Lewes Speed Trials
Encyclopedia
The Lewes Speed Trials were speed trials held on a defunct course in Lewes
, Sussex, England, sometimes known as "The Motor Road."
In 1933 The Autocar reported:
Jean Bugatti
attended the races on 21 October 1933. Denis Jenkinson
, motor racing journalist, attended his first motor sport event here in 1936. The Autocar reported from the meeting on June 12, 1937: "The first appearance in competition of the new four-wheel independent-suspension Atalanta
was at Lewes. G.A.T. Weldon drove this 1½-litre model." Bill Boddy
, editor of Motor Sport, drove the original HRG
sports car, 1,497 c.c., at Lewes on 4 September 1937 with a best time of 27.4 sec, finishing third in the novices class. On July 15, 1939, Sydney Allard
took a class win in a time of 22.12 secs.
Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged.
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, Sussex, England, sometimes known as "The Motor Road."
History
The first meeting took place on July 27, 1924, on "a private road near Lewes", location unidentified. The event was organised by the Brighton & Hove Motor Cycle and Light Car Club, on a quarter-mile course. Fastest time of the day was set by J.A. Hall, Frazer Nash-GN, in a time of 16.6 secs.
"Speed trials were held on the Race Hill at Lewes three or four times a year from 1925 to 1939, at the instance of the Brighton & Hove MCBrighton and Hove Motor ClubThe Brighton and Hove Motor Club is best known as organiser of the Brighton Speed Trials.- History :The club's origins go back to the early 1920's when it was known as the Brighton and Hove Motor Cycle and Light Car Club. The earliest known reference to the Brighton and Hove Motor Club dates from...
, the Kent & Sussex LCC, the Bugatti Owners' Club and the Vintage Sports Car ClubVintage Sports-Car ClubThe Vintage Sports-Car Club or VSCC is a British motor racing club. Established "towards the end of 1934" by Tim Carson and Tom Rolt to promote the pastime of motoring, the VSCC was first started in order to allow the "not so rich" to enjoy historic motoring.. General guidelines made the club...
,..."
In 1933 The Autocar reported:
"The course bends slightly to the left, is one-third of a mile long, narrow, none too smooth, and slightly uphill. It leads directly off the London-Newhaven road just before reaching Lewes."
Jean Bugatti
Jean Bugatti
Jean Bugatti was an French/Italian automotive designer and test engineer.Born Gianoberto Maria Carlo Bugatti in Cologne, Germany, he was the eldest son of Ettore Bugatti. Soon after his birth the family moved to the village of Dorlisheim near Molsheim in Alsace where his father built the new...
attended the races on 21 October 1933. Denis Jenkinson
Denis Jenkinson
Denis Sargent Jenkinson , Jenks or DSJ as he was known in the pages of Motor Sport, was a journalist deeply involved in motorsports...
, motor racing journalist, attended his first motor sport event here in 1936. The Autocar reported from the meeting on June 12, 1937: "The first appearance in competition of the new four-wheel independent-suspension Atalanta
Atalanta (1937 automobile)
The Atalanta was an English automobile manufactured from 1937 until 1939 by Atalanta Motors Ltd in Staines, Middlesex.Two models were made.The 1937 car used Albert Gough's somewhat erratic 4 cylinder overhead cam 1496 cc 78 bhp and 1996 cc 98 bhp engines with three valves and...
was at Lewes. G.A.T. Weldon drove this 1½-litre model." Bill Boddy
Bill Boddy
William "Bill" Boddy, MBE was a British journalist who was the editor of Motor Sport from 1936 to 1991. He contributed regularly to Motor Sport magazine, continuing a career that lasted eighty-one years.-Career:...
, editor of Motor Sport, drove the original HRG
HRG Engineering Company
HRG Engineering Company also known as HRG, was a British car manufacturer based in Tolworth, Surrey. Founded in 1936 by Major Edward Halford, Guy Robins and Henry Ronald Godfrey, it took its name from the first letter of their surnames....
sports car, 1,497 c.c., at Lewes on 4 September 1937 with a best time of 27.4 sec, finishing third in the novices class. On July 15, 1939, Sydney Allard
Sydney Allard
Sydney Herbert Allard was the founder of the Allard car company and a successful racing motorist. He was remarkable in that he achieved sporting success in cars of his own manufacture....
took a class win in a time of 22.12 secs.
