DRAGSTRIP

foreign [Music] drag racing brings together the most powerful Modern Machinery yet devised for sprinting stripped of all unnecessary additions modestly presented but with credit given where it's due like horsepower choreography by nuraf and harmonica playing by almost anyone everyone can have a go at this new sport all that's needed is to select the right gear a vehicle of some sort Fuel and the ruthless determination of a superbly fit athlete it's a great one also needs a supercharged seven liter engine beautifully tuned and put together with any other special go faster modifications that can be found and after everything fails foreign drag racing is for everyone the competitors assembled in The Paddock adjust their timing their driving position and torque there are 73 classes of dragster in the States from the dope injected blown V8 to the single cylinder force feed dry sump type most American machines currently clocking around 8 seconds for the standing quarter are meticulously prepared down to the asbestos fire suit and the bird-winning smile of the Constructor this device in particular has a speed across the Finishing Line in excess of 204 miles an hour and only rear-wheel drive torch this type of sprinting against the clock is something we know about everything is poised for the first burst of long-legged horsepower [Music] [Applause] the Americans call this a factory production [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] discuss the production that on the far side with a mini engine at each end and this is something different too what appears to be a remnant of the fourth Bridge has a blown VW engine somewhere amongst the gas tubing and with both feet on the ground to keep the Beast upright Howard Germans proves this point [Music] [Applause] and the unknown hero in the chair outfit can do no more than lie down and enjoy it [Applause] things are warming up there'll seem to be a few problems with this car all you have to do is start it stop it and stir it vaguely towards the checkerboard [Music] all right foreign humorously described as a sports car gave dented you its fastest time of the day at Brighton Tony Nancy it still doesn't believe it but juice rolls away getting up to 130 miles an hour at the end of his run [Music] this car started life in 1933 worth about 130 quid now equipped with automatic transmission and the hairiest Dodge motor you've ever seen it's insured for about 12 000 tons but anyone with enthusiasm and a modest bank balance can have plenty of funds to spend with virtually any vehicle and what really attracts people to this sport because all the boys want to come um they're very interested in it well I know just with a ton of it you know I've never been before we don't know a lot to see how it's properly done for the Yanks well I've never seen drug serration before so I couldn't see what it's slowing [Applause] uh nothing much else to do nothing else to do he must be joking I enjoy it following Motor Racing for about 40 odd years and this is a change as the front wheel breaks the beam it activates the toning gear now the British made drags so far the majority of local men are using British engines Riley and Austin and Ford compared with a blown Plymouth Mill whose power is fully on from the moment the flag starts to move [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] cool now over to Sydney Allard uh well this is dragster racing this is a a type of sport being brought from the state uh over a quarter of a mile that's a straight Sprint over a quarter mile to give you some idea of what we're aiming at today one of the drivers has attained 197 miles an hour at the end of a quarter mile and this is the main object of this former sport now Tommy Tommy Ivo from California is one of their top-notch experts who's got his car here tell me what are the main features of these cars is it sort of all now weight on the rear or what well I think one of the most astounding things is the horsepower that's put out the engines put out well over a thousand horsepower the engine is moved toward the rear of the car so to get as much weight on the rear wheel as possible and they do accelerate at their best from zero to 200 miles an hour in a quarter of a mile these tires right here they're very very large and they'll wear out in about six runs it just tears the rubber off of them the car goes into so heavy as smoking sometimes you can't see where you're going [Music] [Applause] uh what other points uh you you drive it's only on one gear and use the tires as a former fluid flywheel and what I can understand is why you sort of don't stand on the styling line still with all this traffic spin well that's one of the tricks of driving these cars is to see that you're you can look out to the side and see your smoke pattern and see that you don't have the tires boiling too hard sometimes you'll get excited and do it and then lose the race because of it another interesting feature is the parachute when we go to stop the car again that's another problem so we put out a parachute like they use on an aircraft for landing jet aircraft on short Landing strips foreign [Music] too that I might point out is these cars when they start out they'll start out so fast that they'll actually pull the front wheels off the ground and run along on the rear wheels and you don't really rely on much on steering then no no you don't you catch the steering as it's on the ground it'll bounce down every once in a while and you'll point it in the new direction pythagorize is endless starter and Sydney a large Jacks they're the first to be built in this country gets its chance against Moonbeam Moonbeam leaves first but foreign X or Chevrolet with Tommy Ivo and Don Garlits achieving the fastest ever seen in Britain not to 200 in just eight seconds is here to stay [Music]