Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-28

with massive metal caps which are
designed to protect the breaking Of the
skull underneath in the case of a bad
| spill, while a few well distributed pads
about the remainder of the person are
moderate protection against the score
or more somersaults a rider is expect
ed to turn in the event his wheel gets
| from under him and he is projected
through few hundred yards of space
at the rate Of ninety miles an hour.
Rules of Racing
The riders are started with a running
getaway and are timed from the time
they cross the tape. They start at the
lowest portion of the saucer, where the
pitch is but about eighteen inches in
ten or twelve feet, but, once under good
headway, they pull up into a sleeper
portion Of the saucer and inside the
pole line. The first machine to get
away must stay on the outside of this
pole line but inside another line, three
feet higher up, so long as he is in the
lead. In the case the man who next
gets away wants to pass him the Sec
ond man has to go around him from
| above by swinging wide Of the three
foot running track. The new leader
then drops into the three-foot track,
and may be disqualified for fouling in
the event he gets outside of it. By
duced to a minimum. Not more than
three men will probably be allowed to
race on the track during any one event.
In case of there being more entries
than three, then the field will be di-
vided into qualifying classes, and
enough heats be run off to allow each
rider to qualify or be defeated. A final
will then be run to decide a race.
First of Many Tracks
The track is being built as part of a
syndicate scheme, involving a number
of motorcycle manufacturers, who seek
by this means to bring the possibilities
of motorcycles as space annihilators
more prominently before the public.
Jack Prince has been placed in charge
of these general plans, and the ability
he has shown in figuring out the di-
menslons of this track and in distrib-
ut1ng the curves so as to get the
greatest amount of speed out of a cir
Gle will undoubtedly serve to some day
cover him with no little glory, as the
work now being done is of a pioneer
character in saucer track construction.
Prince does not calculate by ordinary
civil engineering methods, but uses hts
own native wit in arriving at his con-
clusiOns, which, when worked out, will
probably prove far superior to those
used by men Of geometric principles.
How Prince Works
Given a certain amount of space in
Which to work out a track, he figures
the greatest amount of racing dis
tance to be cut out of his ground,
much as tailor would cut his cloth in
economizing fabrics. By this method
ne determines whether his ground will
permit of a three, four or five lap
course. In the case of the new local
track, he could only make a three and
a half lap track, although he had the
better part of ten acres in which to
work out his problem. Then, this set
tied, he modified his circles as much as
possible so that his greatest curve at
the ends might be just as little of a
curve as possible, without making
square corner turns.
He did this by really describing three
different circles at either end, one over
| tapping the other in part, but creating
| a sort of composite, though wider than
any one circle would be. Then he
harmonized his curves from circle to
circle until he had a species Of a
straightaway even at the turns.
This method of procedure has been
worked out in Princes mind as the re-
suit of long years of experience, and its
| correctness will doubtless be proved
when the records begin to fall. The
track, as matter of fact. is exactly
one foot and q half longer than a, mile.
which Prince deemed advisable to make
it, in order that no new world records
when made, could possibly be chal-
| lenged successfully after an engineers
measurements have been made and
properly certified.