Car v plane

THE FAMOUS RACE OF 1923

The 1923 race
 

A race across the sands between a light aircraft and a car driven by Raymond Mays was staged in the summer of 1923 at Skegness, the seaside resort on the Lincolnshire coast. The object of the exercise was mainly publicity and to obtain the maximum coverage to win sponsorship and so representatives from the world's press were in attendance.

 

Raymond Mays was at the wheel of his Brescia Bugatti, nicknamed Cordon Rouge, and the aircraft was a De Havilland DH6 but the car kept pace with the plane for a distance of one mile. "The aeroplane flew so low over my head and made so much noise that I could hardly concentrate on driving", said Raymond afterwards. "Nevertheless, we crossed the finishing line practically together."

 

The event resulted in last minute modifications to the Bugatti before Mays and his team travelled through the night to the Shelsley Walsh track in Worcestershire for the final important event of the season.

 

PRESERVED ON CANVAS

Gerald Freeman, a British artist who now lives in the United States, has become famous for his majestic paintings of historical racing scenes that have been well researched and dramatically interpreted. He also puts his talents to classic cars in impressive settings.

Painting of the race

 Starting just eight years ago, he began creating dramatic works of art such as this one depicting the race between Mays' Bugatti and the De Havilland biplane. Today, the 70-year-old artist is having a renaissance as one of the most popular and prolific painters in his genre. This copy of his painting is a print reproduced on canvas.

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