New-York tribune., 1908-11-24
CARS FLY In PRACTICE
HAUPT MAKES RECORD.
DrTUes Faster than Nile Minute ON
Grand Prise Course.
[By Telegraph to The tribune. ]

Savannah. Nov. 23-savannah turned out in full
force to-day to watch the machines speed over the
in the last practice before the light car and
Grand Prize automobile Wednesday and
Thursday. Although black clouds that threatened
a storm did spill drop two Of rain. the weather
favored the spectators AMI drivers alike. and some
fast laps rewarded the crowd in the two big stands
and proved the speed OF the course.
Haupt, in the big slx-cynder Chadwick, let his
out in the latter part of the afternoon. and
fairly flew by the stands. He covered the circuit
In q min. sec, the best time yet made on the
course. Wagner. in his Flat. did one lap in Il min
g sec, and then strang in a Renault, Erie in a
neEz and Szsz in another Renault, showed good
try-outs. Haupt's fast lap made at average
speed OF seventy-one miles hour, which would
make all American road records look slow II main
tanned in the race.
Haupt's car seems to be more sensitive to the
places in the road than any Of the others.
and to-day, when L. setting this record
for the course the big sixcylinder racing machine
appeared constantly to leave the ground Haupt
reported later that because of excessive oil on the
course at one turn his car sped along on two wheels
for forty feet Or his second tour of the
course his threw a tire from one of the rear
wheels The speed was great that when the car
brought to a standstill and the mechanician
sent back trace of tire, which evidently had
been hurled off into the dense underground along
the Ferguson avenue stretch, could be found.
The speed attained by tho foreign and American
drivers in the preliminary trials has lent renewed
assurance of American record for road racing
Thursday. In the Vanderbilt Cup this year
Robertson's time CAB miles hour In 1905
the Vanderbilt Cup record was Ola miles an hour
in 1905 it 40 and in 1904 the best average was
522 miles. In the Grand Prix race of the Automo-
bile Club of France the average speed Of the win
IN 1905 62.S miles hour; in 1891 it was
709 for the 47S miles, and this year the winners
mark 69 miles hour. Szsz, who won the
Grand Prix in 1906; Nazarro who won the same
classic in 1907, and Hemery. who ran second among
the forty-nine starters this year, are all entered
in the race to be here on Thursday.
Among the little fellows in the light car division
Hearne was timed in min 30 sec in his Buick
by some cIockers an average speed Of about sixty
two miles hour, but his time was considered
doubtful Burman, in another Buick. did lap IN
10 min 19 sec meaning. about dfty-seven miles an
hour and Cameron, in his own car, drove only
trif1e slower for two laps
One Of the things that pleased the crowd at the
stand to-day was the tre-changng exhibit 1t took
thirty-one seconds to change two rear tires on
RigaIs C1ement-Bayard.
The trains to-day have brought hundreds to swell
the crowd and when tomorrow two steamers, all
the regular trains and number OF specials get In
the crowd will be terrific The hotels are in state
of siege already. Cots are being set up in every
room and preparations are being made to turn par
ors and extra dining rooms into dorHitores-
Houses that want boarders are reaping rich har-
vest and those who arrive tomorrow, trusting to
chance to get place to sleep, are likely to be
disappointed.
Mr.. Kelcrt, of the Maxwell company, gave din
ner to the correspondents and some others con-
nected with the race tonight at the Casino.
The only accident of the day occurred after the
practice, when Apperson car, driven by c. Van
Scklen. superintendent Of the course crashed into
an Oldsmobile touring Both cars were
smashed, but no one was hurt
it was announced to-day that the S. P. o. car
entered in the nght-car race that was wrecked in
an accident Saturday, in which De Rosa, the
mechanic was killed and Jean Juhasz the driver,
had his leg and coIlarbone broken. will be either
repaired in time for the contest another machine
substituted. Herbert S. Conners will pilot the car.
It was also announced to-day that the American
Arstocrat machine entered in the lght-car contest
could be finished in time for the race, and had
been withdrawn.