Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-29
MOTORISTS HAVE GOOD DAY AT
RIVERSIDE
sToDDARD DAYTON MAKES BEST
TIME
Motorcycle Ridden by Derkum Makes
Mile in Sixty-two Seconds
on Box Springs
Grade
NY L.. GEORGE THOMPSON

| ing contest of yesterday on Blk Springs
| grade was favored with ideal weather
in direct contrast with that OF lhahk
| giving day a year ago, when ram ue-
| iayed the contest for several hours
A large crowd gathered at the foot
| Of the course to watch the machlneS
start and on every vantage point OIL
| view along the course We're gathered
| cars in groups, even on the top OIL
knolls where cars had never been pc
fore. At the finish of the four-mile
run a large number of machines lined
up on slight eminence that com
manded view of the last mile OF the
grade.
In mono of tho thirteen events was
there an accident to any OF the drivers
passengers or spectators, though there
was an expectation of serious trouple
on some of the sharp double turns or
the course where there was consider
able sand and dust
The best speed record OF the day
came in the second event and the hon
ors went to p. j. q. DerlSum of Los
Angeles, who rode n motorcycle.
Motorcycle Makes Speed
When the judges announced the time
of minutes and 81 seconds for the
| four and two-tenths miles the time was
Immediately questioned as the best
| time made by any of the motorcycles
previous to that was 6:20, made by W.
G. Collins, the man who holds the rec
ord for Agricultural park of one milo
| in a minute fiat. The rate was sixty
two seconds per mile or fifty-eight
miles per hour, on an average per
| cent grade.
The nearest that any automobile
came to Derkums record was one
minute and q half second. This was
made on the third trip of the Stoddard
| Dayton roadster, which trimmed the
Haynes, much to the surprise of the
| talent. The Haynes had trouble on
account of an excess Of oil in the mag
| neto, which it is suspected was put
there by some one other than those in
charge of the car. When the Haynes
went over the course a second time
in speed test George Barnes sent the
classy roadster over the course in 5:24,
which is better than any time made by
any car other than the Haynes and the
Stoddard Dayton. The contest be-
tween these two cars was looked for
ward to as the best event of the day.
and it is TO be hoped that a track con-
test can be arranged between the two
machines, as the opinion is still held to
a considerable degree that the Haynes
did not show its best speed yesterday.
GearIess Is Fast
that was watched with considerable
interest, as it is new to the coast. 1t
| beat a thirty White by ten seconds in
the free-for all touring class. which.
| however, was not to be wondered at, as
| the difference in the rated horsepower
4 of the two cars is very great. the
! Gearless being rated at seventy-five
and the White at thirty. When it
came in competition with the White a
second time. however they changed
/ places and the White beat the six
| cylinder by seven seconds.
| in the runabout class for cars of $3.50
and under the Ford beat both of the
Maxwell entries, but the Ford was
protested. as it deserved to be- The
Ford is the same car that has been
used by the Ford people for all of their
contests on the coast, and has spec
ial engine in II that is not the stock
model. The Ford seemed to break its
usual run of bad luck and made the
runs without accident. This was the
same car that went over the Box
Springs grade few Sundays ago and
injured Charles Fuller Gates as 1t
turned turtle and rolled down the hill.
Only Machine Protested
This was the only machine that ran
that was protested as not being
stock car, and it is creditable to the
uloId = SIutIlI lIldL LHey lIlblSIeu on an
examination of the engine and a COM
parison of it's specifications with those
of the catalogue for the model claimed
to have been entered.
The Thomas Flyer entries in two events
were also protested as the cars had been
placed in class the price for which was
less than the factory price. The Wes-
tern Motor Car company withdrew the
entries and the cars did not run in either
event.
One protest was made in the motor
cycle class against the entry of C. w
Risden, who entered two and a quarter
| horse power wheel at price of 5000. and
rode a three horse power special racer
that arrived from the factory this week
that is quoted nearer $500 than $500 If
the protest is allowed the winner of the
first event will b. Lightcap, who rode
three horse power Reading that he has
been using for the past three months.
The difference in time between these Two
was % seconds
Several in Hard Luck
Several of the cars played in hard luck,
and the honors would probably have
fallen to the Rambler in the twelfth
event for touring cars of $25OO and under
Within half mile of the finish one
of the pistons of the Rambler engine
stuck and by quickly throwing out the
yards of the tape under the momentum
that it had gained The last few yards
were made by the entire crew getting
out and putting their shoulders to the
car and pushing it across the line The
accident placed the Rambler 22 seconds
behind the first car and seven behind the
second. There is little doubt but that
| 1t would have come in first if the car
had not experienced trouble. A little
| Tourist runabout that won first in its
class came near burning up after it had
| been turned around and brought back
past the finishing line. A generous appli-
cation of dirt that willing hands gathered
| from the road soon smothered the blaze
which was around the carburettor. An
Oldsmobile quit within three-quarters of
mile of the finish because the gasoline
supply was shut off in some inexplicable
| manner.
Entries and Time
Following is a list of entries and the
| time made:
! First event, one-cylinder motorcycles-I
! c. w. Risden, 5:27 As; Reading Standard H.
Lightcap. $3.50 4-5; Armac. Charles Knoll,
| 5:57 3-5; Wagner. Dan Milan. 7;24 4-5; Mash
Metz H L. Miller, 9:OOh.
ALL