Formula One Register

            The opening meeting of the second season was the first significant race meeting in the British calendar, only a relatively minor Brooklands meeting preceding it.  Despite its early date, it enjoyed fine if chilly weather. 
The programme announced that all meetings in 1938 would be of International status and, as a result, competitors from France and Switzerland spiced up the entry list.

Winner's Speed :  56.81 mph
Fastest Lap : "Bira"  2'03.9"  58.11 mph
Note: Addition of the lap times for #7 gives a total of 22'24.9": not 22'27.0" as given in the Results Bulletin

The now familiar heats and final format with handicaps by classes was employed, although with 10 cars in each heat and 20 cars to qualify for the final, the heats were only going to decide starting positions. A competitor winning both the heat and final would collect £180 in prize money, equivalent to some £5,500 in 2004.
The handicapping ensured that it was the small cars that initially led the nine starters in Heat 1, with Everitt in Parnell's highly modified MG ahead of Hadley in the works Austin 750 and Brooke. Rather surprisingly, Connell headed the pursuers from "Bira" and Wakefield. 
At mid distance it was all change; Hadley passed Everitt, Brooke hit trouble and the 1500s caught the small cars. On the sixth lap, "Bira" took the inside of Connell at Big Tree Bend and it was impossible to avoid a collision. When they disentangled themselves it was "Bira" ahead.
Once in front, "Bira" upped the pace and his last four laps were all sub-2'05", a time no-one else could approach.  Connell was now experiencing brake trouble and/or a damaged front hub and dropped back. Incidentally, Connell's ERA R6B no longer had the Arnott superchargers seen in 1937 and was now back to standard appearance.  Wakefield also passed Hadley near the end to take second. Frenchman Joseph Paul circulated steadily at the back, never remotely likely to make up the handicap on the 1500s.  In fact, his best lap of 2'14.6" was slower than Hadley's best (2'11.9") and Everitt (2'13.0").

Lap chart

(from Crystal Palace Volume 1)

Winner’s Speed  83.99mph
Fastest Lap  Rees  58.4"  85.66mph  Record
Alt cars – 21 Cooper Cosworth 997cc   23 Brabham Cosworth 998cc  

As usual, Heat 2 had the lesser lights, although quite why this usually seemed to include Alan Rees is less than obvious. No shock therefore to see him on pole, albeit with a time that would have only been good enough for the third row in Heat 1.  There was a hint of things to come when, in morning practice, Rindt came through North Tower in full-blooded opposite lock slides which caused a few people to check in their programmes to see who this driver was.  It was no surprise when he qualified in the middle of the front row, which was completed by Hobbs in the works Merlyn. The rest of the field was made up of a pair of privately entered Lotus 32s for sports car racers Rodney Bloor and David Prophet, Brabham BT10s for Frenchman Jacques Maglia and German Kurt Ahrens,  a works Alexis in the hands of Australian John Ampt, Arundell in the Ron Harris-Team Lotus car transferred from Heat 1 plus three Formula 3 cars with Ford Cosworth MAE engines rather than full race Cosworth SCA motors for American Roy Pike and club racers Jack Newton and Syd Fox.
Hobbs led the first lap but to most peoples’ surprise Rindt had forged ahead on lap two. Rees was third behind Hobbs. Rees recovered to second on lap four but although he challenged hard and spent the rest of the 20 laps affixed to the Ford Austria Brabham’s tailpipe, it was Rindt’s race, a dead heat on time being given. Fastest lap went to Rees at 58.4", quicker than Hill and Hulme in Heat 1. Rindt was also faster with a best of 58.6" Arundell had started from the back of the grid and could be expected to trouble the leaders. Although he soon reached third, his engine seemed a bit off song and he could not shake off Kurt Ahrens, who succeeded in regaining the spot three laps from the end. To prove this was no fluke, his best lap was 0.4" quicker than Arundell. The only non-finisher was Maglia who crashed out at North Tower on the second lap. Roy Pike did well to take sixth with the Formula 3 spec Lotus 22, still on the lead lap and qualified for the final.