The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held 19–22 July 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the
Palace Pier and
Black Rock to hold motor racing events. This stretch was renamed Madeira Drive in 1909 and the event is still held there, normally on the second Saturday of September each year. In 1936
''Motor Sport'' described the event as: "undoubtedly the most important speed-trials on the British Calendar."
The event is currently run as a quarter mile sprint for both cars and motorcycles, held under the auspices of the
Motor Sports Association
Motorsport UK, formerly known as the Motor Sports Association (MSA), is a national membership organisation and governing body for four-wheel motorsport in the United Kingdom. Legally, it is a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee.
...
. The event is organised by the
Brighton and Hove Motor Club, with th
Sprint Section of the Vintage Motorcycle Clubin charge of the Motorcycles.
Following a fatal motorcycle combination crash in 2012 Brighton & Hove City Council considered banning the event. However, on 23 January 2014 the Economic Development and Culture Committee voted in favour of the event continuing.
History
The Brighton National Speed Trials is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held 19–22 July 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the
Palace Pier and
Black Rock to hold motor racing events. This stretch was renamed Madeira Drive in 1909 and the event is still held there, normally on the second Saturday of September each year. In 1936 ''Motor Sport'' described the event as: "undoubtedly the most important speed-trials on the British Calendar."
Interruptions
![Brighton Motor Trials July 1905](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Brighton_Motor_Trials_July_1905.png)
The first speed trial, called the "Brighton Motor Trials", was held in July 1905, but because of the cost and opposition from ratepayers, it was not held again until 1923.
A police ban of racing on public roads interrupted activity from 1925–1931, but because Madeira Drive was a private road owned by the council it was eventually exempt from the ban.
The Speed Trials were not run between 1939–1945 due to World War II. The 1939 event had been scheduled for 23 September.
In 1969 the fuel crisis led to the cancellation of this year's event. ''
Autocar'' reported in 1970: "Last year this traditional event did not take place because the condition of the road surface was thought unsuitable for the more powerful sprint cars."
In 2013 the council declined the club's application to run the event following a fatal accident in 2012. Following a Save Brighton Speed Trails campaign the event was reinstated in 2014.
Notable people
![Brighton Motor Trials July 1905 80 hp Napier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Brighton_Motor_Trials_July_1905_80_hp_Napier.png)
*
George Abecassis
George Edgar Abecassis (21 March 1913 – 18 December 1991) was a British racing driver, and co-founder of the HWM Formula One team.
Pre-1946 career
Born in Oatlands, Surrey, Abecassis was educated at Clifton College. He began circuit racin ...
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Sydney Allard
Sydney Herbert Allard (19 June 1910 – 12 April 1966) was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful rally driver and hillclimb driver in cars of his own manufacture.
Trials, hillclimbs, rallies, and road racing
Born in London, E ...
*
Prince Bira
Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh ( th, พีรพงศ์ภาณุเดช; ; 15 July 191423 December 1985), better known as Prince Bira of Siam (now Thailand) or by his ''nom de course'' B. Bira, was a member of the Chakri dyna ...
*
Bill Boddy
William Boddy, (22 February 1913 – 7 July 2011) was a British journalist who was the editor of ''Motor Sport'' from 1936 to 1991. After 1991 he still contributed regularly to ''Motor Sport'' magazine, continuing a career that lasted eighty- ...
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John Cobb
*
Peter Collins
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John Cooper
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S. F. Edge
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Archie Frazer Nash
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Jack Fairman
Jack Fairman (15 March 1913 – 7 February 2002) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 13 Formula One Grands Prix, making his debut on 18 July 1953. He scored a total of five championship points, all of which came in ...
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Joe Fry
Joseph Gibson Fry (26 October 1915, Chipping Sodbury – 29 July 1950, Blandford Motor Racing Circuit) was a British racing driver and distant member of the Fry's Chocolate family.
He became the primary driver for the highly successful She ...
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Bob Gerard
Frederick Roberts Gerard (19 January 1914, Leicester – 26 January 1990, South Croxton, Leicestershire) was a racing driver and businessman from England. He participated in numerous top-level motor racing events on either side of World War II ...
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Mike Hawthorn
John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver. He became the United Kingdom's first Formula One World Champion driver in 1958, whereupon he announced his retirement, having been profoundly affected by the ...
*
Earl Howe
Earl Howe is a title that has been created twice in British history, for members of the Howe and Curzon-Howe family respectively.
The first creation, in the Peerage of Great Britain, was in 1788 for Richard Howe, but became extinct on his ...
*
Alec Issigonis
Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (18 November 1906 – 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. He designed the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and voted the second Car of the Century, most i ...
