The Lewes Speed Trials were speed trials held on a defunct course in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of t ...

, 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 event was organised by the Brighton & Hove Motor Cycle and Light Car Club, on a quarter-mile course. Fastest time of the day was set by J.A. Hall, Frazer Nash-GN, in a time of 16.6 secs.

"Speed trials were held on the Race Hill at Lewes three or four times a year from 1925 to 1939, at the instance of the Brighton & Hove MC, the Kent & Sussex LCC, the Bugatti Owners' Club and the
Vintage Sports Car Club The Vintage Sports-Car Club or VSCC is an active British motor racing club that organises events, both competitive and social, throughout the United Kingdom. These are primarily, but not exclusively for pre-1940 cars. In 2019, (thus prior to th ...
,..."

In 1933 ''

The Autocar ''Autocar'' (originally ''The Autocar'') is a weekly British automobile magazine published by the Haymarket Media Group. It was first published in 1895 and refers to itself as "the world's oldest car magazine". There are now several internationa ...

'' reported:

"The course bends slightly to the left, is one-third of a mile long, narrow, none too smooth, and slightly uphill. It leads directly off the London-Newhaven road just before reaching Lewes."

Jean Bugatti Jean Bugatti (15 January 1909 – 11 August 1939) was an automotive designer and test engineer for Bugatti. He was the son of Bugatti's founder Ettore Bugatti. Biography Born Gianoberto Maria Carlo Bugatti in Cologne, he was the eldest son o ...

attended the races on 21 October 1933.

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 ...

, motor racing journalist, attended his first motor sport event here in 1936. ''The Autocar'' reported from the meeting on 12 June 1937: "The first appearance in competition of the new four-wheel independent-suspension

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily kno ...

was at Lewes. G.A.T. Weldon drove this 1½-litre model." Bill Boddy, editor of ''Motor Sport'', drove the original HRG sports car, 1,497 c.c., at Lewes on 4 September 1937 with a best time of 27.4 sec, finishing third in the novices class. On 15 July 1939,

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 ...

took a class win in a time of 22.12 secs.

The Lewes Record

Comparisons of times recorded at different meetings and by different clubs are problematic. There were differences in the method of timing (the electric Bachelier method favoured by the Bugatti O.C. allowed the competitor to start in his own time) and even differences in the length of the course.''Autocar'', 28 August 1936, Pages 396–397.

Lewes Speed Trials past winners

Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged.

References

Bibliography

* John Bolster, ''Specials'', G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd, Reprinted 1971. * Jeremy Wood, ''Speed on the Downs: Lewes Speed Trials 1924-39'', JWFA Books, {{coord, 50.88622, N, 0.02738, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Hillclimbs Motorsport venues in England Sport in East Sussex Hamsey

History

The Lewes Record

Lewes Speed Trials past winners

See also

References

Bibliography