Archive photograph
Lacking 400cc, the fore-and-aft Douglas twin of Freddie Dixon keeps ahead of the incoming big V-twins of George Patchett and E W Guyler.
Though lacking in detail, this wonderfully atmospheric picture is well worthy of reproduction, capturing what Brooklands racing looked like in the second half of the 1920s, it coming from – it would seem – the second British Motor Cycle Racing Club (BMCRC), held on Saturday, April 10, 1926.
In his book ‘Brooklands Bikes in the Twenties,’ Peter Hartley (son of Ariel tuner and exponent Laurence Hartley) writes this meeting was remarkable for ‘… the high speeds attained by the 1000cc machines.’ Our picture shows two of these big bore beasts, higher up the banking being the 980cc McEvoy-JAP V-twin of George Patchett, lower the same capacity Brough-Superior-JAP of E W Guyler, both pursuing Freddie Dixon’s 596cc Douglas.
Brooklands was in a period of flux in 1926. Several factors had meant that the famous track was in decline, its appeal diminished with spectators and participants alike.
When racing resumed after the First
World War (on April 5, 1920) the spectaclehungry crowds filled the track, eager for speedy thrills and entertainment. But by the mid-1920s the appeal was wearing thin; Brooklands had never really catered for mass entertainment, its vast open spaces leading to a diminished spectacle of speed.
Then there was the noise. Local residents had long complained and were winning; silencing of competition machines was effective and thus took away more of the experience for those visiting.
Further problems included the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) had ruled alcohol fuels would in future be barred from the Isle of Man TT, thus meaning that there was no need for development work at Brooklands, while this – allied to the ever-worsening circuit surface – meant riders were becoming ever more split. TT men stuck to that sort of racing, while several of the record breakers headed to the continent, in search of a smoother surface. To add a particular rotten cherry on top of this ill-tasting cake, Hugh Locke-King, creator, founder and benefactor of the track, died in early 1926.
Still, despite the gloom, there was excitement to be had. The BMCRC held its first meeting on March 20, 1926, in
frightful weather, but about which Hartley reports: “Patchett’s machine was an interesting foretaste of the future in that it was supercharged. It had a Roots-type supercharger mounted behind the rear cylinder, driven via a train of gears and a countershaft from the rear most camshaft. The supercharger rotor was geared to turn at 1.44 times engine speed. Two large
Binks carburettors fed air-fuel mixture to the supercharger via a two-litre buffer chamber. The chamber served to damp out pressure fluctuations.”
What makes this detailed description particularly interesting, is that it directly contradicts what was reported in Motor Sport magazine, which went with: “Objects of interest in the competitors’ enclosure… [included] the record breaking McEvoy-JAP without its supercharger. Its rider,
G W Patchett, optimistically told us that when the engine is made to stand up to the supercharger, a speed of 150mph should be easily attained. Doubtless at this speed Mr Patchett will indulge in his usual habit of riding ‘hands off!’”
So whether the McEvoy-JAP was ‘blown’ in our photograph, it’s not impossible to tell (though an educated guess would say not), but it certainly didn’t win this race, that honour going to Joe Wright on his Zenith-JAP V-twin, with Patchett finishing as runner-up; Wright set a new lap record, too, at 113.45mph. The record was equalled later in the day by Oliver Baldwin (ZenithJAP V-twin) in the 351-1000cc handicap race, in his futile pursuit of winner Bill Quinn, on a Victor Horsman-tuned 494cc side-valve Triumph. Quinn (Horsman’s mechanic) averaged an impressive 71.56mph.
Alas, poor Dixon suffered some unwanted excitement in the race, too, when one of the links on his Douglas’ s front forks failed. Realising resitance was futile, fast-thinking Fred threw himself off his machine just before it crashed and avoided serious injury.
Of our three riders, in motorcycling/ motoring circles, Dixon is the best known for his TT wins (winner 1923 Sidecar and 1927 Junior), plus multiple good finishes and the fastest lap in the 1925 senior, his record breaking – at Brooklands in 1925 alone he broke 30 world records, solo and sidecar – and then, later, his car racing, mainly in Rileys, in which his achievements included the only 130mph plus lap in a car of less than two litres (1935) two Ulster TT wins (1935 and 1936) and third at Le Mans (1934).
George Patchett ended up working overseas (at FN) following his McEvoy adventures, later designing (and racing) motorcycles for Jawa before coming back to the UK in 1939. During the Second World War he designed what became the Sterling submachine gun; in 1955 Patchett sued the Ministry of Defence for non-payment of his patent, being awarded £116.975 (comfortably over £2,000,000 in today’s money) compensation a decade later, in 1966, with Sterling awarded the same.
E W Guyler is more of a mystery. He was one of the early riders to receive a Brooklands Gold Star (awarded for lapping at over 100mph for the first time) in 1926, incidentally, and the same year as Patchett was so garlanded. Dixon earned his in 1923. Guyler was one of only 31 to gain such an award during the 1920s, so operated in esteemed company.