MOTORCYCLE RACING

BMCRC

Motorcycle racing started at Brooklands in 1908 and the British Motorcycle Racing Club - known as 'Bemsee' from its initials - was founded in 1909. Sidecar outfits joined the solo machines for racing and record breaking from 1912.

The attendance at Brooklands motorcycle events was always quite small, being mostly knowledgeable enthusiasts, and lacking the ‘Society’ element of the car racing crowd. However, an established pattern of race meetings emerged and as speeds rose and the reliability of machines improved races were held over greater distances.

Two motorcycle events were held on the Track during the First World War , both organised by the British Motor Cycle Racing Club for men serving in the Armed Forces. One of these, was the so-called ‘All Khaki’ Meeting held on 7th August 1915.

Following the end of the War in 1918, Brooklands was to witness the golden age of motorcycling when the British racing motorcycle was the best and fastest in the world.

The MCC organised trials and competitions, not just for motorcycles but for sidecars and cycle cars too at their regular meetings.

In 1933 ‘The Motorcycle’ magazine instituted a Clubman’s Day Meeting which proved an enormous success. Brooklands was the home of so many motorcycle riders. Workshops sprung up around the paddock with names of men and machines painted on the doors. Eric Fernihough, who took the Motorcycle Landspeed Record at Gyon in Hungary in 1937, had a garage by the perimeter of the track on the Byfleet Road.

Many epic motorcycle record breaking attempts took place at Brooklands during the thirties. Eric Fernihough raised the Brooklands lap record to 123.58mph in 1935 with his Brough Superior, topped in 1939 by Noel Pope at 124.51mph.

THE BRDC

Another Club that staged ambitious races at Brooklands was the elite British Racing Drivers Club or BRDC which was founded in 1927. Their first event was the 500 Mile Race of 1929 which was destined to become the fastest long distance race in the world. The other coveted BRDC trophy was the British Empire Trophy. Races of this calibre presented a challenge to great names such as John Cobb, Sammy Davies, ‘Tim’ Birkin and the Dunfee Brothers.

From 1930 races on a smaller section of the track known as the ‘Mountain Circuit’ were introduced by the new Clerk of the Course, Mr A Percy Bradley. This fast and furious 1¼ mile lap, providing a cross between road and track racing, was a tough course for the drivers and a stern test of acceleration, braking, and road-holding for the cars.

The Junior Car Club continued to hold races at Brooklands, and organise club days for trials and driving tests but was most famous for its big international race meetings. The Double Twelve Hour Race, came about because night time noise restrictions meant 24 hour racing was not permitted at Brooklands. The event was divided into two daylight sessions with the cars being locked up overnight. The 200 Mile Race continued to be run until 1928. The International Trophy was held every year from 1933 until 1939, for the first time large and small cars started together and raced for 250 miles - the faster the car the more severe the course as it negotiated its 100 circuits. This race attracted great names like Captain Malcolm Campbell, Kaye Don, Earl Howe and Elsie Wisdom.

1930s

The popularity of Brooklands grew throughout the 1930s. In 1930 the Clubhouse was extended to accommodate the social appeal of race meetings and the BARC adopted the slogan ‘The Right Crowd and No Crowding’. Brooklands which was still the preserve of the wealthy amateur became a fashionable venue on the sporting calendar along with Henley, Wimbledon and Ascot. Members of the Racing Club were often members of the Brooklands Flying Club as well and the airfield was a lively part of the Track.

The Paddock was a busy place as popular heroes mingled with those spectators who could afford a paddock transfer pass into the’ inner sanctuary’.

Until 1933, Brooklands was unchallenged as the only motor racing circuit in mainland Britain, but in that year the track at Donington Park in Derbyshire was opened for car racing. Further competition came in 1937 with the opening of a road-racing circuit at the Crystal Palace, in South East London.

Facing up to this the BARC decided to construct a new road circuit at Brooklands, providing the maximum road racing track possible, without intruding on the Outer and Mountain Circuits, the aerodrome or the famous sewage farm!

