A Bluebird on Lake Eyre: Donald Campbell and the World Land Speed Record

Further to the recent talk by Gina Campbell and Don Wales on Donald Campbell’s water speed record achievements, Friends of Prescott invites you to join them for a fun and informative fund-raising event exploring his World Land Speed Record project in detail presented by Dr Mark Dibben.

Thanks to the interest that has developed around the rebuilt Bluebird hydroplane in which he lost his life in January 1967 on Lake Coniston, Donald Campbell’s exploits in pursuit of the World Water Speed Record - which he broke on numerous occasions – are now well known. What has perhaps faded into the background somewhat, as a result, is the fact that he also broke the World Land Speed Record. Indeed, he is the last person to have held the official World Land Speed Record driving a wheel-driven car; all subsequent holders of the record have piloted jet cars that relied purely on exhaust-derived thrust, rather than on power transmitted from the turbine through a gearbox to the wheels.

From first-hand archive materials (notably the minutes of business meetings), we shall examine the reason for the crash that ended the first attempt in Utah, at Bonneville, in 1960 and that meant the car had to be extensively rebuilt, as well as the impact of that on the industry’s involvement in the project. The talk will detail the costs of the project and also we shall also examine the reasons why the Lake Eyre site brought numerous inherent problems that led to the abandoning of the 1963 attempt and almost caused the abandonment of the 1964 attempt as well. From first-hand accounts, letters, maps and diary entries, notably from key personnel in the project management team responsible not least for the track, we shall examine the very real tensions that existed throughout the 1964 attempt.

Using colour film of the project taken by the speaker’s father, a member of the project management team, we shall get a real feel for Lake Eyre itself, the sheer logistical exercise involved in running the attempt and building the track, as well as for Bluebird CN7 herself. Using first-hand accounts and black box data from CN7 – the first land speed record car designed and built on aircraft principles – we shall consider the official speed record of 403.1mph, demonstrate that this was – in all likelihood – pessimistically inaccurate. By reference to another successful world land speed record attempt that the speaker himself was directly involved in, we shall consider the possible reasons for this. We shall next turn to DC himself and his motivations for speed record breaking and finally, in the light of what we know happened during the speed record runs themselves, ponder the question of what real courage in motorsport can look like.

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Dr Mark Dibben is a retired management academic whose final book, co-written with his father Stan Dibben – the 1953 world champion sidecar rider and chief track engineer at Lake Eyre – explored in detail (amongst numerous other motoring and business history topics) both the Bluebird car world land speed record attempt, set on Lake Eyre in 1964, and the Flying Kiwi sidecar world land speed record attempt, set in New Zealand in 2006. He is also known for his volunteer work helping to design and implement sustainability strategies for vintage motoring organisations including the Vintage Sports-Car Club, Vintage Bentley – and (with Steve Dymoke) the Bugatti Owners Club.

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