An incident in Germany

DODGING THE CURRENCY LAWS

The Nurburgring stadium during the 1935 meeting

MOST PEOPLE would imagine Raymond Mays to be an honest citizen and no doubt he was a dedicated observer of the law, except perhaps when it came to motoring, having been prosecuted for speeding on at least one occasion, but then few drivers even today recognise this infringement as little more than an acceptable misdemeanour.

International currency crime therefore comes as a surprise but that is what he committed in the years before the Second World War after attending a race meeting in Germany. Raymond and his team went there in June 1935 to participate in the Eifel Rennen on the Nurburgring circuit, taking with them three 1½ litre works models of the new ERA car, the first serious competitive event abroad, with director designer Peter Berthon and a full team of mechanics and support staff.

The ERA fleet of lorries

He knew the reputation of the circuit as the most difficult course in the world, some 14 miles in length with only one straight. The event was also held during the rise of Nazi supremacy and on the day of the race, attended by 400,000 spectators, the scene of the start was most impressive. “Storm troopers of the SS lined the course by the start, bands were playing and the enormous crowd had to be seen to be believed”, said Raymond afterwards.

All of the ERAs had finished in the first four places and the following day, Raymond and his team paid a visit to the race office to collect their starting money of £150 for each car plus the prize money, the equivalent of several hundreds of pounds, but were surprised to find that it was subject to Germany's restrictive currency regulations. “This money meant a great deal to us because apart from the prestige of our victory, the cash would help to continue to improve the cars and carry out more experimental work”, he said. “But when we were told that our prize money should be spent in Germany and not taken back to England, we were not so thrilled. Arguments took place and finally we collected the money.”

Raymond and his team were still determined to keep the cash and that night, as the team helped load the four ERA cars and spares into the vans for the road journey home, they decided to smuggle the hundreds of mark notes back to England, knowing that it would be a risk as they were breaking the law and running a real chance of detection because a very thorough search would be made of all vehicles at the German frontier.

He later described what happened next: “Behind locked doors, by the dim light of a torch, Peter and the mechanics rolled the notes into round bundles and, with the aid of a long thin stick, pushed the bundles up the exhaust pipes and actually into the exhaust manifolds of all three cars. On arrival at the frontier next day, our hearts missed a beat as the customs officials carried out a most thorough search, including asking for the sparking plugs to be removed, but they found nothing and we reached England with our winnings intact.”

Back in Bourne, the marks were exchanged for pounds sterling and so enabled ERA continue in business while the celebration ribbons from the winner’s wreath presented to Raymond were also brought back and kept as mementos of a successful trip.

NOTE: Acknowledgments to Split Seconds - My Racing Years
by Raymond Mays (G T Foulis & Co Ltd, London, 1950).

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