Bombsk
Bombsk
| Bombsk (Mallock) | |
| Arthur Mallock was born in 1918 and bought his first car, an Austin Seven, at the age of 17 when he set off on a 200-mile journey to spectate at the 1935 Exeter Trial. His competitive trials debut was on two wheels, riding a BSA in the 1936 Berkhamsted schoolboys trial. In 1939 Arthur began constructing his first trials special based on a 1932 Austin Seven van, which he got running just before the War but only managed a couple of events before the conflict bought motor sport to an end. While serving in the forces, Arthur developed his special into a respectable machine nicknamed "Bren", after the gun. "Bren" had independent front suspension and motorcycle tyres, designed to dig through the mud in search of grip. Mallock’s car was one of only two to clean the hill at the Full Moon Trial in January 1946. Arthur got a first class award on the event and further success followed during the season but Arthur decided that he needed more power and less weight and a car that he could use for speed events as well as trials. | |
| Mallock’s second special "Bombsk" was also Austin based and included many ideas from "Bren" plus a supercharger for the 750cc motor, 19 inch wheels and a weight reduction. "Bombsk" was built with assistance from Mr French around a short chassis A7 frame and later rebuilt around a long chassis frame. Arthur won the "Northern Experts" trial with the car. Gradually he competed in more speed events and fewer trials so, by the early 50s, he was racing full time and developing "Bombsk" accordingly, including fitting a JAP engine to take part in Formula 3 events. Being essentially still Austin based, it was uncompetitive compared to the dedicated racing cars of Cooper and others, by that time. He switched to the 1172 Formula races where the car was more competitive until the winter of 1957, when he designed and built the Mallock U2 Mk 1 from scratch, cannibalising “Bombsk” for many parts in the process. |
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| The U2 proved to be a highly successful design and turned Mallock into a constructor. Arthur and his family went on to design and build a whole series of Mallock U2 racing cars. He did return to trials briefly in 1962/63, competing in the 750 Motor Club’s championship in a newly constructed Austin Seven special and finished runner-up. Arthur Mallock's son, Ray continues to develop racing cars today. You can find more details of Arthur's career at www.classictrials.co.uk or by reading Arthur's biography "The Lone Furrow" by Paul Lawrence.
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