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Parry Thomas - The First Driver to be Killed in Pursuit of the Land Speed Record (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R533
Discovery Miles 5 330
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Parry Thomas - The First Driver to be Killed in Pursuit of the Land Speed Record (Hardcover)
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List price R627
Loot Price R533
Discovery Miles 5 330
You Save R94 (15%)
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John Godfrey Parry Thomas - J.G Thomas - was by any standards an
extraordinary man, in both life and in his tragic death. From a
conventional upbringing as the son of the curate of Rhosddu in
Wales in 1884, he became a prominent figure in the developing world
of high-speed motor car racing and design. He became the chief
engineer at Leyland Motors, a company whose main products were
commercial vehicles. But J.G. Thomas was more interested in swifter
vehicles and in 1920, along with his assistant Reid Railton, he
designed the Leyland Eight, a luxury car which bristled with novel
features, such as torsion springs, anti-roll bars and
vacuum-assisted brakes. It was experience of driving this car
around Brooklands race track that persuaded him to give up his
career with Leyland to become a full-time motor-racing driver and
engineer. In the Leyland Eight, Thomas achieved some success,
winning thirty-eight races in five seasons and setting numerous
records, including World's Ten Mile record at 114.84 m.p.h., and,
in 1924, the Montihery Lap Record of 132.5 m.p.h. Thomas continued
to develop ever-faster cars and eventually he turned his attention
to the land speed record. He acquired the 27-litre Liberty-engine
Higham Special' and after re-modelling it and re-naming it _Babs_,
on 28 April 1926 at Pendine Sands, Wales, he achieved a speed of
more than 170 m.p.h., breaking Colin Campbell's record by almost 20
m.p.h. The following year, Campbell re-took the record, which drove
Thomas to attempt to regain his title, once again at Pendine Sands.
On 3 March 1927, _Babs_ crashed, and Thomas was killed. Thomas was
buried at Byfleet in Surrey and _Babs_ was interred in the dunes at
Pendine Sands. This biography by Hugh Tours, includes thirty-six
photographs and drawings, with an additional chapter in this new
edition which details the recovery and restoration of _Babs_.
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