Brooklands

Brooklands - Birthplace of British Motor Racing & Aviation

We organised this event as an opportunity to meet Dave & Sandra Bray over from New Zealand. Dave a retired Banker is an experienced kit car builder, having previously built a Chesil, Porsche 956 replica and now a Nostalgia Classic 120. Dave had contacted us in early February expressing a desire to meet other Nostalgia owners. A few e-mails traversed the globe before we settled on Brooklands as the ideal venue.

The day dawned dull, but by lunch time had developed in to warm and sunny day. The moment you set foot in Brooklands the sense of history hits you. The period club house still stands, preserved as the offices, shop and museum of the Brooklands Society. The paddock in front more reminiscent of horse racing rather than the roar of motor racing, but that, of course, was how early motor race meetings were organised.

Dave Bray's Nostalgia Classic 120

We were privileged to park our cars in front of the club house. Replicas they my be but they were not out of place. Depicting an era of British motoring ,though long after Brooklands closed, still in keeping with the spirit of Brooklands. It would have been nice to be better represented Tim Barnes' 120, gun metal metallic grey example and Martin Halliday's unfinished 120 (shaping up to be a true replica) did us proud. Martin Halliday deserves a special mention because every formal meeting we have had, he has put his car on a trailer and brought it from deepest Norfolk for us to see what progress he has made. Thanks to Tim and to Martin for their support.

The Club House - Brooklands

Brooklands is a place of contrasts. None more so than to discover Concorde Delta-Bravo parked majestically near the club house. Those who arrived early were able to book their "flight tickets" for the concorde experience. The Brooklands Society have done and excellent job restoring Delta-Bravo from a "shell", stripped of everything useful at then end of its days as a flight testing aircraft, by British airways, to keep their Concorde fleet flying. Today resplendent in a new coat of paint it is probably the best Concorde exhibit in the world. The rear half of the cabin is a walk through exhibition explaining the history, technology and restoration of Delta- Bravo. Step in to the front cabin and you are in the world of supersonic travel, sitting in grey leather seats watching a video simulation of supersonic flight. as the indicator on the front wail clocks up Mach 2.2 at 55,500ft. Finally "landing" and leaving the aircraft with a look at the ,quite small, cockpit, a mass of dials and instruments.

Outside Concorde towers over you as sleek and beautiful as ever

Ruth & Roger Hamblin aboard Concorde

Our guided tour began with the aircraft collection. Brooklands connection with aviation is reflected through the Vickers company which assumed ownership of the site at the outbreak of WWII. Examples of famous Vickers aircraft abound, the Wellington bomber recovered from Loch Ness. to famous civil airliners like the Viking, Viscount, Vanguard and VC10. The site still boasts test facilities that were used to test parts for the Valiant bomber and latterly for Concorde. All now silent but none the less fascinating to see. Brooklands demise as a motor racing venue was brought about by WWII and the breaking of the track to accommodate a runway. Continued use after the war ultimately prevented its revival. So it surprising how much of the original track still exists. The hill climb is on the right as you enter the site and we took the opportunity to visit the famous banked section of the track between the aircraft collection and going on to the motoring collection.

The Loch Ness Wellington

The motoring section brings you back to the bygone era of the early 20th Century. On the 17th June 1907 after just nine months of work the still unfinished Brooklands Motor Course was opened - this outstanding feat of engineering having eventually cost Hugh Locke King a personal fortune of £150,000, a price equal to millions of pounds today.
Outside the paddock are sheds which passed for garages bearing the names of local garages and entrants. This is not the world of hi-tec F1 but state of the art for that time. you can imagine many a feat of engineering and repair being carried out by hand to keep this fledgling, largely amateur sport going. All this is just a stones throw away from the modern HQ of Mercedes Benz and Mclaren F1. Mercedes Benz now own the site but have promised to support it and keep it going. The motoring collection is extensive with many important exhibits. Unfortunately the Brooklands Lap record holding Napier Railton at 143mph was away at the Goodwood Revival Meeting.

The Garages

The heyday of the racing circuit was undoubtedly the 1920s and 1930s when record times were being set and broken by Malcolm Campbell, John Cobb and others in such magnificently crafted machines as Napier, Delage, Panhard, Bentley and Bugatti.

Motorcycles and pedal cycles too had their devotees and many records were established on the Track. Brooklands was a very fashionable place to be seen and became known as ‘the Ascot of Motorsport’.

There is much more to see and do and not the time or space to tell it all here. A much better Idea is to come with us next time or plan a visit or yourself. follow the link to find out more. Brooklands

Part of The World Record collection

Our tour and our day concluded with and extensive tour of the club house. A nostalgic trip down memory lane to the Clerk of the Course's office to the Ladies room graced by society beauties such as Barbara Cartand. at the time it was felt unseemly for ladies to mingle in what, after all, was a Gentlemen's Club. Though many women sponsored and ran their own racing team.

1939 4.5 ltr Le Mans Bentley

Tim Barnes' Classic 120

Martin Halliday's Classic 120