In this latter guise, Jack piloted HP6161 to victory in the Henlys Alvis trophy race at Brooklands in 1929, with a slightly windswept passenger onboard as ‘racing mechanic’.  Although the identity of the passenger isn’t known (it is believed to be someone from the Alvis sales organisation as he appears elsewhere in publicity shots), that of the starter is – being none other than Kaye Don, one of the most successful racing drivers of the time and the then lap record holder for the outer circuit.  Incidentally, seven weeks after this photo was taken, Don lifted this flying lap record to over 134 m.p.h.

By this time, the exploits of Racing Car No.1 had already come to the attention of it’s next owner, my father-in-law Robert Wicksteed.  Robert fondly reminisced to me of his first encounter with the car as a young child as it was charging down a Northamptonshire lane with Jack at the wheel and disappearing beyond a corner without slackening pace.  (This is a direct quote from Robert, although from the writer’s perspective and with the benefit of now having driven a road-legal 1923 racing car without front brakes, “slackening pace” is a somewhat subjective term).  The car spent much of the following fifteen years as an everyday sports car, being well suited to attracting all sorts of attention.  Robert and Jack later became lifelong friends, at one time being joint editors of the Register circular, and the car was later gifted to Robert.  

Next ►