Flooding & motorsport

Those TNF members not comatose after Xmas lunch may have seen news coverage if the current floods, including footage from the Byfleet Tesco store, with shots of the Brooklands banking.  

Now Brooklands was so called for a good reason, with the River Wey passing through the middle of the site.  Whilst clearly the banking was not at risk from errant waters, the infield, paddock, pits etc were on the level ground of the Wey flood plain.Were there any instance of racing being disrupted back in the days of Brooklands racing?

And how about other places?  Has flooding ever been a disruptive factor?

The inaugural meeting at Interlagos in November 1939 was abandoned due to floods. Interlagos of course means 'between lakes'. That day it was more like Nos Lagos.

Does the 1951 Daily Express International Trophy count?

There were floods some years back in MotoGP pre-season testing at Sepang. I remember, there were at least 10 cm of water on some places...

Of course, having some testing sessions in tropics in middle of rainy season didn't help a bit.

When Croft returned from the dead in 96 (ish ) the first day of the BTCC meeting was cancelled. I sat it out under a brolly, but knew all was lost when the Renault mechanics paddled an inflatable canoe (from some promo merchandise) down the pit lane. 

I'm fairly sure there were two early season Silverstone meetings cancelled - one in the early '60s and one in the late '70s, stopped because of rain.
I will see if I can find the dates, I'm thinking 1963 and 1979, but Christmas has got the better of me at the moment...

Silverstone "Senior Service 200" March 20th. 1965

25 Lap sports Car Race stopped after 18 Laps due to heavy rain. Winner Jim Clark Lotus 30, 2nd J Sutees Lola T 70.

Jungle Park Speedway in Indiana cancelled a race meeting on May 12, 1929 due to flooding from nearby Sugar Creek. And a hurricane with resulting floods cancelled the two-day meet at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts on September 23/24 in 1938. I'm not sure, but I believe two weekly shows at Hagerstown Raceway in Maryland were also cancelled due to floods on June 25 and July 2 in 1972. And more recently, a WoO show at Battleground Speedway in Texas was cancelled on October 19 in 1994. Then, there was also the 1983 CART opener at Phoenix International Raceway that was postponed, then cancelled due to flooded access roads.

I think we can all recall meetings scrubbed due to heavy rain, but I was thinking more about inundations.  Some of those tracks with lakes (we have heard about Interlagos above) seem candidates.  How about Mallory and Oulton Parks?  Or Autodromo di Mafioso...sorry, I mean Enna-Pergusa?

I think we can all recall meetings scrubbed due to heavy rain, but I was thinking more about inundations.  Some of those tracks with lakes (we have heard about Interlagos above) seem candidates.  How about Mallory and Oulton Parks?  Or Autodromo di Mafioso...sorry, I mean Enna-Pergusa?

Not aware of any flooding at Mallory or Oulton - but highly unlikely to flood in the latter case after the draining of lower lake I would have thought.

A F5000 round at Silverstone was cancelled in August of 1973 I can remember.

But for some reason I seem to recall a meeting at Llandow being abandoned - I may be dreaming...

Longford (Tasmania) must have had a meeting affected by flooding at some time?

WSB at Misano 2 years ago was flooded out on the saturday , one turn was underwater.    

One meeting at Catalina, in 1963, the fog held the racing until around 11AM. Even then it was hard to see the car in front.....so you couldn't let it get too far away .

If it flooded at Catalina, the whole country [world?] would be in trouble !

If it flooded at Catalina, the whole country [world?] would be in trouble !

Not sure what count's as a flood officially, '65 Sebring 12 hours looks like it was flooded to me, but the race went on   

Longford (Tasmania) must have had a meeting affected by flooding at some time?

Longford (the town) was flood prone when the South Esk river was high (that is why much of Tannery straight and the section from Kings bridge to the town was built up higher than the surrounding paddocks), and there were times when the town and much of the surrounding area was flooded, but never during a race meeting.

There was only one occasion when water affected racing, at the last meeting in 1968, when the deluge caused town drains to block and minor flooding in the town section of the circuit. One official nearly got into trouble - whilst trying to clear a blocked drain, it started moving and it took several helpers to stop him being sucked in!

The river itself was not that high that it became a problem in 1968.

Rob Saward

Longford (the town) was flood prone when the South Esk river was high (that is why much of Tannery straight and the section from Kings bridge to the town was built up higher than the surrounding paddocks), and there were times when the town and much of the surrounding area was flooded, but never during a race meeting.
 
There was only one occasion when water affected racing, at the last meeting in 1968, when the deluge caused town drains to block and minor flooding in the town section of the circuit. One official nearly got into trouble - whilst trying to clear a blocked drain, it started moving and it took several helpers to stop him being sucked in!
 
The river itself was not that high that it became a problem in 1968.
 