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Denis Jenkinson
Denis Sargent Jenkinson (11 December 1920 – 29 November 1996), "Jenks" or "DSJ" as he was known in the pages of ''Motor Sport'', was a British journalist deeply involved in motorsports. As Continental Correspondent of the UK-based ''Motor Spo ...
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Roy Lane
Roy Lane (c. 1935 – 14 October 2009) was a British racing driver. He is best known for his great success in hillclimbing, having won the British Hillclimb Championship on four occasions (1975, 1976, 1992, and 1996) in a career spanning more th ...
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Dorothy Levitt
Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt (born Elizabeth Levi; 5 January 1882 – 17 May 1922) was a British racing driver and journalist. She was the first British woman racing driver, holder of the world's first water speed record, the women's world lan ...
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Tony Marsh
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Dean Moon
Dean Moon (May 1, 1927 – June 4, 1987) was an American automobile designer. He grew up in Norwalk, California. Moon was around cars and racing from his youth. His father owned "Moon Cafe" and had a go-kart track he called "Moonza", a pun on M ...
*
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...
*
Reg Parnell
Reg or REG may refer to:
* Reginald (disambiguation)
* Reg or desert pavement
* Raising for Effective Giving, a charity
* Random event generator (parapsychology)
* Raptor Education Group
* Regal Entertainment Group
* Regular language
* .reg MS Wind ...
*
Kay Petre
Kathleen Coad Petre (' Defries; 10 May 1903 – 10 August 1994), known as Kay Petre, was an early motor racing star. She was born in York, Ontario, now part of Toronto.
Family
Kathleen Coad Defries was the daughter of Robert Leo Defries KC (d ...
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Mike Pilbeam
Mike Pilbeam (born 1937) is a British motorsport designer and engineer known for his work with BRM, Lotus, Surtees and his own company, Pilbeam Racing Designs. An early design was the experimental four wheel drive Formula One BRM P67 of 1964. , ...
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David Piper
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Dennis Poore
Roger Dennistoun "Dennis" Poore (19 August 1916, Paddington, London – 12 February 1987, Kensington) was a British entrepreneur, financier and sometime racing driver. He became chairman of NVT during the dying days of the old British motorcycle ...
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Ian Raby
Ian Ewart Raby (22 September 1921 in Woolwich, London – 7 November 1967 in Lambeth) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 7 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1963 in the British Grand Prix, ...
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Jack Sears
Jack Sears (16 February 1930 – 6 August 2016) was a British race and rally driver, and was one of the principal organisers of the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon.
Biography
Sears was popularly known as "Gentleman Jack". His son David is a ...
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Geoffrey Taylor
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Mickey Thompson
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter.
A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s.
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Ken Tyrrell
Robert Kenneth Tyrrell (3 May 1924 – 25 August 2001) was a British Formula Two racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.Setright, L. J. K. "Tyrrell: A Shrewd Talent-spotter", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Automo ...
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Peter Walker
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Rob Walker
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Peter Westbury
Peter Westbury (26 May 1938 – 7 December 2015) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, scoring no championship points. In 1969 he raced a Formula 2 Brabham-Cosworth, driving ...
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Ken Wharton
Frederick Charles Kenneth Wharton (21 March 1916 – 12 January 1957) was a British racing driver from Smethwick, England. He competed in off-road trials, hillclimbs, and rallying, and also raced sports cars and single-seaters. He began racing ...
The Dragster Era
The first announcement that a dragster would race in Brighton came from
Wally Parks
Wallace Gordon Parks (January 23, 1913 – September 28, 2007) was an American writer. He was the founder, president, and chairman of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA. He was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a le ...
, in an editorial in ''Hot Rod Magazine'' in August 1958. Parks had nominated Calvin Rice to travel from the USA to England with the ''Hot Rod Magazine Special'' for the speed trials. In the event the trip was aborted.
In 1961
Sydney Allard
Sydney Herbert Allard (19 June 1910 – 12 April 1966) was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful rally driver and hillclimb driver in cars of his own manufacture.
Trials, hillclimbs, rallies, and road racing
Born in London, E ...
built the Allard dragster in the UK and its first competitive appearance was at the Brighton Speed Trials on 2 September 1961. A new track record over the kilometre was anticipated but a fuel line ruptured caused a misfire and a time of 37.91 secs. ''Hot Rod Magazine'' reported: "During warmup it backfired and blew off one set of blower pipes and never got going." The reputation of the car never fully recovered, and
Bill Boddy
William Boddy, (22 February 1913 – 7 July 2011) was a British journalist who was the editor of ''Motor Sport'' from 1936 to 1991. After 1991 he still contributed regularly to ''Motor Sport'' magazine, continuing a career that lasted eighty- ...