The Lewes Record
Comparisons of times recorded at different meetings and by different clubs are problematic. There were differences in the method of timing (the electric Bachelier method favoured by the Bugatti O.C. allowed the competitor to start in his own time) and even differences in the length of the course.Lewes Speed Trials past winners
| Year | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | R.G.J. Nash | Frazer Nash Terror | 20.0 sec R | Kent & Sussex LCC | 7 May |
| N.W. Gardiner | Delage | 22.7 sec | Bugatti O.C. | 11 June | |
| R.G.J. Nash | Frazer Nash Terror | 20.2 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 18 June | |
| R.G.J. Nash | Frazer Nash Terror | 21.0 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 10 September | |
| 1933 | R.G.J. Nash | Nash Special | 21.0 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 13 May |
| R.G.J. Nash | Nash Special | 21.0 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 25 June | |
| R.G.J. Nash | Anzani-Nash Special | 21.0 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 9 September | |
| Richard Nash | Anzani-Nash The Spook | 20.4 sec | Bugatti O.C. | 21 October | |
| 1934 | R.G.J. Nash | Anzani-Nash 1,496 c.c. | 22.4 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 12 May |
| John Bolster | Bolster Special | 20.2 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 16 June | |
| R.G.J. Nash | Nash Special | 21.6 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 26 August | |
| Charles Martin | Bugatti 2.3 | 20.13 sec | Bugatti O.C. | 8 September | |
| 1935 | A.G. Bainton | Bugatti 1½-litre | Kent & Sussex LCC | 11 May | |
| S.E. Cummings | Vauxhall Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for... -Villiers Amherst Villiers Amherst Villiers was an English automotive, aeronautical and astronautic engineer and portrait painter.He designed a land speed record-breaking car for Malcolm Campbell, and developed the supercharged "Blower Bentley", driven by Henry Birkin and by James Bond.-Early life:Charles Amherst Villiers... S/C |
19.4 sec R | Kent & Sussex LCC | 15 June | |
| Kent & Sussex LCC | 24 August | ||||
| S.E. Cummings | Vauxhall-Villiers S/C | 18.13 sec R | Bugatti O.C. | 7 September | |
| 1936 | R.G.J. Nash | Frazer-Nash-Union Special | 19.06 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 9 May |
| Robin Jackson | Alta 1,500 c.c. #17 | 19.18 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 13 June | |
| A.G. Bainton | Bugatti 2.3-litre S/C | 20.7 sec | Bugatti O.C. | 15 August | |
| Geoffrey Taylor | Alta 1,488 c.c. | 19.81 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 22 August | |
| 1937 | J. Lemon Burton | Bugatti 2.3-litre | 19.12 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 8 May |
| Geoffrey Taylor | Alta | 19.3 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 12 June | |
| Geoffrey Taylor | Alta 2-litre | 18.75 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 21 August | |
| Arthur Baron | Bugatti 3,300 c.c. S/C | 18.4 sec | Bugatti O.C. | 4 September | |
| 1938 | Arthur Baron | Bugatti 3,300 c.c. | 18.61 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 7 May |
| John Bolster | Bolster Special | 19.32 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 11 June | |
| H. Whitfield-Semmence | Semmence-Special-A.C. | 22.0 sec | Vintage S.C.C. Vintage Sports-Car Club The Vintage Sports-Car Club or VSCC is a British motor racing club. Established "towards the end of 1934" by Tim Carson and Tom Rolt to promote the pastime of motoring, the VSCC was first started in order to allow the "not so rich" to enjoy historic motoring.. General guidelines made the club... |
9 July | |
| Peter Monkhouse | E.R.A. 1½-litre | 18.27 sec R | Kent & Sussex LCC | 20 August | |
| 1939 | Norman Lewis | Bugatti 2,300 c.c. | 18.47 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 13 May |
| Ned Lewis | Bugatti 2,300 c.c. | 18.88 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 17 June | |
| Stuart Wilton | M.G. | 21.60 sec | Vintage S.C.C. Vintage Sports-Car Club The Vintage Sports-Car Club or VSCC is a British motor racing club. Established "towards the end of 1934" by Tim Carson and Tom Rolt to promote the pastime of motoring, the VSCC was first started in order to allow the "not so rich" to enjoy historic motoring.. General guidelines made the club... |
15 July | |
| Arthur Baron | Bugatti 3,300 c.c. | 18.75 sec | Kent & Sussex LCC | 19 August |
Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged.
See also
- Brighton Speed TrialsBrighton Speed TrialsThe Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held July 19–22, 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace...
- Firle Hill ClimbFirle Hill ClimbFirle Hill Climb is a defunct hillclimbing course near Lewes, East Sussex, England, sometimes referred to as Bo Peep Hill Climb."The event will consist of a timed climb of the metalled roadknown as Bo-Peep Hill, situated near the village of Selmeston, on...
- Prescott Speed Hill Climb