33 replies to this topic

[Rupertlt1]

Motor Sport, September 1961, Page 760:

 

WESTON-SUPER-MARE SPEED TRIALS

The Burnham-on-Sea Motor Club in connection with the

Weston-super-Mare Borough Council are organising the Annual

Weston Speed Trials on September 30th, the course is ½ a mile

in length on the Marine Parade; cars are run in pairs. There are

a total of 12 different classes. Prize money amounts to £150

and there are 24 Cups and Replicas to be won. The record for

the Course is held by Geoff Richardson, who in 1959 drove Tom

Norton's E.R.A. in 19.9 sec. Last year's f.t.d. went to Arthur

Owen (Cooper) in 20.2 sec. Fastest time by a Sports Car is

held by J. Randles in the Cooper Monaco in 22.1 sec.

 

RGDS RLT 

[RS2000]

Killed off by the local council -  who wanted to charge too much to erect barriers and wouldn't let the club do it themselves?

I was about to enter the last event that issued regs, just as it was cancelled.

 

What was the question?

Edited by RS2000, 18 October 2016 - 18:43.

[Rupertlt1]

There wasn't a question as such, just a place to put information about this event.

It would be nice to build up a proper history.

So when was the last event?

 

RGDS RLT

[Alan Cox]

I think it was Sunday 7th October 1990. That's certainly the last time that the VSCC held an event there. The 'modern' event, scheduled for Saturday 6th October was cancelled due to high winds and generally inclement weather.

[RS2000]

I think 1990 too. I'm sure I was going to enter in 1991 when it was cancelled. Date fits because I was trying to do a lot of speed venues new to me with my old rally car in 1991 whilst building a new car more suited to speed events.

I remember John Meredith somewhere talking about how hairy it was in a winged car with crosswinds blowing through gaps in the sea wall. 

[bradbury west]

I have some notes on e mail  here somewhere about it from one of the organisers etc. I will try to find them. ISTR there was a big  problem with the wind and the fast/flat out curve towards  the end of the run and a relatively short braking area before the hospital approach. I always recall the surface as being not the best, plus a degree of camber.

Roger Lund

[ron54]

I recall Geoff Mabbs in a Mini-Marcos being blown off course by said windy gustings and hitting a lamp post on one occasion.

 

Subsequent meetings resulted in competitors running in single format........Anybody remember what year this may have been?

[group7]

a few photos here of the trials 1972 ? the photographer is not sure. click the images at the bottom to view the others.

 

https://www.flickr.c...57647108677266/

[dolomite]

I attended this in 1980, 81 and 82. One of them was called off due to bad weather, 81 I think. I've also recently found some photos taken by my dad at the 1948(?) event. I'll try and post some pix on here when I get some time.
No chance of it ever happening again nowadays as the local council has put speed humps all along the promenade.

Edited by dolomite, 21 October 2016 - 19:33.

[Macca]

I went to this event in October 1977. The tide was out and it was windy, so sand was blowing around - I kept my bike helmet on most of the time since I was facing the beach. There were quite a few fast single-seaters there but most didn't run due to the fear of sand jamming their throttle slides. One that did run and set FTD was Godfrey Crompton in a March F5000 - there was a photo in MN which I still have in a scrapbook, but they show him returning to the start along the pavement!

 

The fastest bike was a Rickman Kawasaki 1000 at some very high terminal speed, I remember, which was pretty gutsy with the wind and sand.

 

The other thing I remember about the day was that DSJ was there running his Tribsa, and he was quite patient with my gauche young self when I spoke to him in the paddock.

 

I believe from memory they always ran at low tide and left the gates open at the west end of the promenade so that anyone who couldn't stop could continue out onto the beach......but didn't someone once do that and hit a parked vehicle? Or am I thinking of somewhere else?

 

Paul M

 

edit: see this film of that very year!

Edited by Macca, 06 November 2016 - 15:51.

[Richard Jenkins]

Weston beach was where I drove a car for the very first time. Must've been 12/13 years old. Nice to learn by doing so I followed in the tracks of DSJ and Arthur Owen.

Edited by Richard Jenkins, 06 November 2016 - 15:57.

[Stephen W]

8:54 and there is DSJ chatting away

 

Robin Boucher is I think the commentator.

