Bristol Motor Club

Monte Monday: Bristolian World Rally Drivers in 1962

It’s not Just F1 drivers that Bristol has produced. On this day in 1962, the Evening Post reported on Bristolians heading off to Monte-Carlo for the infamous rally. Driving for Works teams, they were at the [click. . .]

Sunday Sundry: 1951 Awards Dinner & Dance

On this day in 1951, the Evening Post reorted on our annual Dinner and Dance. Back then, it was a formal affair with bow ties and dinner jackets. The photo they’ve chosen to publish is of Mrs Lawson presenting [click. . .]

Fifties Friday: Castle Combe Circuit under threat and a move to Ashton Court?

On this day in 1959, the Evening Post reported on the annual dinner of the Wessex Centre ACU’s annual dinner and dance at the Grand Hotel in Bristol. Castle Combe Circuit had been in use for nearly a decade and [click. . .]

Monday Musings: 1956 Roy Fedden Trophy Trial

These days, the Roy Fedden Sporting Trial is an annual round of the BTRDA Sporting Trials Championship. The best sporting trials drivers in the country (and the world, actually) come and wrestle their specialised cars [click. . .]

Feel Good Friday: 1960 Roy Fedden Trophy

On this day in 1960, it was reported that we ran the Roy Fedden Trophy Trial at Bristol International Airport. It’s amazing to think we ran events at the airport 65 years ago, yet more amazingly, we ran a racing [click. . .]

Wayback Wednesday: Autocross in Horton

On this day in 1962, the Evening Post reported on our Autocross at Horton, near Old Sodbury. It was an event jointly organised with our long standing friends at Bristol Pegasus Motor Club. A timed event around a [click. . .]

Throwback Thursday: 1961 Weston Speed Trials

Did you know we used to race cars along the seafront at Weston Super Mare? Back in the days before speed bumps, we raced some of the fastest cars in the country from a standing start along the seafront. As reported [click. . .]

Wayback Wednesday: 1962 Dyrham Park Hillclimb

The year 1962 holds a distinguished place in the annals of Bristol Motor Club. It was the year the club ventured onto the national stage of motorsport at its latest venue, hosting its inaugural National hillclimb event [click. . .]

Fifties Friday: 1959 Whitchurch Racing Circuit

This club has run motorsport events at dozens of locations around Bristol and on this day in 1959, we ran a Formula 2 race at Whitchurch Airfield. The airfield had been recently decommissioned as Bristol’s [click. . .]

Sunday Speed: 1957 Whitchurch Sprint

Back in 1957, Whitchurch Airfield closed as Bristol International Airport in Lulsgate was now Bristol’s preferred airport, thanks to its position a long way out of town. It left behind a runway that we thought [click. . .]

On This Day: 1962 Three Clubs Sprint

On this day in 1962, we ran a sprint at Castle Combe Circuit. The course started at Camp Corner and ran for 440 yards down to Folly. There were family battles as Dr Peter Parkes and his son, Andrew, competed against [click. . .]

On This Day: 1962 Dyrham Park Hillclimb

Yes, you’re reading that right. We did indeed turn the National Trust’s Dyrham Park into a hillclimb. What’s more, rounds of the British Hillclimb Championship ran there in the 60s. It was a [click. . .]

Throwback Thursday: 10,000 Spectators at Castle Combe Circuit

On this day in 1954, we ran a race meeting at Castle Combe Circuit. It was our fifth year running the circuit that we built in 1950. The excitement generated by F W Brown in the Evening Post on a Friday in February [click. . .]

Spinning Saturday: 1958 Full Moon Trial

On this day in 1958, we ran the Full Moon Trial. Entries were limited to 50 drivers, as promoted in the the Evening Post. Our Monthly News magazine described what event would entail for our members… True to the [click. . .]

Wayback Wednesday: When Quiz Night was News-worthy!

Yep, that’s right, so important was this club in 1959 that the Evening Post even promoted our quiz night on this day in 1959. It’s unclear how many rounds there were, how hard the questions were or how [click. . .]

Throwback, er, Tuesday: New Hillclimb Venue!

On this day in 1961, we announced a new hillclimb venue at Dyrham Park, in association with the National Trust. That’s right, we ran hillclimbs up the driveway from the stately home that we resurfaced in 1961 at [click. . .]

Sunday Story: 1960 Allen Trophy Trial

On this day in 1960, it was reported that we ran the Allen Trophy Trial, which was actually on 11th December. We still run the Allen Classic Trial today, even when Storm Bert tries its best to thwart efforts. 62 [click. . .]

Story Sunday: 1955 Castle Combe International

On this day in 1955, we ran an international meeting at Castle Combe Circuit. Yes, an international meeting of top flight drivers. There were factory entries from Cooper, Team Lotus, Ferrari Automobili and Stirling [click. . .]

Story Sunday: 1949 Grand Cup Trial

Our full name is Bristol Motorcycle and Light Car Club Ltd. Just like in our name, the bikes came before the cars and on this day in 1949, we ran the Grand Cup Trial for motorcycles. Here’s how it was [click. . .]

Story Sunday: 1949 Veteran Car Rally

I heard you liked throwbacks, so I put a throwback in your throwback! Yes, on this day in 1949, we ran the Bristol Veteran Car Rally for cars that, 71 years ago, were considered old. Here’s what Leonard Taylor [click. . .]

History