Brooklands was the first permanent
circuit in the world and opened in 1907 because racing on public
roads was banned in Britain. In these days motor racing was seen as
a sort of of horseracing. Expressions like paddock, originally from horseracing,
remember to that time and are still used in motorsport.
There where different combinations of
the lay out possible at Brooklands. Inside there where the road
circuits called Campbell circuit and Hill circuit. But the big
attraction was the oval track outside with the huge banked corners
called Members banking and Byfleet banking.
To be quick at Brooklands you needed
more courage than driving skill. There where special rules for
driving on the banking. Overtaking should happened right and how
higher the speed how higher you must drive on the banking. There
where many hard feelings when some drivers drove high on the banking
with less speed! There was not much space to overtake and risks
where plenty.
In the twenties only a few people
could buy themselves a car an even less people could buy a Bentley
or a Bugatti to race. That made Brooklands a club from the
Aristocrats. Even the entrance price for spectators was almost the
wage of a week, "The right crowd and now crowding" was the slogan!
This made motorsport unreachable for normal people. When the second
world war started in 1939 the circuit closed and never opened again.
Today the circuit is still there as a
monument from a past time. a part of the site is now owned by
Daimler Chrysler who want to build there a test circuit which
include a part of the Campbell Circuit and the Members Banking.
However, these plans are not realised yet.
