[CMOTD]

I have recently been reading 'Full Throttle' by Tim Birkin, published in 1932. Long out of print and hard to find at a reasonable price but a fascinating account of the career of one of the 'Bentley Boys' and a real insight into the nature of road racing at that time.

If you think that modern rules, particularly F1, are needlessly complicated and petty then feast your eyes on this little gem from the book:
1928 International Tourist Trophy Belfast
"The Mercedes team withdrew, owing to a regulation about the number of spare wheels which might be carried. I kept my own Bentley in, and Scrap Thistlethwayte his own Mercedes, though at the 11th hour I was forced to spend about £100 in deference to the following strange rule. It was decreed that the front cushion of the back seat should be one foot and seven inches distant from the back of the front seat. This is almost unobtainable in a sports car; in the old 3 litre Bentleys the distance was one foot two inches and they had long been in popular use and regarded as standard models."

[Anthony B]

Scrap Thistlethwaite ..... you gotta love it