Bexhill-on-Sea, The Birthplace of British Motor Racing.

A dash up the hill as part of the Bexhill 100 celebrations for a Ford GT40.

I am sure that most motor racing fans are surprised to see a sign on entering the seaside town of Bexhill-on-Sea in EastSussex, that it is "The Birthplace of British Motor Racing".   The RAC awarded them that honour in 1995.  So exactly, why is Bexhill recognised as the Birthplace of British Motor Racing and why for some is this rather controversial?

To accompany this blogpost I have published some photos I took at one of the Bexhill 100 events that took place from 1990 to 2002 to commemorate the part that Bexhill played in early British motor sport. Probably I took these in 1999.

The 1902 Whit Monday Motor Races

On May 19th 1902 the first motor sport event in Britain with an international field took place.  That much is indisputable.     There is a nice little book called "The first Motor Racing in Britain - Bexhill-on-Sea - 1902" compiled by John Rose that details it.

A book that enthusiasts of early motor sport should definitely read.  The picture on the back cover is of Leon Serpollet the winner of the first Bexhill event.

In 1902 the Earl De La Warr of Bexhill made available his mettled cycle track that curved along the sea front at Bexhill-on-Sea for an event that was meant to replicate the Nice Speed Trials in France which took place along the Promenade des Anglais.  A large crowd came to watch which has been estimated at 30,000.    The event took the form of side by side racing along the one kilometre track except for the larger cars where this was deemed unsafe and thus who made their passage one at a time.  The weather was typically English and it rained quite heavily.  The field was quite exceptional and featured many classes and prizes and drivers and cars included :

Leon Serpollet - Gardner-Serpollet Steam Car - He was the current Land Speed Record holder.
Fernand Gabriel - 20HP Darracq - He was a famous French racing driver
Paul Baras - 20HP Darracq - a famous French racer.
Selwyn Edge - 30HP Gladiator and also 50HP Napier - a very famous early British racer.
CS Rolls - 20HP Mors - another very famous British racer
Charles Jarrott - 40 HP Panhard - yet another very famous British racer.
F.Lewin - Baby Peugeot
JH Gorham - 4.5HP De Dion
JD Barnes - 6HP M.M.C.
C.K.Gregson - 12HP Gladiator
Mark Mayhew - 20HP Panhard
A.J.Dew - Gardner-Serpollet Steam Car
Cambell Muir - 40HP Mercedes
Baron Henri de Rothschild - 40HP Mercedes
WD Astell - 15 Hp New Orleans
E.W.Hart - British Electromobile - winner of the Electric class.
A Ginder - Locomobile
Herbert Austin - 30HP Wolseley
etc etc

So internal combustion engines versus steam cars and electric cars.

The fastest time of the day went to Leon Serpollet in his steam car at nearly 55 MPH. 

The Controversy

Although, The Bexhill event was a major international motor sport event at the time, it was by no means the first motor sport event in the British Isles. There is also a debate whether a sprint event can be considered a motor race even if you have competitors competing at the same time.   However, once must remember that circuit racing hardly existed at this time except on cycle tracks or dirt tracks. On the continent they had the big city to city races but these were not allowed in Great Britain.  So there is little doubt that the British public regarded the Bexhill event as motor racing.  One also has to remember that a number of events that occurred prior to Bexhill had been forgotten and weren't rediscovered until after Bexhill was awarded being the birthplace of British Motor Racing.

Major Milestones in Early British Motor Sport

To aid the discussion, I have compiled a list of the major motor sport milestones in the British Isles from 1867 to 1920.  They were :

