Page 19 - Beep Beep September 22

the cars are understood to have not been seen in public together since their historic race across the sands until being together again at the Historic Leyburn Sprints on 20-21 August 2022 doing demonstration laps of the one kilometre round-the-houses course on both days of the event.
The Willys Overland, known as Whitey, was driven by Fred Eager, son of the founder of Brisbane motor dealer Eagers. In an early example of using motorsport to promote the product, he was a frequent and successful competitor in local events, especially Hillclimbs.
Hungry for its own share of the burgeoning car market, rival dealer Canadian Cycle and Motor pitched its driver Alec Jewell and a Studebaker Six into the fray.
Each car claimed success in various events until the competitiveness came to a head at the Southport Speed Trials, then – and at low tide – the only stretch where cars could run to their top speed.
Jewell and the Studebaker won the competition with a speed of 137 kilometres an hour, a whisker faster than the Willys, to claim the first Australian Land Speed Record.
Then, both machines went on to other, separate, successes including long-distance records, until they disappeared.
Current owner Graham Crittenden found the Willys Overland in 1966 and restored it to original condition.
Gavin Mutton had a bigger job with the Studebaker, even using some original parts that had been re-purposed for a Darling Downs corn harvester to reconstruct his car in the form that set a Sydney-Brisbane record in 1917 (Whitey reset the record in 1918).
Acknowledging information from speedcafe.com : Editor
Two cars that raced each other for the inaugural Australian land speed record appeared together on track for the first time in almost 106 years: Photo Joan Coles
Photo Joan Coles
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