The Paddock before the Victory Handicap race in 1920 shows the number and variety of motorcycles competing


had been postponed. Angry members of the BARC demanded to be admitted and they and public spectators were granted free entry to the site to view the vehicles on show in the paddock. The rain eased and in the afternoon the crowds were treated to a demonstration run of car versus motorcycle. Major Jack Woodhouse, a well-known hill climber and racer riding a twin-cylinder MAG 1000cc eight-valve Matchless was up against Captain Malcolm Campbell driving his four-cylinder Lorraine-Dietrich, the first of the Blue Bird cars. Both vehicles were brought up


to a rolling start at 30mph and then timekeeper, AV Ebblewhite, riding in a car lowered the flag to commence the race. Almost immediately, Campbell’s car left the Matchless trailing, making Campbell victorious in this first race back on the track in a time of 2mins 5.5secs at an average of 78.90mph. Woodhouse finished in 2mins 14secs at an average speed of 73.01mph.


Afterwards, Campbell drove his 2.6-litre Talbot in a race against George Bedford’s Hillman. These races were not quite the spectacle the crowds were expecting, but were some consolation for the long wait in the rain.


Racing fans were back at Brooklands on the following Saturday, 10 April. This time the weather was dry and at just before 2pm, 20 riders, motorcycles, owners and mechanics gathered in the paddock before making their way to the fork for the first of 11 races. The Victory Handicap for solo motorcycles was 8-miles 842 yards and consisted of two laps to the Fork and a finish on the straight at the grandstand. Early pace was shown by late entry


Violet Longden on a 3 ¾ hp Douglas, while Jack Woodhouse on the much larger 1000cc Matchless-MAG struggled to make up the 12 second handicap. OM Baldwin on a Matchless and E Kickham on a Douglas had mechanical problems on lap two, while SF Garrett riding an Indian prematurely entered the finishing straight. He reported he had spark plug problems, but did he miscount the number of laps? We may never know. The hero of the day was Jack Emerson riding a 398cc ABC, who was able to maintain a steady speed throughout to win this first official race well ahead of WA Jacobs and GJ McIntosh riding Singers.


Captain Jack Woodhouse on the Matchless with an 8-valve 1000c MAG engine. He struggled to make up a 12-second deficit in the Victory Handicap race.


The next race was heat one of the Essex Short Easter Handicap, a three-lap race for cars driven by members of the Essex Motor Club. This was won by Malcolm Campbell and the Lorraine-Dietrich after the leader G Bedford in a Hillman forgot to turn onto the


The Winning Motorcycle ABC Motors, original a Brooklands company based in the flying village, moved to Hersham in 1914. During WW1, ABC’s Granville Bradshaw, a prolific inventor, was involved in the war effort working on aircraft engines, pumps and generators. However, Bradshaw was constantly looking ahead and still found time to conceive a new motorcycle. By 1919, Bradshaw had developed a revolutionary 398cc overhead valve engine with horizontally opposed, detachable cylinders, unit four-speed gearbox and leaf-sprung frame and chain drive. These elements were well ahead of their time, with innovations borrowed from aircraft engines, such as the one-piece cylinders with machined fins. Emerson tested the stripped-down racing version of this motorcycle at Brooklands during August 1919 before competing at the Weston-super-Mare Speed trials where he achieved a top speed of 70mph. Ironically, the innovative leaf springs had to be bound during these runs to dampen their action.


finishing straight on the final lap. An Austro- Daimler driven by WD Hawkes was second, and third was the Sunbeam of EL Meason. The second heat was won by BS Marshall in a Mathis. Leonard Beadle, driving a Waverley, was the winner of the final, with Marshall second and Campbell third.


MARCH - APRIL 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN 31


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