On Sunday 6th September 1925, the “motor car state speed championship”, organised by the Royal Automobile Club was held at Lake Perkolilli in the east of Western Australia. The dry lake bed was a natural choice because if its smooth surface. On the downside it was subject to dust caused by activity and worsened by high winds. Lake Perkolilli was the site of many motor cycle and automobile races throughout the twenties and thirties. The race was 20 miles. The five entrants included: 1. L. Hope (Overland) Adams Motors Ltd, 2. R. Wilson, (Oakland), 3. V. Burkett (Dodge), 4. Sharpen & Riches Motors, (Chandler) & 5. C. Stanton (Th. Schneider).
On the previous day it is recorded that the Chandler, a six cylinder model “lapped…at 65 miles per hour”. Hope’s Overland at 70 miles per hour and Stanton’s Schneider at 67 miles per hour.
On the day Hope in the Overland led early and was never passed. The Chandler finished second and the Schneider third. However the Chandler was initially disqualified on the grounds that it had “…dropped back and pulled inside of the track near the approach to the finish line”. The protest that ensued was upheld so the results remained the same, Overland 1st, Chandler 2nd & Th. Schneider 3rd. Both the Dodge and the Oakland had retired due to mechanical issues.
There was some speculation about the engine of the Overland as the bonnet was sealed and the engine not available for inspection. This led to the opinion that the engine of the Overland may have been non-standard.
Postscript:
Three weeks after the championship race Charles Stanton placed an advertisement in the Kalgoorlie Miner newspaper:
IMAGE MAY BE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT
ACKNOWLEGEMENT IS PROVIDED
WHERE POSSIBLE.
(http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page9159866, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4341703)
TH.SCHNEIDER automobile register 