3 replies to this topic

[Dennis David]

After the Pay-off Banquet at Indianapolis where the prize money and the various trophies were awarded with the usual ceremony, we packed up, and the next day left for France, where Uncle Ralph de Palma was scheduled to drive in the French Grand Prix, a road race that was being run that year at the Le Mans course.
However, brother Johnny and I did not cross the Atlantic with Uncle. He went over on the Paris and we on a glorified tub called the Roussillon, so that 'we could watch the Ballot'.
On arrival in Paris, Uncle gave Jean Marcenac instructions to arrange hotel accommodation for the three of us, that is, Brother Johnny, Jean and myself. In order to prove to Uncle that he could co-operate in keeping our expenses down, Jean arranged for us to stay at the Hotel Unic, located directly opposite the Gare Montparnasse, while Uncle stayed at the Crillon. A few days later M. Ballot, who was financing our invasion, happened to ask where we were stopping and when I told him the Hotel Unic he went wild in typical French style.
'Mon Dieu! That is terrible Such a dirty, filthy place! Mon Dieu!"
After he had cooled down he gave us instructions to go to the best hotel and get the finest accommodation where we would not reflect discredit on him and the Ballot organization, which was conceded to be the best in France. As M. Ballot was paying our expenses it meant nothing to Uncle if we stayed at an expensive hotel but it conflicted with his ideas of discipline to have his mechanics stay at a place that offered too much luxury, as we had to keep our place in strict accord with the De Palma training code.
In Europe there is a wide gap between a mechanic and a driver. This fact I learned in later years when I registered at a European hotel and signed for my mechanic, Ernie Olsen, who was accompanying me. The manager informed me at once that no mechanics were allowed in the hotel!
After more than two weeks of hard work on the Ballot cars in Paris we were ready and the team moved into the little village of Ecommoy where we made our headquarters, about six miles off the racecourse. We lived in this little town for almost a month, working out on the course and tuning up the cars in an old barn, which we had changed over into a makeshift garage.
Louis Wagner had replaced René Thomas in the Ballot team after the Indianapolis race, but Chassagne and Goux were still with us. For a relief driver we had a big Italian named Foresti. We had an old Ballot racing car, which was used as a training car. We called it 'The Mule'. All the drivers took their turn driving it in practice on the course between five and six in the morning. During that one-hour period the race course was closed to public traffic and the Grand Prix entrants could be reasonably sure that the right of way would not be challenged by bands of sheep, parades of strutting geese, loads of hay, and high-wheeled carts piled with produce.
One morning, just before taking off in practice, Cnassagne's and Uncle's crews stood beside the track at Mulsanne Corner in consultation with Ballot when we heard a car thundering along the tree-fringed stretch, coming towards us, just behind a little hump in the road.
"Who's that?" I wondered, along with the others. Everyone seemed tense. Then I thought "Maybe it's Jimmy Murphy or one of the other Duesenberg drivers, Joe Boyer, André Dubonnet or Albert Guyot?"
Imagine our surprise when the car topped the grade and we saw It was "The Mule", our good friend Foresti at the wheel. On he came-120 miles an hour! We suddenly realized it would be impossible for him to make the turn and we all moved back, giving him ample room so that the road was clear in the event he decided to go straight on, which would take him back to Ecommoy, where breakfast was waiting for us. He never took his foot off the throttle. Instead he continued, faster and faster.
"He'll never make it!" Uncle announced.
"He's crazy," yelled Ballot, shaking his fist in the air.
We held our breath waiting for the crash. But Foresti fooled us. He did not attempt to take the corner; he kept straight on for Ecommoy, going down the slope wide open, the old Ballot engine barking at its best. Ballot jumped up and down, and cursed the big Italian with much disgust.
Although they had switched engines on Uncle at the Ballot factory, giving him the slowest of the four, during practice he consistently lapped faster than the other drivers. Quite naturally, this worried the Frenchmen. Ballot was not at all pleased. With much excitement he asked: "How does De Palma do it?" "I wish I knew," confessed Chassagne.
However, the answer was simple. Uncle could out drive them, but the real trick was in the way we shifted gears on turns. During the time we rebuilt the Ballot in New York we had moved the gearshift lever to the centre, whereas before it had been on the right-hand side. Because it was a right-hand drive, it was now possible for me to shift gears whenever Uncle signaled me. As a result he never had to take his hands from the wheel as we approached a curve. He would yell, "Second!" or "First!" whichever gear he wanted in accordance with the speed we were making. This saved a few seconds on every turn and accounted for the faster time we were making around the course.
Ballot was much concerned and, the morning before the race, discovered our secret. During a final rehearsal with the car tuned perfectly and our morale high, M. Ballot hid behind a bush on one of the turns. As we entered the curve and Uncle Ralph gave the signal I reached for the gearshift but I was too anxious. Instead of shifting into second gear I started to put it in reverse. There was a loud grinding of gears. Up jumped Ballot, howling like an Indian. Waving his arms wildly he charged out onto the course.
"Stop. Stop!" he yelled. Ballot ran up to us in record time.
"Eet is not permitted for ze mechanician to touch ze change-speed lever!", he yelled. "De Palma, ze driver, must make ze shift!"
You can imagine our disappointment when he insisted that the gear-shift lever be changed back to the outside of the body, similar to the other cars, so that Uncle would not have any advantage over the native drivers, and proved very conclusively to me that he wanted a French driver to win. What a tough break that was I And was Uncle upset! We were all ready for the race and Ballot was going to make us change the gearshift mechanism back to the outside. Besides, all our practice was wasted time if Uncle had to do the shifting. That wasn't all. We would have to work all night if we were to get the job finished in time for the race-just a little more than twenty-four hours away.
However, Ballot was the boss and we obeyed his orders, crazy, as they seemed. All night long, until a short time before dawn we worked hard. Finally, when Uncle was sure the entire assembly could be finished in a short time, he and I climbed up into the loft of the barn to get a little sleep.
With the car completed to the satisfaction of M. Ballot, we started preparations for our departure from Ecommoy to Le Mans and the starting point of the race. As we lined up in a downpour of rain for a photo, I noticed such drivers as Major H. O. D. Segrave, K. Lee Guinness and all the rest. It was obvious we were pitted against the foremost European cars and drivers.
It was also obvious that Ballot did not want us to beat the French drivers and his attitude ruined Uncle's morale. From the very first lap I knew he was merely going through the motions of driving and was not his old self. 'What's wrong?' I yelled in his ear, as we passed the pits, where he would let up on his throttle on every lap.
"Carburation!" he shouted back, as we coasted down the stretch in front of the stands.
I knew he was sore at Ballot and was trying to get the Frenchman's goat by shutting off in front of the pits where Ballot was standing. I also felt that the first opportunity that presented itself he would drop out of the race and let the three others of the team fight it out for the glory of old

[Ray Bell]

What about Dan in Belgium?
It's true, he had a bit of British support, but no pom could make a car that good looking.

[Dennis David]

Yes that was a beautiful car.

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Regards,

Dennis David
Yahoo = dennis_a_david

Life is racing, the rest is waiting

Grand Prix History
www.ddavid.com/formula1/

[Don Capps]

Ray,

Only the engines were "Anglo." The Eagle chassis were all made in Santa Ana, California, US of A.

And I agree that the Eagle is still one of the best looking racing cars ever built.

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Yr fthfl & hmbl srvnt,

Don Capps

Semper Gumbi: If this was easy, we’d have the solution already…