Rob Saward

Interesting...October 2013, this is what prompted my comment by the way...



The Viaduct looks more like an aqueduct (joking OK)

There have been two floods in last couple of years have been moderately high. At this water level (4-5 metres below the railway line), some of the low-lying areas of town would be flooded  but not as bad as some in the past. There have been several occasions when Longford township has been under water. The Kings bridge was replaced at least twice after floodwaters washed it away. It no longer exists, of course.

Rob Saward

Those TNF members not comatose after Xmas lunch may have seen news coverage if the current floods, including footage from the Byfleet Tesco store, with shots of the Brooklands banking.  

Slightly OT but Allan Winn posted this in another place:

New Year's Day Gathering at Brooklands will go ahead
Despite flooding over Christmas, the Museum will reopen on Monday 30th December and the New Year's Day Gathering will go ahead as planned, so do come and join us to make it the best ever.

Manfeild New Zealand is another that has suffered from flood damage....

 

24 of the first 30 meetings were affected by rain. It wasn't all bad for spectators as we were treated to a superb display of wet weather driving by Brian Redman in Jan 1976 driving a F2 Chevron B29.

My time as a competitor ended in June 1998 when a thunderstorm hit Donington mid-afternoon. The Old Hairpin was turned into a lake and the circuit CCTV out of order. The meeting was abandoned and I drove 150 miles home (M1/M25) in monsoon conditions in a Caterham with aeroscreens. My co-driver/mechanic phoned me the next morning to tell me that he was finished with motor racing.     

Jungle Park Speedway in Indiana cancelled a race meeting on May 12, 1929 due to flooding from nearby Sugar Creek. And a hurricane with resulting floods cancelled the two-day meet at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts on September 23/24 in 1938. I'm not sure, but I believe two weekly shows at Hagerstown Raceway in Maryland were also cancelled due to floods on June 25 and July 2 in 1972. And more recently, a WoO show at Battleground Speedway in Texas was cancelled on October 19 in 1994. Then, there was also the 1983 CART opener at Phoenix International Raceway that was postponed, then cancelled due to flooded access roads.

I was at the cancelled Phoenix event in '83 (the week before Long Beach GP) - a few teams got in to test by leaving the transporters outside and using a back track to gain access with trailers. The problem was that the main entrance approach road went through a "dry" riverbed and, due to more water than usual coming off the hills, it was no longer dry.

Not sure what count's as a flood officially, '65 Sebring 12 hours looks like it was flooded to me, but the race went on 

Andrew Hedges and Roger Mac shared a works MG Midget at that race, and were , at one point, overtaking just about everything on the track. Porsches, GT40s and Chaparrals aren't made for submarine work. Pity it didn't last, or we'd have had a cracking upset.

Were any of the Davidstow meetings abandoned because of the weather? We can't count the "Horace Gould transporter" incident, but the track was infamous for the traditional inclemency. I suppose the fact that it was on top of a plateau meant that all water would drain away.

Seem to remember seeing a photo of the pitlane at Sebring with maybe a foot of floodwater. I think the winning Chaparral and most of the rest of the field sat it out in the pits for quite a long time during the worst of the storm.

I think everyone expected awful weather at Davidstow so just got on with it. I believe fog may have caused a late start at one meeting? Talking of fog I remember trekking over to Brands Hatch only to find the meeting was cancelled, IIRC the day after Graham Hill died.

Seem to remember seeing a photo of the pitlane at Sebring with maybe a foot of floodwater. I think the winning Chaparral and most of the rest of the field sat it out in the pits for quite a long time during the worst of the storm.

 

 

See the linked photo in post 17 above

The concrete wall between the esses and Robin Orlando at Oran Park made a very effective dam...

I've seen a couple of feet of water across there, I think it might have caused the cancellation of a club meeting. 

It rained on the way to Lake Gairdner in South Australia, in 2011. We were headed there for an attempt on some 'world records' [36hp VW]. It took 3 days for the small amount of water on the lake to dry off enough for the record attempts to proceed.

The following year [2012], it was cancelled altogether, due to the 6'' of water on the lake. Lake Gairdner is a salt lake, 100 miles long, by the way.

Edited by GMACKIE, 29 December 2013 - 21:28.

Slightly OT but Allan Winn posted this in another place:

 

New Year's Day Gathering at Brooklands will go ahead
Despite flooding over Christmas, the Museum will reopen on Monday 30th December and the New Year's Day Gathering will go ahead as planned, so do come and join us to make it the best ever.

I was at Brooklands yesterday and the flood water has now subsided.  Not sure if it got into the Museum area anyway.  New Year's Day should be OK unless you believe the Daily Express who are predicting a second Noah's Flood tomorrow.  Given their usual total inaccuracy of reporting, we should all be fine.

