1934 Australian GP

It has been believed, almost with question, that the Australian GP ‘bible’ of John Blanden was correct when it listed Robert Lea-Wright as having driven a Singer Le Mans (although listed at 1972cc?) in the race for the win. And for the last 80-odd years, no one has ever found any solid trace of that car! I know of several people who have hunted for the car since the 70’s and never found it. It had essentially come down to maybe 3 or 4 Le Mans left out there that ‘could’ be the car.

I’ve had a pretty wild ride for the last few months whilst digging for information on my 1933 Singer 9 Sports. And, respectfully of all those who have written about it, or have hunted for the car before me, I can now say that no one will ever find the 1934 Le Mans that Lea-Wright drove to victory in that race. It never existed…..

As part of my research, I’ve scoured period newspapers, accounts, photos and chased any tangent that I could follow. It led me to tracking down Bob Lea-Wright’s family – and to hold in my hands the personal photo-album of Lea-Wright, with his own handwritten annotations. Spine-tingling stuff! What it contained was a selection of maybe 20 photos of the ‘34GP car that had NEVER been seen in public. Whilst many people know this photo (PIC#3), the album included photos of the same car but with #18 on the side (PIC#4). So it had to have raced at least twice in its career before it disappeared! So a new hunt began!

As #18, the car raced on January 1^st, 1934 at the Phillip Island 100. Entry documents list the car as a “Singer 9 Sport” – and definitely not a Le Mans. So for the car to have raced on the first day of 1934, it MUST have been a 1933 model, and it definitely wasn’t listed as a Le Mans! The race wasn’t a real success for the team from Lea-Wright Motors. As the race approached the ¾ distance, the piston’s cried foul of the dusty and dry conditions on Phillip Island, and apparently at least one managed to escape the block, and ended the day for Lea-Wright.

Repainted with a #20 on the side, Lea-Wright took the car back to Phillip Island for the Grand Prix event in March. And despite having what must have been a new engine, Lea-Wright managed to destroy another engine in practice on the Saturday – and the infamous trip back to Melbourne to fit the engine from Arthur Beasley’s Le Mans saw them back at Phillip Island on Sunday – where Lea-Wright drove the car around the track throughout the night in order to run in the engine; much to the disdain of at least one local farmer. Once the race started on Monday, Lea-Wright managed the incredulous win after Bill Thompson overtook him, then overshot the last corner and so Lea-Wright held onto a narrow win despite only having 4^th gear left to use! PIC#5

And here, a quick diversion in the story: Lea-Wright used the same car in several Trials throughout late 1933 and early 1934!

- Newspaper reports of the day say that Arthur Beasley moved from Sydney to Melbourne in October 1933 where he joined Lea-Wright motors as a ‘master’ race-car builder and tuner. PIC#8

-October 26, 1933, Beasley drove a Lea-Wright Motors-entered Singer 9 Sports in the Junior Car Club Reliability trial.

-November 25, 1933 saw Lea-Wright drives a Singer 9 Sports in a 220-mile Light Car Club trial.

-January 1, 1934. Phillip Island 100. (Motor is blown during the race)

-February 26, 1934. Junior Car Club Championship Trial. Lea-Wright competes in a Singer Sports

-March 19, 1934. Australian Grand Prix. Destroys motor #2. Le Mans motor fitted. Finishes 1^st

-April 30, 1934. Lea-Wright driving a Singer 9 Sports in the LCCA 140 Mile Night Trial

By June 1934, Lea-Wright had imported his own ‘proper’ 1934 Singer Le Mans that he went onto use in several events. The 1934 Victorian Centenary Grand Prix (October 27) at Phillip Island, The 1935 Centenary 300 on January 1^st, and then the 1935 Australian GP – where they again fitted the motor they used in the 1934GP only to suffer another DNF due to engine issues. PIC#6

Beyond this point, Lea-Wright sold his Singer dealership in Queensberry st, North Melbourne, and took up racing the first of 3 Terraplanes that he continued to use right through to the 1939 AGP at Lobethal with some moderate success. PIC#7

He went onto serve in the Army in WW2, and in the post-war years, continued to be involved with Motorsport Administration, but never again in the driver’s seat.

And so, the 1934 Singer Le Mans that won the Australian Grand Prix can’t ever be found, simply because it has to have been a Singer 9 Sports delivered before October, 1933; the trail of events, and the photo evidence of the car competing on January 1^st, 1934 are an argument that would be hard to oppose!

It seems the car lived a pretty busy life for the 6-month period it was in use by Lea-Wright and Beasley, but given it consumed 2 engines (and the 3^rd would be destroyed in his Le Mans in ’35) I wonder whether it was simply pilfered for parts, and left out the back of the workshop? No trace of the car ever competing again can be found despite many Singer’s being competitive right through until the start of WW2. So it’s strange that a car with such pedigree disappeared entirely from view.

Fortunately, I know the whereabouts of a Singer 9 Sports that was delivered to Australia in September, 1933, sans-body and as a special-order with wheels but not tyres and with some extensive chassis work done to it to strengthen it for the rigours of the dirt roads of Phillip Island that has lived a pretty hidden life for the last 65-odd years. Stay tuned! PIC#9