory he had oiled up both sparking plugs. Stopping briefly at his pit, he was soon away and round on his final lap and in to his 500th mile; but the excited flagman failed to put out the chequered flag in time and he went on to complete 186laps before coming home to finish at the Fork- where he rode in smiling broadly, obviously weary but far from exhausted, a very happy man.
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