The Windsor RSL Speedway was totally under water after a flood in in November 1961 which reached a maximum height of 15 metres. The water was level with the railway line, which ran right behind the pits on the back straight, and which was higher than the circuit. The only features visible were a couple of the sheds on Turn 2. The flood occurred in the off-season, so no meetings were disrupted.

It rained on the way to Lake Gairdner in South Australia, in 2011. We were headed there for an attempt on some 'world records' [36hp VW]. It took 3 days for the small amount of water on the lake to dry off enough for the record attempts to proceed.
 
The following year [2012], it was cancelled altogether, due to the 6'' of water on the lake. Lake Gairdner is a salt lake, 100 miles long, by the way.
 

We all thought I'd knocked off the Stock 36HP record, with a 75.1 MPH run. It turned out that the 'Bonneville Mob' didn't like the timing gear, so it wasn't allowed.

I managed 127 MPH in Steve Muller's 'hot' Karmann Ghia VW.

Speaking of record attempts Donald Campbell's 1963 500 mph attempt at Lake Eyre was scratched because it rained and flooded for the first time in 20 years causing sponsor BP to abandon Campbell's ship.

For some reason I was getting a virtual "slapped wrist"  when I tried to follow the link yesterday. Seems to happen to me a lot since they changed the forum.

I don't think that's the picture I remember but it sums things up pretty well

Now it's refusing to quote Arti's post 28 which this is in response to.

Edited by RCH, 30 December 2013 - 12:36.

As the youngest staff member of a Dutch motorsport magazine (discontinued around the turn of the century) I was picked to do a story on a speedway meeting in Baarlo in the south of The Netherlands on Boxing Day, 1993. There were massive floodings from the Maas river in that area over Christmas, so I wasn't too surprised when a phone call came in to tell me that the event had been cancelled. And not unhappy I was able to stay at home either, for that matter.

 Dutch motorsport magazine (discontinued around the turn of the century)........................ And not unhappy I was able to stay at home either, for that matter.

Could there be a connection there, maybe?   

By word association the first thing that entered my head on seeing the thread title was a picture from IMS showing Ernie Triplett tackling the first turn - in a canoe.

The 1956 Indy 500 was only saved from postponement by a remarkable cleanup effort known as "Cagle's Miracle", following massive flooding in the run up to the race.

The Rye House karting circuit is situated by the confluence of the rivers Lee and Stort in Hertfordshire, with numerous lakes and canals also in its vicinity.  The hospitality area includes an instructive blown-up panoramic view of the entire circuit covered by several feet of water!

Speaking of record attempts Donald Campbell's 1963 500 mph attempt at Lake Eyre was scratched because it rained and flooded for the first time in 20 years causing sponsor BP to abandon Campbell's ship.

Ab Jenkins had similar problems at Bonneville. Twice: 1941 and 1946. Didn't manage a run in either year.

The 1956 Indy 500 was only saved from postponement by a remarkable cleanup effort known as "Cagle's Miracle", following massive flooding in the run up to the race.

This picture is of flood water at the back of Grandstand B at IMS in 1943 or 1944. No idea of the exact date though.

Edited by Vitesse2, 31 December 2013 - 00:23.

By word association the first thing that entered my head on seeing the thread title was a picture from IMS showing Ernie Triplett tackling the first turn - in a canoe.

 

The 1956 Indy 500 was only saved from postponement by a remarkable cleanup effort known as "Cagle's Miracle", following massive flooding in the run up to the race.

Ah, yes! Triplett in the canoe was during early May practice, 1933. He even had the temerity to have Deacon Litz aboard - for those who don't know: Litz would've dwarfed Froilán Gonzalez!! Good call on 1956, too!

the first miami gp was flooded by high tide and heavy rains = standing water on the track = red flag no restart

emo ''won'' after ''danny on the gas'' crashed out do to the water

New Year's Day should be OK unless you believe the Daily Express who are predicting a second Noah's Flood tomorrow.  Given their usual total inaccuracy of reporting, we should all be fine.

No score draw with the Express.  Poured with rain all day, but no flooding from the Wey.  Around lunchtime, people were leaving in a steady flow due presumably to the horrible weather.

here's a coupla pics from this morning.

Why has someone gone crazy hosing everything in sight?

one more,

Does the 1951 Daily Express International Trophy count?

I would think so. Dad took mum to see it. She never went there again...

The F2 race at Silverstone to which I went to on my scooter in 1965 (I think) must have been similar. I still have the programme somewhere. The state of it bears testimony. Any other TNFers at that one?

I'm fairly sure there were two early season Silverstone meetings cancelled - one in the early '60s and one in the late '70s, stopped because of rain.
I will see if I can find the dates, I'm thinking 1963 and 1979, but Christmas has got the better of me at the moment...

I found the first one at Silverstone, the meeting was 20th March 1965 that got cancelled during the meeting due to flooding.