7. International six-day trip

On the first day of the competition, the route led through the Cheddar Gorge .

The 7th International Six Day Voyage took place in the United Kingdom from August 17-22, 1925 .

After Germany became a member of the FICM World Motorcycle Association in December of the previous year, three German teams took part in the international six-day race for the first time.

The British A-team won the trophy and silver vase rankings.

competition

87 drivers were registered to cover the 1738 km route through southern England and Wales. The starting field included 63 Britons and drivers from Norway (3), the Netherlands (7) and Australia (3). Of the 24 Germans who registered, only 11 started. The three Britons Marjorie Cottle , Edyth Foley and Louise Ball also took part .

When the motorcycles were accepted, many of the German machines did not comply with the rules and had to be retrofitted accordingly.

The field of drivers was divided into two groups. On the one hand, the drivers started in the national teams for the trophy and silver vase evaluation. Three English and one German teams competed for the trophy standings. In the silver vase evaluation, there were three English, two German and one team each from Norway, Australia and the Netherlands. For the Dutch team GJ Hamer started on Raleigh , Chr. Kleysen on BSA and G. van Twist on Brough Superior .

A second group was intended for drivers of English machines. The nationality of the drivers was not decisive here.

Since the six-day trip was also part of the English club championship, eleven club teams took part in the competition.

The competition route was characterized by many driveways and sections where stopping was prohibited (non-stops).

1 day

The route on the first day led from Southampton via Salisbury , Shepton-Mallet , Axbridge , Shapwick to Taunton . Lunch was scheduled for Shepton-Mallet. Among other things, Draycott Hill near Cheddar had to be overcome on the 322 kilometer route.

Due to an accident by Hamer, the Dutch silver vase team burst on the first day. The second outage that day concerned the German bear on Neander . In a collision with a car, his front fork broke. This meant that one of the German silver vase teams was no longer competitive.

2 day

The 297-kilometer route on the second day led through Devon , from Taunton via Porlock , Simonsbath , Lynton to South Molton (noon) and back via Chulmleigh , Tiverton and Wellington . The route was very selective and led over several hills and mountains on unpaved roads.

The German trophy team burst due to the failure of Victoria driver Alfred Oberländer . In addition, the two Germans Tesch (accident) and Herzogenrath (leaky fuel tank) were eliminated. For the Dutch team, the two remaining drivers of the Silbervasen team dropped out.

3rd day

On the third day, the 324 kilometer route led from Taunton via Sicot , Gloucester , Ross-on-Wye (lunch break), Abergavenny , Aberdare to Swansea .

4th day

On the fourth day, the 309-kilometer route through Wales led from Swansea via Carmarthen , Aberayron , Devil's Bridge (noon), Lampeter , Builth to Llandrindod Wells .

5th day

On the penultimate day, the 333-kilometer route led from Llandrindod Wells via Rhayader , Llandloes , Llangower , Newton (noon), Hereford and Tewkesbury to Cheltenham .

In the Norwegian silver vase team, the team retired after a flat tire.

6th day

On the final day, the 153-kilometer route led from Cheltenham via Abingdon , Dorchester , Maidenhead , Windsor to the Brooklands circuit . At the end of the race, a speed test was carried out over a period of 100 minutes. Depending on the engine size, between 18 and 30 laps had to be driven. Edyth Foley retired because of engine failure.

At the end of the 6th day, 57 drivers were still rated.

Final results

Trophy

space	team	Points
1.	United Kingdom (A-Team)	895
2.	United Kingdom (C-Team)	886
3.	United Kingdom (B team)	856
4th	German Empire	557

Silver vase

space	team	Points
1.	United Kingdom (A-Team)	895
2.	United Kingdom (C-Team)	886
3.	Australia	876
4th	United Kingdom (B team)	856

The 30 gold medal winners also included the two women Marjorie Cottle and Louise Ball. 13 drivers received a silver and 3 a bronze medal.

AJS-James won the brand classification ahead of Steven & Co.

The club rating was won by the East Midland Center team consisting of Leonard Crisp (Humber), LE Rollason (Ariel) and WA Carr (Morgan).

literature

• The international English six-day test drive. In:  Sportblatt am Mittag / Sport-Tagblatt. Sports edition of the Neue Wiener Tagblatt , August 20, 1925, p. 6 (online at ANNO ).
• The international English six-day test drive. In:  Sportblatt am Mittag / Sport-Tagblatt. Sports edition of the Neue Wiener Tagblatt , August 21, 1925, p. 6 (online at ANNO ).
• The international English six-day test drive. In:  Sportblatt am Mittag / Sport-Tagblatt. Sports edition of the Neue Wiener Tagblatt , August 22, 1925, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).
• The international English six-day test drive. In:  Sportblatt am Mittag / Sport-Tagblatt. Sports edition of the Neue Wiener Tagblatt , August 25, 1925, p. 6 (online at ANNO ).
• The international English six-day test drive. In:  Sportblatt am Mittag / Sport-Tagblatt. Sports edition of the Neue Wiener Tagblatt , August 29, 1925, p. 13 (online at ANNO ).
• De Internationale Zesdaagsche wedstrijd. In: Het Vaderland, August 7, 1925, p. 9.
• De Internationale Zesdaagsche wedstrijd. In: Het Vaderland, August 18, 1925, p. 3.
• De Internationale Zesdaagsche wedstrijd. In: Het Vaderland, August 19, 1925, p. 7.
• De Internationale Zesdaagsche wedstrijd. In: Het Vaderland, August 20, 1925, p. 9.
• De Internationale Zesdaagsche wedstrijd. In: Het Vaderland, August 24, 1925, p. 9.
• Steffen Ottinger: International Six Day Trip 2012. The story since 1913 . HB-Werbung und Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Chemnitz 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-039566-6 , p. 13 f .

Web links

• speedtracktales: photos