, editor of ''Motor Sport'', called it a fiasco, saying the mechanical problems had also occurred in testing at Boreham. ''The Autocar'' described the Allard dragster as a "gallant failure."
At Brighton on 15 September 1962 the Allard dragster clocked two runs at 22.30 and 22.04 seconds. A respectable performance but no outright win or record. ''Motor Sport'' reported: "It appears that before the end of the Brighton kilometre the Allard dragster had burst the pipe between supercharger and engine, a common problem with such an installation and the reason why the Americans bolt their blowers on the engine, eliminating a long induction pipe."
Sydney Allard was joined on 14 September 1963, by Dante Duce in
Dean Moon
Dean Moon (May 1, 1927 – June 4, 1987) was an American automobile designer. He grew up in Norwalk, California. Moon was around cars and racing from his youth. His father owned "Moon Cafe" and had a go-kart track he called "Moonza", a pun on M ...
's ''Mooneyes'' gas dragster and
Mickey Thompson
Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter.
A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s. with his Ford-powered ''Harvey Aluminum Special'' for some match-race style action. It was not to be. The American cars were not really suited to the kilometre, and there were no clocks for a quarter-mile distance. They had no brakes at the front and parachute brakes at the rear, no rear suspension, and advertising on the bodywork. All of this was enough to give the scrutineers (technical inspectors) fits. The cars did demonstrations only, reduced to burnouts and wheelstands, but left a lasting impression on the crowd. The Allard dragster put two rods through the block on Madeira Drive that day. The ''Worden'' dragster of Tony Densham and Harry Worrall, a budget effort powered by a
Shorrock-supercharged 1,500 c.c. Ford engine, was entered in the 1,101 to 1,500 c.c. racing car class, and, although not geared for the kilometre, finished second to
Patsy Burt
Patricia Mary "Patsy" Burt (10 July 1928, Chelsea, London – 4 October 2001) was a British motor racing driver.
During a long and varied career, Patsy Burt won many British national-level competitions, and was the first female driver ever to w ...
, in a time of 27.86 sec. Densham would later set the
British land speed record
The British land speed record is the fastest land speed achieved by a vehicle in the United Kingdom, as opposed to one on water or in the air. It is standardised as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs in opposite direc ...
at Elvington in the Ford-powered ''Commuter'' dragster.
The canny Duce returned in 1964 with the ''Moonbeam'' modified sports car, which at least looked like a traditional European sporty car, but with a drag race and Bonneville heritage. The car as raced in Brighton was fitted with a 375-cubic inch supercharged Chevrolet V8 engine and a
Devin bodyshell, and was originally built in 1959. Dante Duce also borrowed an
A.C. Shelby Cobra, chassis number CSX2345, from
John Wyer
John Wyer (11 December 1909 in Kidderminster, England – 8 April 1989 in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States), was an English automobile racing engineer and team manager. He is mainly associated with cars running in the light blue and orange ...
, and entered it in the GT class, car number 110 at Brighton.
Duce cleaned up that day winning overall in the ''Moonbeam'' in a time of 21.95 sec, and first in Sports and GT cars over 2,500 c.c., in the Cobra roadster in 24.35 sec.
Soon Brighton started holding dragster demonstrations over the quarter mile. In 1972 Clive Skilton produced an 8.18 sec run in his rear-engined Chrysler dragster. In 1973 Dennis Priddle ran a smoky 7.69 sec quarter mile in his front-motored Chrysler dragster, which remains the quickest quarter yet seen on Brighton seafront. ''Motor Sport'' reported: "The sheer bravery and courage of the West Country lad as the Dragster accelerated along the bumpy, cambered road, brought forth the most incredible spontaneous round of applause heard at a motoring event for many years." It is said that the local police chief came to Priddle after the run and said "That was that most amazing thing I have ever seen and there's no way I am going to let you do it again!"
[''Eurodragster'' Tributes to Dennis Priddle, April 2021, http://www.eurodragster.com/news/features/dennis_priddle_tribute/default.asp]
The dragsters were getting too quick for Brighton and there were concerns about how to deal with fires involving exotic fuels. They faded from the scene with only occasional wins by drag-race type vehicles, such as Shaun Saunders (2000) and Paul Marston (2001, 2002).
Current events
The event is currently run as a quarter mile sprint for both cars and motorcycles, held under the auspices of the
Motor Sports Association
Motorsport UK, formerly known as the Motor Sports Association (MSA), is a national membership organisation and governing body for four-wheel motorsport in the United Kingdom. Legally, it is a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee.
