Oliver Bertram

26/2/1910 - 13/9/1975

Record updated 26-Feb-07

Oliver Bertram was more interested in competing in hill climbs and speed trials than road racing and aquired the ex-John Cobb 10½ litre Delage in 1933, lapping Brooklands at over 130 mph. In 1935 he bought the Barnato-Hassan Special and set the Outer Circuit lap record at 142.60 mph.

Oliver Bertram
Oliver Bertram was a barrister by profession. He started racing in 1929 while at Cambridge. More interested in competing in hill climbs and speed trials than road racing, he aquired the ex-John Cobb 10½ litre Delage from Thompson & Taylor in 1933 and was soon lapping Brooklands at over 130 m.p.h. gaining his 130 m.p.h badge on the 7th August that year.

Bertram won two races and was well placed in several others in the Delage in 1933 and 1934.

In 1935 Bertram continued to campaign the Delage, also unveiling the updated Barnato-Hassan Special now with an 8 litre Bentley engine in which on the 5th August 1935 he took the Outer Circuit lap record back from John Cobb to 142.60 m.p.h. and held it until Cobb replied two months and two days later with his ultimate record of 143.44 m.m.p.h. in the Napier Railton. He also won the Easter Short handicap race from scratch at 134.97 mph in 1935.

Unsurprisingly Cobb and Bertram got along pretty well and in 1937, they shared the driving of the Napier Railton to take first place in the BRDC 500 Kilometres Race - a shortened version of the 500 Miles Race formulated to save the competitors money cutting down on wear and tear.

He was awarded the B.D.R.C. Track Star twice in 1935 and 1938.



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