The new circuit, designed by, and named after, Sir Malcolm Campbell zig-zagged its way across the centre of the motorcourse cleverly incorporating the old banked track. Opened in 1937 it proved popular with the increasing number of drivers who wanted to experience the thrills of this sport.

Records for the Mountain and Campbell Circuits were also highly prized and both were eventually held by Raymond Mays, famous for his involvement in the development of the English Racing Automobile, or ERA.

The ERA chassis was designed by Reid Railton and made by Thomson & Taylor at Brooklands.

Cycle races were held more frequently during the 1930s. In 1933 a 100 kilometre Championship Trial Road Race was held there, promoted by the Charlotteville Cycling Club. The event was used to select a team for the World Championships at Montlhéry. The track continued as a regular venue for cycle races throughout the 1930s. In 1939 alone 19 races were held between April and August.

THE MOTOR INDUSTRY

When Hugh Locke King had Brooklands built it was not just with racing in mind. He intended it as a testing ground for the British motor industry. Much development work was done on engine components by manufacturers.

Motoring journalists would bring the latest car models to the track for test drives and car manufacturers such as Lagonda and Ford held special public days to promote and demonstrate the available range of private and commercial vehicles.

A Ford Gymkhana held in June 1939 was the biggest event Brooklands ever saw. Crowds of 30,000 were attracted to a spectacular day of demonstrations and entertainment.

But the uncertainty of war loomed ever closer, and the BARC held its last ever meeting at Brooklands on 7th August 1939.

The Aerodrome was requisitioned by the Government and was devoted to the production of Vickers and Hawker aircraft including the Hurricane fighter plane and the Wellington Bomber.

When peace returned everyone lived in high hopes of the racing track’s eventual recovery but the changes turned out to be too severe. Hangars had been erected on the Track and camouflage was used heavily in the form of tree planting and canvas houses to obscure the undesirable target shape around the Vickers factory. The government could not see their way to releasing Brooklands until 1949 and consequently the shareholders of Brooklands [Weybridge] Ltd voted in favour of selling the Track to Vickers Ltd and Brooklands motor racing became no more than memories.

Today, following the formation of the Brooklands Museum Trust in 1987 to preserve and interpret 30 acres of the most historic part of the old race track; much has already been achieved in the replacement and reconstruction of many historic buildings and features. You can once again enjoy views of the great banked track spanned by the Members’ Bridge or visit the original Clubhouse now returned to the period atmosphere of its heyday. Here the Clerk of the Course’s Office of the 1920s has been refurbished and the unique Ladies’ Reading Room pays tribute to the fearless women who once raced at Brooklands. The 1907 Weighbridge and the Clerk of the Scales’ Office have been reinstated and show how horse racing traditions were adopted by the early motor racing drivers.

The original Motoring Village which includes the Malcolm Campbell Sheds, the Shell and BP Petrol Pagodas, the ERA Shed housing the ‘Fastest on Earth’ Exhibition, the Cycle Exhibition and The Jackson Shed featuring The Grand Prix Exhibition has been restored to house the Museum’s growing collection of historic racing cars, motorcycles and cycles.

At the foot of Test Hill stand replicas of A.V. Roe’s Shed and Roe biplane just a few yards from where the originals stood in 1907.

A hangar built on the Finishing Straight in 1940 houses the Wellington bomber ‘R’ for ‘Robert’ rescued from Loch Ness in 1985 and painstakingly restored at Brooklands. Nearby are other aircraft from a collection of Vickers and Hawker types which include a Harrier jump jet.

On regular events days throughout the year the Track once again comes to life as vintage cars and motorcycles tackle the 1-in-4 gradient of the 1909 Test Hill and enjoy the thrill of a drive on a section of the famous outer circuit. Aviation events including flypasts and light aircraft fly-ins are once again regular attractions too.

As more buildings and features are restored and brought back to life so the spirit of Brooklands and the traditions of a very special place will live on.