History
The history of permanent motor racing circuits began in Weybridge, England in 1909 when Hugh Locke-King financed and created the Brooklands racing circuit. It was the second ever oval style track built for cars, after the Lakeside Auto Speedway near San Diego, but the first custom-built banked circuit built solely for the purposes of racing.
When the track was built, it was 2.75 miles long and 100 foot wide - a remarkable stat even by today's standards. The banking was also very steep, reaching as high as 9ft from ground level in some places. In addition to the steep banking, there was a finishing straight that bisected the circuit which increased the track length to 3.25 miles, and the circuit could hold upto 287,000 paying spectators - the second highest in motor racing history behind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Unfortunately for the drivers it wasn't the greatest circuit in which to drive on. Due to the high cost of laying asphalt, added to the complications at the time of laying tarmac on a banked surface, the track surface was layed using a mixture of gravel and cement, and as the circuit settled over time, it began getting bumpier and more uncomfortable for the drivers.
The circuit also had a unique characteristic that set it apart from other banked circuits that followed. Due to the steepness of the banking, the circuit owners painted a dotted black line along the centre of the circuit and called it the 'Fifty Foot Line'. If a driver was to drive over the centre of this line, then he could theoretically drive around the banking without having to use the steering wheel.
Circuit Firsts
Due to being the first permanent racing circuit, Brooklands holds a number of firsts in the motor racing world. Eleven days after the circuit was officially opened, it hosted the world's first 24 hour race. With electric lighting not the standard at the time, the circuit was lit with 300 red railway lamps along the side of the track, and flares lit at the top of the banking to mark the edge of the track.
It was also the scene of the first car to travel 100 miles in less than an hour (averaging 60mph). It was achieved by Percy E. Lambert on the 15th of February 1913 in the Talbot, and he covered jsut over 103 miles in 60 minutes.
It was also the first host of the British Grand Prix in 1926 after the success of Henry Segrave at the French Grand Prix in 1923 and Spanish Grand Prix in 1924 raised the profile of motor racing in Britain. The first race was won by Louis Wagner and Robert Senechal in a Delage 155B.
The End
Unfortunately racing stopped at the circuit after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 due to fuel rationing. Six years later after the end of WWII, it was decided that racing cars had now become too fast for the famous old circuit, and competitve racing never returned to the circuit. Today the circuit still stands but is not fit for any type of racing, and serves as a base for many light aircraft demonstrations (using the finishing straight as a runway) and a motor sport museum. Today the Brooklands name does remain at the top of motorsport - a corner at the Silverstone Circuit is named after the first permanent circuit
The history of permanent motor racing circuits began in Weybridge, England in 1909 when Hugh Locke-King financed and created the Brooklands racing circuit. It was the second ever oval style track built for cars, after the Lakeside Auto Speedway near San Diego, but the first custom-built banked circuit built solely for the purposes of racing.
When the track was built, it was 2.75 miles long and 100 foot wide - a remarkable stat even by today's standards. The banking was also very steep, reaching as high as 9ft from ground level in some places. In addition to the steep banking, there was a finishing straight that bisected the circuit which increased the track length to 3.25 miles, and the circuit could hold upto 287,000 paying spectators - the second highest in motor racing history behind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Unfortunately for the drivers it wasn't the greatest circuit in which to drive on. Due to the high cost of laying asphalt, added to the complications at the time of laying tarmac on a banked surface, the track surface was layed using a mixture of gravel and cement, and as the circuit settled over time, it began getting bumpier and more uncomfortable for the drivers.
The circuit also had a unique characteristic that set it apart from other banked circuits that followed. Due to the steepness of the banking, the circuit owners painted a dotted black line along the centre of the circuit and called it the 'Fifty Foot Line'. If a driver was to drive over the centre of this line, then he could theoretically drive around the banking without having to use the steering wheel.
Circuit Firsts
Due to being the first permanent racing circuit, Brooklands holds a number of firsts in the motor racing world. Eleven days after the circuit was officially opened, it hosted the world's first 24 hour race. With electric lighting not the standard at the time, the circuit was lit with 300 red railway lamps along the side of the track, and flares lit at the top of the banking to mark the edge of the track.
It was also the scene of the first car to travel 100 miles in less than an hour (averaging 60mph). It was achieved by Percy E. Lambert on the 15th of February 1913 in the Talbot, and he covered jsut over 103 miles in 60 minutes.
It was also the first host of the British Grand Prix in 1926 after the success of Henry Segrave at the French Grand Prix in 1923 and Spanish Grand Prix in 1924 raised the profile of motor racing in Britain. The first race was won by Louis Wagner and Robert Senechal in a Delage 155B.
The End
Unfortunately racing stopped at the circuit after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 due to fuel rationing. Six years later after the end of WWII, it was decided that racing cars had now become too fast for the famous old circuit, and competitve racing never returned to the circuit. Today the circuit still stands but is not fit for any type of racing, and serves as a base for many light aircraft demonstrations (using the finishing straight as a runway) and a motor sport museum. Today the Brooklands name does remain at the top of motorsport - a corner at the Silverstone Circuit is named after the first permanent circuit
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