Stanley St. Claire Sayres (1896 - 17 September 1956) was ahydroplane racer who broke the world water speed record with his "Slo-mo-shun IV" boat.
Sayres was born inDayton, Washington in 1896, and studied inWalla Walla, Washington at theWhitman College. He entered the army in 1917. After World War I, he ran his own car dealerships in Walla Walla and a second one inPendleton, Oregon. By 1931, when he moved to Seattle, he owned 5 dealerships.[1][2]
HisChrysler-Plymouth dealership was located on the corner ofBroadway andMadison Street in Seattle.[3] Together with Harry Jensen he founded the successful company Jen-Cel-Lite, which made sleeping bags using cellulose for insulation. Harry's brother Tony owned Jensen Motor Boat Company, and this sparked the interest in motor boat racing Sayres would have for the rest of his life.[1]
From 1937 onward, he owned a series of successful hydroplane racing boats calledSlo-mo-shun I to V. The first ones were bought in 1937 and 1942 from Jack Cooper; theSlo-mo-shun II had with its previous owner and under its previous nameTopps III set a world record for its class (225-class boats) at 87.48 mph. The 1947Slo-mo-shun III was the first boat specially ordered by Sayres, again in the 225 class. It marked the start of the collaboration between Sayres, designer Ted Jones, and builder Anchor Jensen (son of Tony). TheSlo-mo-shun IV was built between 1948 and October 1949, theSlo-mo-shun V in 1951. It was the last boat he built.[1]
Usually, he let others drive the boats, but in 1950 he piloted theSlo-mo-shun IV to the World Unlimitedwater speed record.Malcolm Campbell had set the record in 1939 to 141.740 mph (228.108 km/h) with hisBlue Bird K4. On 26 June 1950, Sayres broke that record when he reached 160.323 mph (258.015 km/h). He again improved this record on 7 July 1952 to 178.49 mph (287.25 km/h). This record stood until July 1955 whenDonald Campbell, son of the former record holder, reached 202.32 mph (325.60 km/h) in theBluebird K7.[1]
In the early 1950s, his two boatsSlo-mo-shun IV andSlo-mo-shun V (with various drivers includingTed Jones) were the 6-times winners of theAPBA Gold Cup, the most important hydroplane race in the United States.[2] The IV also won theHarmsworth Cup in 1950, making it the only boat to win the two most important trophies and set the world speed record in one year.[1]
Sayres died of a heart attack in 1956. The Stan Sayres Memorial Park in Seattle is named after him.[4]