Brooklands New Year Driving Test  2007

Text and photos John Sutton
Video by Alan Calder

Above:  Clubhouse

  The Vintage Sports Car Club’s New Year Driving Tests Meeting has become a popular season opener.  The venue is ideal as the catering and visitor facilities at Brooklands are excellent and there is the added attraction of the Museum which includes cars and aeroplanes.   

The event centres on the old Brooklands Clubhouse which during the Second World War was requisitioned as offices for Barnes Wallace the famous aircraft designer and inventor of the “bouncing bomb” that the Dambusters used so successfully to breach the Möhne dam.

Above: Blown MG ND	Above: Austin Ulster	Above: Morgan Super Sports

 

A visit to Brooklands is always nostalgic for your reporter as he spent 7 years of his youth as an apprentice to Vickers Armstrong.  We used to make runs up the Test Hill during lunch breaks until the management decided it was too dangerous and piled a load of rubble at the bottom.

Above: Frazer Nash	Above: Humber 11hp 1913	Above: Humber 18/18 Chummy

This year the weather was very kind and the whole event was bathed in cold early sunlight.  The turnout was good and there was a full entry. Many members turned up in vintage cars to spectate and these were as much a part of the meeting as the competitors.

Above: Singer 9 Sports Coupe	Above: Lea-Francis 12/40 W type Saloon	Above: Humber

After an early start all the competing cars have to undergo the usual scrutineering and eligibility inspection.  The Austin Sevens always come in for special attention where eligibility is concerned and magnets are regularly used to test for illicit aluminium parts.  

Above: Frazer Nash Falcon TT Replica	Above: MG NA Magnette,	Above: Alvis 12/60 Beetleback

The first test was a run up the Test Hill followed by a series of tight maneuvers at the top by the old morgue.  This was followed by a series of intricate tests which involved driving around bollards and reversing in and out of  “garages” where the cars had to be parked astride a line before finishing across the final line.  Marks were lost for hitting bollards and other infringements such as following the wrong route and failing to finish the test.

Above: MG M type	Above: Rolls Royce 20hp	Above: New Carden

The last tests were conducted on the old Brooklands Banking and some considerable excitement occurred when two of the Austin Sevens were rolled.  Fortunately there were no serious injuries although one Austin rolled right over and back onto its wheels again.   

Above: Cambridge Special	Above: Austin Seven	Above: Austin Special

There were 22 Austin Sevens entered and the oldest car was a Peugeot of 1904 which the driver seemed to have difficulty with finding the gears. It was also good to see 5 lady members competing very effectively.

Above:  Squire1	Above: Squire 2

Video