Brilliant weather occurred for the BARC July Meeting on the following Wednesday, July 19th, and included the customary two motor cycle handicap events in an otherwise all-car programme. Nineteen riders turned out for the first of these, the Third Short Handicap over 5 3/4 miles. They included Jake de Rosier (994 Indian) at scratch, Charlie Collier (998 Matchless-JAP) with a 2-sec start, Harry Collier (580 Matchless-JAP), Gordon Bell the aviator, riding A. J. Luce's 580 cc BAT-JAP, and Sidney Tessier on a machine of the same capacity and make. Others included: G. E. Stanley (499 Singer), Jack Haswell (499 Triumph), Harry Martin (345 Martin�-JAP), and the Trump-JAP team consisting of Frank McNab, R. N. Stewart and A. Baker White.
De Rosier had picked up forty yards on Charlie Collier by the time these two had reached the Railway Straight, and from there on a fine struggle developed. Charlie managed to take a leaf out of Jake's book and did a little slip streaming on his own account. The TT BATs went very well, especially Gordon Bell's, for, despite his driving belt breaking when he was halfway down the Finishing Straight, he managed to win by a good forty yards, helped by a strong following wind.
SHORT MOTOR CYCLE HANDICAP (up to 1000 cc) over 5f miles. Fork start and finish.
H'cap start
1. G. Bell (580 BAT-JAP) 1 min 6 sec 64.5 mph
2. S. T. Tessier (580 BAT-JAP) 1 min 6 sec
3. C. R. Collier (998 Matchless-JAP) 2 sec
Jack Haswell finished fourth and Jake de Rosier fifth.
All but two of those who rode in the Short Race rode in the Long Handicap, over 8 1/2 miles. Gordon Bell (580 BAT-JAP) was penalised 36 sec on handicap for winning the first motor cycle race of the day, and had to give away 3 sec to Harry Collier. The result was an easy win for Sidney Tessier, the others finishing in much the same order as before, except that Harry Collier was better placed, in fourth position.
LONG MOTOR CYCLE HANDICAP (up to 1000 cc) over 8 1/2 miles. Fork start and Long finish.
H'cap start
1. S. T. Tessier (580 BAT-JAP) 1 min 39 sec 63.25 mph
2. J. R. Haswell (499 Triumph) 2 min 18 sec
3. G. Bell (580 BAT-JAP) 1 min 3 sec
The Collier-de Rosier scrap in this event was a reversal of what had happened in the Short Handicap. Hanging behind Charlie, Jake slipstreamed the Matchless and, after a couple of laps, swung out at the Fork and got home twenty yards ahead of him.
During the late afternoon of July 25th, the Tuesday of the follow�ing week, Lieut. R. N. Stewart and Frank McNab set out on their 492 cc Trump-JAPs to try to break long-distance Class C records. Stewart was forced to retire by an oil tank leakage, but McNab went on successfully to set up a new two-hour record, with a distance of 110 miles 297 yd, and a record average of 54.9 mph for the hundred miles.
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