Tag Archives: Speed Trials

Purple Haze – Brighton Speed Trials

The the skeletal old pier at Brighton was shrouded by a sea haze as I enjoyed an excellent breakfast with local organic eggs at the Lucky Beach cafe on the beach front.

The purpose of my visit to Brighton was to see the 1/4 mile Brighton Speed Trials which earlier this year were saved, with the aid of some GALPOT readers who signed an e-petition organised by Brighton and Hove Motor Club.

Austin 1800 S, Brighton Speed Trials

Among the Brighton and Hove Motor Club members taking part was Andrew Atherton and his immaculate 1970 Austin 1800 S Mk II, also known as a Landcrab, who recorded a best time of 20.77 secs which translates to a final speed of at least 66.55 mph.

Plymouth Satellite, Cheng Lim, Brighton Speed Trials,

Surprisingly Cheng Lim could not better Andrew’s time in his similarly aged General Lim Plymouth Satellite who only managed a best time of 29.67 or 47.49 mph the slowest time of the day.

Porsche 911, Barry Stewart, Brighton Speed Trials,

At the sharper end of the field Barry Stewart managed to record 41st fastest time with a best 12.10 secs approx 112 mph in his Rallycross, off road competition, spec turbocharged Porsche 911.

Allard J2, Jim Tiller, Brighton Speed Trials,

Jim Tiller’s drag spec Allard J2 “The Old Fella” had the largest quoted engine size at 7342 cc / 448 cui but he could only record 14th best time at 10.62 seconds / 127 mph.

Force SR4, Rob Stevens, Brighton Speed Trials,

Like the slowest car the fastest car in the field was painted purple, but the competition Force SR4 powered by a 1300 cc / 79 cui turbocharged motor was driven by 2012 Brighton Speed Trials Winner Rob Stevens who recorded a best time of 9.87 seconds / 144 mph in the top six run off.

Suzuki Hyabusa Turbo, Craig Mallabone, Brighton Speed Trials,

Unsurprisingly 8 bikes managed a faster time than Rob with fastest being Craig Mallabone on his 1300 cc / 79 cui turbocharged Hayabusa powered Suzuki who recorded the only sub 9 second time of the day at 8.94 on his first timed run, seen above, at an astonishing 150.68 mph.

My thanks to those GALPOT readers who signed the Save Brighton Speed Trials e-petition without your support I would not have found myself writing this blog.

Thanks for joining me on this “Purple Haze” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for a look at a proto Can Am car tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Please Sign e-petition To Save – Brighton Speed Trials

Happy New Year welcome to the first GALPOT blog 2014, this year we hit the track running as Brighton and Hove Motor Club is urgently in need of our help, in the form of a couple of minuets of your time to keep alive one of Britain’s oldest speed events namely the Brighton Speed Trial.

The Brighton Speed Trial was inaugurated in 1905 after Brightonian Sir Harry Preston managed to persuade Brighton Town Council to lay a track made of the recently invented “Tarmac” between the Palace Pier and Black Rock, now known as Madeira Drive. The first event was organised by the Council and Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, which was later to become the Royal Automobile Club (RAC).

Levitt, Napier, Brighton Speed Trials

The July 1905 event was part of a speed week known as Brighton Motor Week which ran over 4 days during which Dorothy Levitt seen above at the wheel of her 80hp Napier became the fastest woman on earth achieving an average speed over a flying kilometer of 79.75 miles per hour. The first event was won out right by Clifford Earp in a 90 hp Napier.

Summers, Lotus Chevrolet 24, Brighton Speed Trials

The opposition of rates payers to the cost of the event meant it was not run again until 1923 before being subject to an erroneous police ban on speed events held on public roads interjected in 1925. In 1932 Brighton and Hove Motor Club discovered that Madeira Drive was actually not a public highway at all, but the property of Brighton Corporation and so the police ban did not apply and the event became annual until the outbreak of the 1939-45 war. Above Chris Summers fearsome Chevrolet Lotus 24 chassis #942 won the now standing kilometer event in 1965 and 1966. In the back ground a Farina designed Mk 1 Austin A40 Countryman sits on a trailer behind a large Mercedes Benz tow car.

Shepard, Lotus Europa, Brighton Speed Trials

By 2012 the last time the event was run all manor of vehicles had run at the Brighton Speed Trials including a twin Rolls Royce engined device in the 1950’s in the 60’s dragsters and funny cars became popular with the cars still running side by side and as can be seen below David Render managed to acquire the loan of a works Lotus Cosworth 76 for his sprinting in 1976 winning the Brighton Speed Trial with the car in the same year with the car to the nose of which David had added a large lump of lead to help keep the front wheels on the ground. Motorcycles and side car outfits have also been catered for since 1905 Above Leonard Shepard blasts of the line in his Lotus Europa.

Render, Lotus Cosworth 76, Brighton Speed Trials

By 2012 the Brighton Speed Trial run by Brigthon and Hove Motor Club and Brighton and Hove City Council with an army of volunteers was being run over a quarter mile with vehicles running individually rather than in pairs. Unfortunately during the last running of the event the front wheels of a side car combination crewed by Roger Hollingshead and Charlotte Tagg lifted after hitting a dip in the track which launched the occupants into a collision with a concrete bollard which severely injured Roger and killed the unfortunate mother of three Charlotte. The 2013 event was cancelled pending an inquest into Charlotte’s death.

Lotus Elans, Brighton Speed Trials

Late last year the inquest concluded that the death was accidental. After the inquest Charlotte’s brother Simon was quoted by The Argus as saying “We don’t blame anyone, but would like to see the council treat the road before the next event.” Charlottes 18 year old daughter added “We just want them to smooth it out.”

In anticipation of a decision on the future of the event to be made by the council’s Economic Development and Culture Committee at a meeting on 23 January Ruth Reynolds of the Brighton and Hove Motor Club has set up a petition on the Brighton & Hove City Council website requesting acceptance of the application by the Brighton and Hove Motor Club to run the 2014 Brighton Speed Trials on Madeira Drive.

I would strongly urge anyone who has ever enjoyed any kind of motorsports event as a competitor, organiser, volunteer, concession trader or spectator to spend a couple of minutes registering onto the Brighton and Hove City Council website linked here and supporting Brighton and Hove Motor Club in their efforts to revive the Brighton Speed Trials and encourage Brighton and Hove City Council to attend to the road surface. There is NO requirement for signatories to be resident in Brighton or even the United Kingdom, thank you.

My thanks to Simon Lewis of Simon Lewis Transport Books for permission to his photographs and Vitesse2 at The Nostalgia Forum for alerting me to the existence of the e-petition.

Wishing all GALPOT readers and contributors a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Please Sign e-petition To Save” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be starting a new short series on North American Law Enforcement vehicles. Don’t forget to come back now !

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