BRINGING BACK BROOKLANDS
Museum celebrates 95 years since the very first British Grand Prix
Damien Smith
MOTORSPORT
Six pages of news, insight and opinion from the world of motor racing
RACING LINES
Inter-war machinery got a day in the sun to mark race anniversary
O n 7 August 1926, an exhausted Louis Wagner crossed the finish line at Brooklands after four gruelling hours of racing in the Delage that he had taken over from Robert Sénéchal to take victory in the Grand Prix of the Royal Automobile Club – better known as the very first British Grand Prix.
Ninety-five years later to the very day, grand prix cars and appreciative enthusiasts gathered once again at the carefully preserved and cherished remnants of the famous old Surrey speed bowl to pay a nod of respect to a pioneering landmark in British motorsport history.
The weather threatened a dispiriting washout early on – but, as if to order, the taps turned off for long enough to ensure a pleasant day of warm nostalgia that gently reinforced just how lucky we are to still have Brooklands, the world’s first purposebuilt motor racing circuit.