hello

Thank you for your welcome. It's the Spirit of the 1930 Bentley Boy I find fascinating. The bravery, dedication and pure single mindedness. Does anybody know anything about Bugatti type 35, and the sheer dedication and bravery of the racing drivers?

But it certainly helps...

Ron Robinson

Yes, you're right. It helps. But that spirit is worth much more.

there any REAL

I'm intrigued. Tell me more....... Please bear in mind that I have the intellect of a gnat, and am engineeringly dyslexic!

Can't help with Bugattis. Foreign, aren't they?

Have a read of Tim Birkin's autobiography "Full Throttle". The drivers really were made of something different in those days.

There may be some traces of that spirit in the Bentley Drivers Club, or the VSCC, but it's difficult to tell how much of it is real. If the BDCL is leather flying helmets, the MGCC is bobble hats, and the RREC deerstalkers. I'll leave it to others to assign cars or car clubs to baseball caps.

I've read 'Full Throttle' too! I was really impressed. Do racing drivers still have the sheer ..erm.. 'something different' to drive and race such monsters these days. No matter what the head gear?

They had different spirit. Brandy instead of Scotch.

They must have had veins full of Brandy and suicidal tendencies to want to drive those monsters at break neck speed! I've seen footage of races and I understand they would drive the cars to the race, compete, and then drive back home again. Crazy...maybe...

That's why people fit parabolic springs, innit. Oddly, the 88" Series 2A I bought last week has both leaf springs (with just 4 leaves) and coil springs at the back. The chassis is nice and flexible too, so it'd probably be quite comfy if I was daft enough to drive it anywhere.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "bentleybonnett" saying something like:

And stupidity and recklessness.

But that's all part of the package.

I remember "bentleybonnett"

Do you think we've lost our freedom of choice these days? Nobody is allowed to be reckless, stupid, or even 'daring' any more for fear of repraisals. Ultimately I suppose it's for safety reasons. Safety is important of course, but can we be too safe? Too scared to take risks and 'live for the moment'? Very philosphical this!...... What do you think?

Helen

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Helen" saying something like:

I've not seen any figures to back this up, but I expect the 'dangerous' sports of parachuting, bungee-jumping, rock climbing, motorcycling and the like are a reaction to the safe and unchallenging existence most of us lead.

Got to get the adrenaline rush somehow.

Many years ago, I read an article by an American psychologist who was puzzling over why the safest cars seemed to have the most minor accidents. He came to the conclusion that drivers conduct risk assessments and that the safer the car makes a driver feel, the smaller the margin of error that is allowed for.

He ended the article with a sketch of his view of the safest car on the road. It had no seat belts or air bags. These had been replaced with a steel spike in the middle of the steering wheel. It had bald tyres, unassisted drum brakes, and bodywork made of corrugated cardboard.

I can see his point. Nobody would tailgate, or hurtle through fog or snow in something like that.

Jim