 

Godfrey Crompton in the Leda-Chevvie set FTD

[Paul Parker]

I attended this in 1980, 81 and 82. One of them was called off due to bad weather, 81 I think. I've also recently found some photos taken by my dad at the 1948(?) event. I'll try and post some pix on here when I get some time.
No chance of it ever happening again nowadays as the local council has put speed humps all along the promenade.

 

The anti-car brigade, often traffic planners, the two I knew did not/could not drive, one told me that he was very proud of this.

[dolomite]

These are my dad's photos which I have now established were taken at the 1949 Weston Speed Trials.
I have to admit that any apparent expertise at identifying obscure cars and drivers is actually down to shameless cribbing from a copy of the programme that I found posted on eBay....

Joe Fry - Freikaiserwagen


G W P Norton - Alta


David Hampshire - ERA


E J Newton - Frazer-Nash

Edited by dolomite, 12 November 2016 - 11:03.

[dolomite]

More from 1949

 

John Wyer - Ferrari 166 and Doc Taylor - Caesar Special

 

G N Mansell - Allard Special

 

G E Matthews - Jaguar

 

Archie Butterworth - AJB Special

[dolomite]

The entry lists from the 1949 programme can be seen here:
http://m.ebay.ie/itm...722?_mwBanner=1

[Vitesse2]

David Hampshire in the ERA, as indicated in the programme - Parnell is the entrant. I don't think Reg was ever that slim, and he certainly had less hair than that - even in 1949!

 

Can I also suggest you copy and save those pages from eBay and repost them here, as the link won't work for much longer - they auto-delete pictures after about 6 months.

[dolomite]

David Hampshire in the ERA, as indicated in the programme - Parnell is the entrant. I don't think Reg was ever that slim, and he certainly had less hair than that - even in 1949!

Can I also suggest you copy and save those pages from eBay and repost them here, as the link won't work for much longer - they auto-delete pictures after about 6 months.

Thanks Vitesse2, corrected now.
I have already downloaded the programme pages, I'll post them later

[dolomite]

Here are the pages from the 1949 programme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dolomite]

I've recently managed to dig out my programmes from the 1980 and 1982 events which I will post when I can find the time to scan them!

[bradbury west]

I have a couple from the early 1960s here somewhere so I will do the same, if someone can post them for me. Do we want the filler/advert pages too? Happy to do either.

Roger Lund

[ron54]

I like reading the old adverts they have a certain period charm of their own...could be just me though! 

[arttidesco]

I like reading the old adverts they have a certain period charm of their own...could be just me though! 

The Eccles caravan ad had me in stitches

[D-Type]

I like reading the old adverts they have a certain period charm of their own...could be just me though! 

Me too.

[dolomite]

My photos from the aborted 1981 event which was called off due to the weather. I arrived on the bus from Bristol to find all the cars being packed ready up to go home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ron54]

Thanks for the photo's Dolomite...looks as if there is plenty of "aero" set on the Brabham in anticipation of......

[dolomite]

Not much aero on that red F5000 though! (anyone know what it is?)

[arttidesco]

Not much aero on that red F5000 though! (anyone know what it is?)

Looks like a mixture of McLaren M10 wishbone suspension and Lotus 70 cockpit, its not the Bryan Eccles Brabham Buick BT18

[dolomite]

Possibly the Vebra-Chevrolet of Clive Bracey, which was entered in the 1980 and 1982 events (I don't have the 1981 programme). This was apparently based on a McLaren M10B.

[dolomite]

DSJ writes about competing in the 1980 event:

http://www.motorspor.../62/weekend-sea

[Rupertlt1]

1972 FTD: A Griffiths (5.0 Brabham BT35X Repco) 12.12 sec

Source: Motoring News, 12 October 1972

Headline "Griffiths again at Weston"

 

RGDS RLT

[Rupertlt1]

Does anybody have a programme/entry list/results sheet for the 1972 event?

 

See: https://www.oldracin...php?RaceID=S72H

 

RGDS RLT

Edited by Rupertlt1, 19 April 2019 - 14:23.

[dolomite]

Bristol Motor Club has a page reproducing their original report on the 1949 Weston Speed Trials https://bristolmc.or...n-speed-trials/

[68targa]

Just seen this topic and the earlier posts re 1949 event. I have this copy of a page from the (presumably) 1950 programme giving the results for 1949. Unfortunately only up to #77.