The French Trials.
Page 12
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No effort is being spared to direct public attention on the Continent to the several trials of which an outline was given in the " THE COMMERCIAL MOIOR of April 20th, The competition for baggage and ammunition wagons, which is to take place in the neighbourhood of Paris early in August, under the immediate control of the Minister for War, naturally attracts military rather than civilian interests, but wide notice is being taken of the arrangements for the other two series of testsThe War Office trials are limited to machines of French manufacture, but not so the others, which are international. The first of these is to form part of the National Agricultural Show which is to be held at Bordeaux from the 27th instant to the 4th proximo. The display will be of the character which one usually associates withthe annual exhibition of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, with the addition of novelties peculiar to France in the methods of packing and conveying both food products and flowers. Hence, a visit to Bordeaux on this occasion may be fraught with benefit to English agriculturists and landowners, apart from that to be derived from their seizing the opportunity to witness demonstrations of tractors and other mechanical combinations. No prizes or other awards are to be given in respect of the machines which make their mameuvres and operations beforelhe public, as.these practical exhibitions are regarded by the Minister of Agriculture as constituting the best means of securing both appreciation and orders. There is, in fact, no classification, the section being unique in that respect; but, if any competitor keeps his machine or instrument on the trial ground outside the exhibition shedding longer than the period fixed by the Commissioner-General, disqualification from showing at any State meeting may be imposed for such a term as the governing committee fix. A like risk of future exclusion attaches to any entrant who does not occupy the space allotted to his entry, whilst the following letter of indemnity must accompany each form :—" I, the undersigned undertake to pay to the town of Bordeaux, on receipt of a demand from the municipal treasurer, an indemnity of franc for each square metre of space which I fail to occupy at the National Agricultural Show of 1905, as compensation for the loss caused by my abstention, if I shall have failed to give notice Ts days before the opening of my intention not to exhibit." The only awards provided are for the drivers, or the foremen and workmen concerned in the construction of the machines : a sum of £20, five silver and to bronze medals have been set aside for this purpose. The dates and routes for trials of public service vehicles and other commercial motors have now been fixed. The French Automobile Club has arranged these to begin a fortnight earlier than was originally proposed, the general programme being as follows, with the distance in miles indicated in brackets in each case :—For omnibuses and other passenger vehicles (Section A, with five classes): Friday, July 28th, Paris, Meaux, Soissons, Compiegne (9s); Saturday, July zyth, Compiegne, Saint Quentin, Albert, Amiens (99); Monday, July 3ist, Amiens, Doullens, Abbeville, Dieppe (83); Thursday, August 3rd, Dieppe, Fecamp, Etretat, Le Havre (67); Saturday, August 5th, Le Havre, Neufchatel, ROUCT1 (94) ; Monday, August 7th, Rouen, Gournay, Gisors, Vernon, Mantes, (85); and Tuesday, August 8th, Mantes, Saint Germain, Paris (32). Vehicles for loads under tocwt. in the first two classes of Section B will be required to traverse the same routes as those specified for Section A, but the five heavier classes for delivery vans and lorries will follow shorter routes, to bring them to the same towns at the conclusion of each day's run,
the successive stages being Paris, Compiegne (58); Compiegne, Amiens (46); Amiens, Dieppe (61); Dieppe, Le Havre (67); Le Havre, Rouen (55); Rouen, Mantes (53); and Mantes, Paris (32). It will be noted that the total distances are 555 and 372 miles for Secions A and B respectively, the averages of the daily trips being 79 and 33 miles respectively. On the intervening days which are not named in the foregoing itinerary, exhibitions will be organised at Amiens (Sunday, July 30), Dieppe (Tuesday and NVednesday, August 1st and znd), Le Havre (Friday, August 4th), and Rouen (Sunday, August 6th). The halls or other buildings will be sufficiently large to permit of the allotment to each competing vehicle of ample room for visitors to pass freely all round it for the ,purposes of examination, and there will be no charge for space. Entries will be received by the Secretary of the Commission des Concours, Automobile Club de France, 6, Place de la Concorde, Paris, any time before June Isth, or up to July loth on payment of an additional entry fee of so per centurn. I n Section A the entry fee is £30 per vehicle, but the charges. vary for Class B. 48 will be the fee for each cycle-carrier to take less than mwt: ; -1,12 for the second class with loads of 4cwt. to mcwt. ; Z-20 for the third class, with loads of tocwt. to i ton; and .30 for classes 4 to 7, in which the loads range from i ton upwards, whilst the last class is for " trains," It should be mentioned that the vehicles in Section A are divided into classes according to their seating capacity: more than six persons, 12-24 persons, more than 24 persons, trains of several carriages, and a fifth of a special nature, are provided for. The last-named is under a scheme of co-operation with the General Omnibus Co., of Paris, and calls for special records.
There is little of moment in the rules and regula:ions to differentiate them from the conditions which have been found useful and necessary in other public trials. From one-third to one-eighth of the entry fees are returnable in proportion to the performance achieved by the competitor's machine, and the vehicles may carry exhibits as part of the load, whilst any advertising devices or trade signs are subject to the approval of the committee. The awards will be based on the regularity of running, to establish which very numerous controls will be appointed along the routes as observation points at which officials of the Club will take records. Except in Class 5 of Section A, consumptions will not be taken regularly, but the committee reserve the right to record these on any day whatsoever during the tests.