30th August 1867 - There is some evidence that a pre-arranged match race over a prescribed route between two steam powered road vehicles took place over an eight mile route between Ashton-under-Lyme and Old Trafford,  I saw this on the Goodwood Road & Racing website in an article written by Doug Nye.
14th November 1896 - The first London to Brighton run took place.  This was a demonstration run to celebrate the raising of the speed limit to 14 mph.  It was not a competitive event.
29th November 1897 - The first motor race in Britain was held at Sheen House in Richmond Park on an oval circuit.  It was held for motor bicycles and motor tricycles and the tricycle event was won by Charles Jarrott on a De Dion Bouton.  The event was repeated on 14th November 1898.
6th May 1899 - An event took place in Crystal Palace grounds involving multiple tests for cars, cans and tricycles followed by a race over the cycle track for the motor tricycles.
19th June 1899 - The first Hill Climb in Britain at Petersham Hill near Richmond-on-Thames took place.  The fastest car was Charles Stewart Rolls in a Panhard-Levassor, but a tricycle was even faster. This was probably the first organised motor sport event to be held on public roads in Britain.   It was a 325 yard course and both the ascent and descent were timed.
April - May 1900 - The 1,000 mile Trial was run around Great Britain starting in London.   as part of this there was an optional speed trial at Clipstone Drive (see entry below).
11th May 1900 - The first speed trial over a measured mile with a flying start was run over Clipstone Drive in Welbeck Park, Forest Town, Mansfield.   The winner was Charles Stewart Rolls in a Panhard.
8th April 1901 - A one mile speed trial around the grounds of Crystal Palace Park.
27th April 1901 - A car race took place around the 350 yard Crystal Palace banked velodrome.  The event was won by Charles Stewart Rolls in a 24hp Mors (this event was largely forgotten until rediscovered in 2004 by Autocar in their archives).
7th September 1901 - A car race took place at Gilmorehill overlooking Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow on a 440 yard banked velodrome as part of the mammoth Glasgow International Exhibition that year.  Apparently, pairs of cars ran together over races of 20 laps and 5 laps.  The races were won by steam powered Locomobile cars from the USA.
16th November 1901 - Selwyn Edge wins the Course de Côte de Gaillon for cars in his Napier.  I believe this may be the first victory abroad for a British driver and car.

19th May 1902 - The first major International Motor Sport event in Britain took place in Bexhill-on-Sea.   The event was repeated in 1904 and 1906 and 1907.  Speed sprint events at a national level were also held there from 1922 to 1924.

28th June 1902 - Selwyn Edge wins the Gordon Bennett International Cup race (the major race in the World at that time) for Britain in his Napier.  After just over 11 hours of driving he was the only competitor to last the distance from Paris in France to Innsbruck in Austria.
2nd July 1903 - The Gordon Bennett Cup was held at Athy in County Kildare and Queen's County, Ireland. It was the most important annual motor racing event at the time and was won by Camille Jenatzy for Mercedes.  At the time Ireland was part of the UK.
2nd October 1903 - A woman took part in a motor sport event in the UK for the first time.  Dorothy Levitt won her class at the Southport Speed Trials in a Gladiator and thus became the first British woman racing driver.
10th May1904 - The Gordon Bennet Eliminating Trials were held on the Isle of Man.  This was the first car race on the Isle of Man and was won by Clifford Earp in a Napier.
8th July 1905 - The first motor sport event in Wales was held with a speed hill climb at Buttrils Hill in Barry.  The fastest timer over the 500 yard course was by G.S. Seccombe in a Wolseley.
19th to 22nd July 1905 - The first Brighton Speed Trials were held along a specially prepared Tarmac road at the south coast resort.  The winner was Clifford Earp in a Napier.
12th August 1905 - The first Hill Climb at Shelsley Walsh - a venue still in action today.   It was won by E.M.C. Instone in a Daimler.  This is now the oldest surviving motor sport venue in the world.
14th September 1905 - The first ever Tourist Trophy race for cars was held on the Isle of Man.  It was won by John Napier in an Arrol-Johnston.  The RAC Tourist Trophy still continues as a race in the modern era.
28th June 1907 - The first record attempt at Brooklands Circuit - the first permanent purpose built circuit in Britain.  It is recognised as the first ever permanent purpose built banked motor racing track in the World.  This record attempt in 1907 established a 24 hour record.  Three Napiers took part and Selwyn Edge in one of them drove the whole 24 hours covering 1,581 miles.  Not bad for 1907!
6th July 1907 - The first ever official race at Brooklands circuit.  H.C.Tryon in a Napier won the first race.
8th November 1909 - The first time that the Land Speed Record for Internal Combustion engined cars was achieved in Britain, at Brooklands by Victor Hémery in a Benz.  This was the first LSR that was electronically timed.
15th February 1913 - At Brooklands, Percy Lambert became the first to drive more than 100 miles in one hour, driving a Talbot.  He was killed later at the same venue trying to improve the record.
24th June 1914 - The first British driver to hold the Land Speed Record was Lydston Hornsted who achieved an average 124 mph over two runs in a Benz at Brooklands.
30th May 1916 - A British citizen, Dario Resta, wins the big race at Indianapolis for the first time.  He was driving a Peugeot and the race was only scheduled for 300 miles that year.

This list will be continued in future posts.

Decide for yourself if Bexhill should be considered the Birthplace of British Motor racing.

A Mini completes its run.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.

A Formula Ford car at Bexhill.