THE FRENCH INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE TRIALS.
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Trials in which the Participants were Free from Mechanical Troubles, Yet Suffered from Injuries to Tyres.
Tms year's Industrial Vehicle Trials, organized in connection with the famous Routes Pavees week at Lille, were rather disappointing. It may be' thatWouldbe competitors were discouraged by the much longer course and the imposition of stiffer regulations. as compared with former years, but, in any case, only 14 vehicles started and this number contained two anomalies. One was a vehicle running "Not tor competition," and the other a tractor and trailer coniblint-: tion in which the trailer was competing in the event but the tractor was not! The tractor,like the property man in a Chinese play, who works on the stage, had to remain "intensely invisible" throughout the performance!
In two other cases gas producers were competing in the event, but not so the lorries to which they were fitted. This arrangement might have worked out all right had it not been for punctures. Gas machines had to be penalized for tyre trouble experienced by lorries with which officially they had nothing to do. To put the matter in a nutshell, the Concours des Velicules Industriels et Commerciaux presented a fine example of how this sort of trial should not be run.
The organizing committee appeared to have lost heart, and the whole thing lacked polish, although, from the publicity point of view, it may have served • its purpose to some extent..
Competitors were remarkably lucky in the weather conditions experienced. Incessant rain had fallen for days before the event, but on the morning of the start the weather turned brilliant. The first day's run was one of 182 kiloms., from Lille to Mezieres. All except two of the vehicles completed the day without penalties. Of the unfortunate ones, one had a burst tyre and the other a broken plug wire. The second day's run from Mezieres to Rheims via Sainte-Menehould (192 kiloms.) was again favoured by sunshine. A hill-climb from a standing start was held at Sainte-Menehould. Very few penalty marks had to be distributed during this run. The trailer drawn by an "invisible" tractor, received 5 points for a puncture, and one of the gas machines again burst a tyre (on its lorry), thus picking up 17 adverse marks. Apart from this, all the vehicles came in without a bad mark.
Quite an exceptional amount of interest in the vehicles was displayed by the public in the champagne, country. The third day's run was from Rheims to Beauvais via Soissons (174 kiloms.). The good weather held until the vehicles were within an hour's run of Beauvais, when a terrific downpour started awl drivers were glad to get into the town. Several more penalty points were picked up for tyre trouble during this run. Tyres gave the only trouble experienced by any of the vehicles during the entire trial. The last day's run was from Beauvais to .Lille via Amiens (186 kiloms.), an exhibition of the vehicles being given in Arras at mid-day, and again at Lille on their arrival. All the vehicles appeared at their destination in one group, looking none the worse for their 734 Idioms. trial over indifferent road surfaces.
Official results Of the trial were published on the fol-. lowing day.
In the first group, Category D (average speed 20 k.p.h.) :
1, Chenard and Walcker tractor with Lagache and Glaszman trailer, 9,890 kilos.—No penalties.
2, Gazogene Schultz and Lorlot on an Aries lorry, 9,450 kilos.-6 penalty marks.
3, Berliet lorry, running on petrol, 9,313 kilos.-100 penalty marks (mostly for tyres).
Second group, Category B. (average speed 30 k.p.h.) : 1, ex-quo, Somua lorry, fitted with Rex gas machine using carbonite fuel, weight 7,980 kilos.
Lafily I, running on petrol, weight 4,280 kilos.
• Lailly II, running on petrol, weight 4,390 kilos. Chevrolet lorry, 2,970 kilos.
Berliet lorry, 3,800 kilos.
All witkout penalty.
6, Chevrolet open-sided platform lorry, 2,810 kilos.-..3 penalty marks (for a puncture).
Third group, Category A (average speed 35 k.p.h.) :— ' 1, ex-vequo, Somua lorry, running on Carburant National (a 50 per cent. petrol-alcohol mixture), weight 7,440 kilos.
Lailly, running on petrol, weight 5,040 kilos.—Both without penalty.
3, Van-Lierde trailer, drawn by a tractor.-5 penalty marks for puncture.
Sagam wood-burning gas producer on Zedel lorry, 2,955 1 It should be noted that in every ease lorries, vans and trailers had to carry a full normal load. The amount of tyre trouble experienced may appear rather surprising in view, of the splendid qualities of most present-day tyres. It should be remembered, however.. that certain main roads in France are still in a deplorable condition, and no comparison can be made with a similar run on English roads. It is to be hoped that the organizing committee will pull themselves together before next year's event and draw up fresh regulations, as the event might be made quite a useful and interesting one. A blight seemed to have fallen upon the Lille meeting in general this year. Even the famous Routes Payees motor race was not well organized, and members of the committee came in for a hostile demonstration by the crowd after the race.