...
. The event is organised by the
Brighton and Hove Motor Club, with th
Sprint Section of the Vintage Motorcycle Clubin charge of the Motorcycles. Entrants run individually, although in earlier days vehicles would race side by side. This practice was stopped following a number of accidents. The course length has varied over the years, generally becoming shorter to keep terminal speeds manageable as cars have got faster. The speed trials form a unique event, where vintage and exotic classics meet the latest in street and racing cars. Public access is allowed to the paddock and startline 'funnel' allowing visitors to get much closer to the action than at most events.
Following a fatal motorcycle combination crash in 2012 Brighton & Hove City Council considered banning the event. However, on 23 January 2014 the Economic Development and Culture Committee voted in favour of the event continuing, after a petition of more than 12,000 signatures was presented.
Timetable of events
Times are approximate.
Classes of cars
Handicap – Roadgoing cars of any type
Class 1 – Roadgoing and modified production cars up to 1400cc
Class 2 – Roadgoing and modified production cars over 1400cc and up to 2000cc
Class 3 – Roadgoing and modified production cars over 2000cc and up to 3500cc
Class 4 – Roadgoing and modified production cars over 3500cc
Class 5 – Clubmans
Class 6 – Sports Libre cars up to 1300cc
Class 7 – Sports Libre cars over 1300cc and up to 1600cc
Class 8 – Sports Libre cars over 1600cc
Class 9 – Racing cars up to 500cc
Class 10 – Racing cars over 500cc and up to 1100cc
Class 11 – Racing cars over 1100cc and up to 1600cc
Class 12 – Racing cars over 1600cc and up to 2000cc
Class 13 – Racing and Sports cars constructed on or before 31 December 1959
Results
Track record
Car
1993, John Gray, SPA
Judd V10, standing start 1/4-mile 8.90s
Bike
2009, Roger Simmons,
Suzuki Hayabusa
The Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa is a sports motorcycle made by Suzuki since 1999. It immediately won acclaim as the world's List of fastest production motorcycles, fastest production motorcycle, with a top speed of .
In 1999, fears of a European re ...
Turbo, standing start 1/4-mile 8.73s
Fastest time of the day
These are the fastest car times recorded on the day for each year.
Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged; T/C = Turbocharged.
Motorbikes fastest time of the day
Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged.
See also
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Firle Hill Climb
Firle Hill Climb is a disused hillclimbing course near Lewes, East Sussex, England, sometimes referred to as Bo Peep Hill Climb. The event was celebrated on 20 September 2015 by the Bo Peep Drivers Club.
In 1966 ''The Autocar'' reported: "
The hi ...
*
Lewes Speed Trials
The Lewes Speed Trials were speed trials held on a defunct course in Lewes, Sussex, England, sometimes known as "The Motor Road."
History
The first meeting took place on 27 July 1924, on "a private road near Lewes", location unidentified. The eve ...
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Southport Speed Trials
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London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the world's longest-running motoring event, held on a course between London () and Brighton (), England. To qualify, participating cars must have been built before 1905. It is also the world's largest g ...
References
* For a photograph of Noel Pope on his blown Brough see: ''Motor Sport'', November 1946, Page 248. For a technical description of Pope's Brough see: ''Motor Sport'', February 1948, Page 51.
Bibliography
* ''Split Seconds – My Racing Years'', Raymond Mays "ghosted" by Dennis May, G.T. Foulis & Co. Ltd. 1952. 306 pages.
* ''Sprint: Speed Hillclimbs and Speed Trials in Britain: 1899–1925'', T.R. Nicholson, (Timothy Robin), 1930–, Newton Abbot, David & Charles, 1969.
* ''Richard Shuttleworth: An Illustrated Biography'', Kevin Desmond, Jane’s Publishing Co Ltd., 1982.
* ''The Brighton National Speed Trials in the 1960s, 1970s & 1980s'' (2004) Tony Gardiner, Veloce Publishing .
External links
* Brighton and Hove Motor Club Website
"Home Page" ''www.brightonandhovemotorclub.co.uk ''
* Vintage Motorcycle Club Sprint Section Website – Many Images of Motorcycles at Brighton throughout the years
''www.vmccsprint.co.uk ''
* Pistonheads Article on the Speed Trials
''Pistonheads.com''
* Gumpert Apollo at the Speed Trials
''Evo Magazine Website''
* Pathe News clip from 1932
"Brooklands by the Sea" British Pathe Website''
{{Brighton and Hove
Brighton
Drag racing venues in Europe
Motorsport venues in England
Sport in Brighton and Hove
Sussex