Motorsport always bounces back

We are living in unusual times. The global ‘lockdown’ has put unprecedented restrictions on daily life and the sweeping effects of a world holding its breath have, perhaps, yet to be fully realised. The accepted thinking however is that this pandemic, whilst painfully tragic for many, will not last forever. The debate as to whether life will return to ‘normal’ has yet to be resolved and definitions of what normal life should look like are certainly not the remit of motoring writers. What is for certain is that, once the various restrictions are lifted, motorsport will return with hungry enthusiasm and no doubt a wave of renewed fellowship and unity.


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SIGN UP The history of our sport is writ large with the resilience and persistence of its protagonists, insistent that motorsport is more than merely winning races it is a mechanism for bringing people together and providing a sustaining diversion from the tribulations and vicissitudes of ‘normal life’.

In 1919 the world was reeling from the most shattering conflict it had experienced to date and was navigating the devastating effects of the Spanish Flu pandemic (which lasted until 1920 and infected a staggering 500 million people). So it is perhaps not surprising that there wasn’t a landslide of motor racing events in 1918. Competition returned first to America in May 1919 with the Indianapolis 500 but in Europe (the winner, Howdy Wilcox, is pictured at the top of this story with his winning Peugeot), where civilian life had been so dramatically uprooted, things took a little longer.

The first sprouts of activity broke through in August 1919 but not perhaps where you might expect. Despite the dominance of the French road races before the war and the ascendance of Brooklands, the first wheels to turn competitively in Europe were on Danish soil – or sand. On August 23rd on the island of Fanĝ, once they had cleared the mines that had washed in on the high tide, a speed trial was held. It was won by Ferdinando Minoia driving a FIAT and the trial ran for another five years, becoming a popular destination for speed freaks including John Duff and Malcolm Campbell.

The Italians were next to carry the torch with a very international Targa Florio that was held on November 23rd 1919. Familiar pre-war names dominated the entry, including René Thomas back from his Indy 500 successes, but there were a few drivers that made their racing debut including Antonio Ascari and a 21 year-old Enzo Ferrari. Ferrari was unclassified in 1919, but returned in 1920 to win his class and take second place overall driving for Alfa Romeo. French, Italian and British drivers were in attendance. The race was fought in appalling weather and on dreadful roads (they were bad before the ravages of war!) and was won by André Boillot in the all-conquering Peugeot L25. Boillot overtook Thomas in the final stages of the race and frantically raced for the chequered flag. On approaching the finish line the excited crowds rushed onto the road – in an effort to avoid a terrible accident Boillot skidded the car into the palisade in front of the grandstand. The exhausted driver and mechanic then had to disentangle their car from the wreckage and managed to reverse over the finish line. Just as victory cigars were about to be lit the pair were notified that reversing over the line did not qualify them as winners and were compelled to get back into the battered car, return to the track and drive over the finish line the right way round…

Motor racing benefited enormously from the accelerated development of engines that the war had demanded. Lessons from the aeronautics industry had an enormous impact; lighter materials, aerodynamics and metallurgic advancement meant more revs, more power and less weight. The beautiful eight-cylinder Ballot that was, somewhat hastily, put together for the 1919 Indianapolis and the terrifically fast Duesenbergs incorporated many of these new developments and ushered in a new era of racing car design. Maserati 8CMs, the incredible Alfa Romeo P3, the Bugatti Type 35 and many more besides, have World War I aircraft DNA.

The Junior Car Club Meeting at Brooklands, May 20th 1920. H.R. Godfrey leads C. Finch.

The British, despite the illegality of road racing, were successful in putting on a remarkable number of events in the years after the Great War. The damage that Brooklands had suffered in the hands of the RFC was extensive. The effects of heavy solid-tyre lorries, frost and general neglect demanded a great deal of repair work. Despite this, Brooklands was open for business on April 5th 1920, unfortunately so were the heavens – meaning that the meeting proper had to be postponed until May. However the Essex Car Club were successful in organising a hillclimb at Kop on 2nd April which was won by Guy Anthony Vandervell who would go on to make quite an impact on the sport after the next war. As always, M. Campbell could be found well up the order – winning the 1,500cc class in a Talbot.

Hillclimbs and speed trials were the bread and butter of British motor racing in those fragile years after the war. Local councils often took a blind eye to smaller events that didn’t cause a great deal of disruption and that brought in a little extra cash. Between 1920 and 1921 there were over 20 different hillclimb venues – many running numerous times during that period. (Keckwill/Staxton/Church Hill/Kop/Shelsley Walsh/Holme Moss/Sutton Bank/Southport Sands/Redland/Pebblecoombe Hill/Windmill Hill/Inter-Varsity/Bore Hill/Newlands Corner/Rushup Edge/Irondown/ACU Chatcombe/Handpost/Holme Moss/South Harting/Hampshire AC Spread Eagle/SUNBAC Penkridge Bank/Catsash/JCC Dean/Kingdown Hill/Garrowby/Cambridge/Beacon.)

Not long after the return of racing at Brooklands in May did the French stage the Coupe des Voiturettes on a shortened Le Mans course and it was this course that later became the template for the 24-hour circuit. Ettore Bugatti’s Type 13s dominated, despite some mechanical problems. A broken connecting rod ended the race for de Viscaya, but to conceal the true reason from the public Ettore unscrewed the radiator cap of de car, thereby inviting disqualification.