Brighton Speed Trials

David Martynski 29/07/2014 | 0

Brighton Speed Trials

Adam Tait takes in the atmosphere along Madeira Drive

Sir Harry Preston, was a Brighton resident with a great enthusiasm for cars, credit has to be given to Harry for organising the very first Brighton Speed Trials back in 1905. I’m not sure how but he managed to convince the council to lay a tarmac surface for the specific purpose of holding motor racing events. Can you envisage asking today’s brand of council to lay fresh tarmac in order to let environment threatening two-stroke motorbikes and petrol devouring V8 monsters tear up a quarter mile strip annoying the green peace neighbours in the process? I thought not.

Brighton’s traffic resembled that of the London variety, gridlocked roads running in conjunction with deserted bus lanes that were crying to be driven down by the risky motorist. Once the Saturday traffic had been juggled we squeezed into a parking space and got down onto the front to watch the racing get underway.

When we arrived at the entrance I overheard a few people moaning at the £10 entry fee for admission into the pits and the raised walkway, also known as Madeira Terrace. But for a day’s entertainment £10 isn’t a lot to ask for, especially when there is guaranteed access to get up close to even the most exotic of cars competing. Specialities included Norman Goodman’s Bugatti Type 35B and a host of Pre-war Bentleys with mutant superchargers strapped to their front valances, although ‘realistic’ potential motoring purchases hold more appeal for me you can’t help but appreciate cars such as these.

The crowds were in their thousands and due to the heritage of the event it seemed even the local residents took an interest including the seagulls, the latter being more interested in the food. A lot of spectators watched from the main road complete with deck chairs and sandwich boxes, however, the turnout of handkerchief crafted hats was a disappointment. After all we were at the seaside.

To get amongst the action we needed to be in the thick of the proceedings, the appeal of Brighton Speed Trials is understandable. Arguably it’s one of the finest venues to attend on the speed event calendar, and to throw even more exclusivity into the mix it was its hundredth year anniversary. Good going as the neighbouring County of Kent seems to shut more venues down than they celebrate.

As I made my way to the start line I couldn’t help but get distracted by the machinery, initially my attention was drawn to the ex-British Leyland Jaguar XJ12 Coupe. On my approach the owner, Henry Lawsson, fired up the engine, the sound was unbelievable. As a result casualties were in abundance, mainly broken necks, from the speed people turned round to see what beast was producing this ferocious sound track, with the tired pale green arch ways of Madeira Drive acting as an amplifier for the already ear blowing beat. Predictably, a lack of traction in first gear appeared to be the Jaguar’s Achilles heel, scrabbling for grip on the rubber coated tarmac. However, once the next cog was selected the tyres gained authority over the power and the Jag blasted down the quarter mile strip, Lawsson’s best time was a respectable 14.97 with a terminal speed of 99mph.

As I progressed through the pit area I couldn’t help but notice some of the MGs in attendance, none of them being in a tame state of tune. Additional bonnet vents on Trevor Greenings Roadster told me that there was something more than a fettled B-series lurking beneath the Blaze paintwork, and quite rightly there was, that being a 4.6 V8 that certainly sounded the business, even on tick over.

Just along from the V8 was a Yellow Peril Midget that was piloted by Paul Bernall-Ryan. Broad wheel arches and ultra low front spoiler gave this Midget an aggressive stance, the looks were purposeful and as you can imagine this wasn’t all show and no go. The 1380cc powered Midget managed to set some decent times but unfortunately the third attempt didn’t go to plan so we will never know what the third run could have brought for Paul.

Although there was some special MGs present, the competition was fierce, Robert Muir, owner of an MGB Roadster had a number of Westfield’s and Caterham’s to combat. But these Lotus Seven clones weigh about the same as an anorexic hamster and can run parallel with a most of the Ferrari range up to 100mph, with the much heavier MG having walking pace quarter mile times in comparison.

Where as Paul Bernall-Ryan had a nice mix to compete against in the up to 1400cc Road Going and Modified Production Class, this included Patrick Howe’s 1293cc Cooper S and Cliff Colwell’s 1275cc Morris Minor. Yet again the Westfield of Peter Herbert that was also placed into the class stole the show, it makes you wonder why the Caterhams and Westfields don’t have a designated class of their own as they hamper everything else from having any remote chance of winning.

Whilst we were soaking up the sunshine the surrounding areas were experiencing flash floods which would have inevitably ruined the day if Brighton had its own contribution from the skies above, a lot of cars wouldn’t have been able to even run let alone the bikes. Although their was some extravagant machines competing no hospitality suites or giant motor homes were present to complement the copious amounts of money some of the competitors must have laid out to own the crè de la crè of motoring legends. The emphasis was on the racing and not who had the biggest marquee or food buffet, so 1905 didn’t seem such a far cry as similar attributes from the first Brighton Speed Trials still exist to this day.

Thanks to Sir Harry Preston’s efforts in the past I witnessed the hundred year celebration of Brighton Speed Trials on the notorious Madeira Drive. I also got to absorb two of my favourite automotive colognes in the process, the heady fumes of Castrol R and the smouldering rubber that dispersed from the burnout heroes. My 2006 calendar will have a reservation for September, for my return back to the seaside town for another great day out, but this time I’m not planning on settling for just the role of spectator, so watch this space.

Allard ‘The Old Fella” makes a dramatic start

MGB 4.6