1. Kaye Ernest Donsky, better known by his nom de course Kaye Don, was an Irish world record breaking car and speedboat racer.
17 Facts About Kaye Don
1. 2.
Kaye Don became a motorcycle dealer on his retirement from road racing and set up Ambassador Motorcycles.
3.
Kaye Don was of Polish ancestry and shortened his name to Don.
4.
Kaye Don was brought up in Kingston-upon-Thames and was an RFC pilot during the First World War.
5.
Kaye Don began his career as a motorcycle racer but soon switched to cars and won the inaugural 1928 Ards-Belfast circuit, Northern Ireland, Tourist Trophy with a Lea-Francis.
6.
Between 1926 and 1928 Kaye raced a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam at Brooklands which was an ex-Malcolm Campbell 'Blue Bird' and extensively contributed to what W Boddy described as "the best run of success by any Brooklands car in such a period".
7.
Kaye Don regularly raced at Brooklands and driving a Sunbeam on 22 September 1928 he set an outer circuit lap flying start record of 131.76 miles per hour and increased this to 134.24 miles per hour on 5 August 1929.
8.
In 1931 Kaye Don was selected to compete in the Harmsworth Trophy Race on the Detroit River.
9.
Kaye Don stuck to the rules though, a matter which still rankles with some today.
10.
Gar Wood finished the race first, but both he and Kaye Don were disqualified because they had jumped the starter's gun by seven seconds.
11.
On Monday 28 May 1934, Kaye Don was preparing to race an MG Magnette on public roads on the Isle of Man.
12.
Kaye Don was involved in an incident which caused the death of Francis Tayler, an MG employee.
13.
Kaye Don took the car out for a further test, with Francis Tayler as passenger.
14.
Kaye Don claimed that the light was adequate, indeed, lighting-up time was 10:25 pm.
15.
The evidence was presented but Kaye Don was found guilty and sentenced to four months in prison by Deemster Farrant.
16.
Kaye Don appealed on the grounds that Francis Tayler had said something to Kaye Don's detriment before he died and that his comments had become public and had prejudiced his trial.
17.
Kaye Don produced many different models until it was taken over by DMW in 1962 and Kaye Don retired.