Photo “Brooklands circuit” by David Ashcroft, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. (Credit links at the end of the content)
While we continue bringing you stories of lost tracks, our main focus remains F1. But sometimes, we want to expand beyond Formula 1 and bring you stories from the wider history of motorsport. Brooklands certainly belongs here. It became the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit and one of the most important places in the early history of both motor racing and aviation.
Brooklands officially opened on June 17, 1907, after an extraordinary construction project that had begun only months earlier. The people behind the project were the wealthy landowner Hugh Fortescue Locke-King and his wife, Ethel, who wanted to create a permanent racing circuit where cars could be tested and raced.
Building the World’s First Purpose-Built Racing Circuit
Before we continue with what happened at the circuit, we want to give you some details about how Brooklands was constructed. Around 1,500 workers were reportedly involved in the project, transforming the land into a huge concrete racing facility, with the entire circuit reportedly completed in only about nine months.
So, if we look at it, the most interesting part was the concrete oval, which is what made the track so special. They didn’t build a flat track; instead, the designers wanted something different, with steeply banked corners and sections rising around 30 feet. This allowed drivers to carry much higher speeds through the corners without having to brake and slow down dramatically.
Things were very different at the time. The cars were not like the ones we have today that could easily push through corners, and aerodynamics was still far away in the future. So they wanted to race with what they had, using a circuit that would make things easier mechanically, without needing too much from the cars themselves.
When Brooklands opened its gates in 1907, it became a unique destination for fans and the motor industry.
A Circuit Built for Speed
Brooklands was a demanding place. If you look at the track, the concrete surface was rough, the banking was intimidating, and the cars of the period were often enormous and powerful, with little of the refinement found in later racing cars. Yet that was exactly what made Brooklands so important.
It gave to the manufacturers a place to test their latest cars under extreme conditions, they could be driven at high speed for long periods, while drivers could attempt speed records, endurance runs and competitive races. The venue wasn’t restricted to traditional racing either, its enormous layout made it suitable for a wide variery of automotive experiments, including long-distance attempts and manufacturer testing. So Brooklands somehow became a laboratory for the British motor industry as much as it was a racing circuit.
The Drivers Who Made Brooklands Famous
Among the drivers who became associated with Brooklands was John Cobb, who became one of the circuit’s greatest speed heroes. Driving the enormous 24-litre Napier-Railton, Cobb eventually set the famous outer-circuit lap record at an astonishing 143.44 mph, at a time when speeds like this were almost unimaginable.
Sir Malcolm Campbell was another major figure at Brooklands, better known internationally for his land-speed records and his famous Bluebird machines, he also competed here. Then there was Sir Henry Birkin, one of the celebrated Bentley Boys, he became associated with the spectacular supercharged Bentley Blower, a machine that looked almost as dramatic as the way it was driven around Brooklands.
Another driver like Louis Zborowski who brought another kind of madness to the circuit, his enormous aero-engined machines, including famous Chitty Bang Bang cars, were abong the extraordinary creations that helped give Brooklands its reputation for mechanical experimentation and excess.
Where Women Raced Alongside Men
One of the less remembered aspects of Brooklands history is its role in giving women an opportunity to compete, at a time when many areas of competitive sport were heavily restricted for women, Brooklands became a place where female drivers can drive and race.
For example Kay Petre, Elsie ‘Bill’ Wisdom, Gwenda Hawkes and other female drivers became part of the circuit’s history, they didn’t simply appear as occasional curiosities, women competed seriously at Brooklands and took part in major races and endurance events.
Their presence is an important part of the circuit’s story because Brooklands was, in many ways, ahead of its time.
Racing Was Not a Weekly Event
Brooklands didn’t operate according to a weekly schedule like we see with a modern racing calendar. Back then, major races were organized as special race meetings held a few times during the year.
It wasn’t just one long race that started and ended that day. An afternoon could feature numerous short handicap events, giving spectators plenty to enjoy for the time they spent there and allowing them to watch some of the best cars racing around the track.
When there was no major race meeting taking place, the track remained busy, they used for durability testing, manufacturer trials, high-speed experiments and long distance record attempts, events such as 500-mile races and the famous ‘Double Twelve’ endurance events demonstrated that Brooklands wasn’t simply about short bursts of speed.
Britain’s First Grand Prix
Brooklands’ importance continued to grow; in 1926, the circuit hosted Britain’s first official Grand Prix.
By then, European motor racing had developed considerably, and Brooklands had become an established part of the international scene, the circuit’s unique character remained, however, its enormous concrete banking and unforgiving surface were very different from the purpose-built road circuits that would become more common in later decades.
Brooklands was a product of an earlier era, when racing was still closely connected with expermination, engineering and the pursuit.
We have seen many similar circuits over the years. One of the closest examples to Brooklands was the AVUS circuit in Berlin, which was built almost 15 years later, followed by the famous Monza banking, which came a few decades later when it was opened in 1954.
From Motor Racing to Aviation
Brooklands had another major role that would eventually change its destiny completely, the site became an important centre for Britain’s aviation industry, aircraft were designed, tested and manufactured there, turning the enormous complex into one of the country’s most significant industrial sites.
This connection between motor racing and aviation was particularly fitting for Brooklands, both industries were driven by the same desire to make machines faster, more powerful and more reliable, but those rise of aviation would eventually contribute to the circuit’s downfall.
The End of Racing at Brooklands
While the final chequered flag fell in 1939, Brooklands simply turned the page to a new industrial chapter. The roar of racing cars was gone, and the site was transformed into an important centre for aviation design and manufacturing.
The transformation was devastating for the circuit. Roads were reportedly cut through sections of the track to provide factory access, while other parts of the circuit were altered to accommodate the demands of aircraft production.
READ MORE: Aintree’s Checkered Flag: The British F1 Track That Faded Away
Why Brooklands Never Returned to Racing
Motor racing had changed, and cars had become faster, while the old concrete oval had become increasingly difficult and dangerous to use. We saw something similar later at the AVUS circuit when Formula 1 raced there. Brooklands’ rough surface and ageing layout would have required an enormous investment to bring the circuit back to its former condition.
Rebuilding the entire venue was considered financially impractical. In 1946, the site was reportedly sold to Vickers-Armstrongs, an aircraft manufacturer, effectively bringing Brooklands’ life as a motor racing circuit to an end.
READ MORE: Watkins Glen: The Lost American Home of F1
What Happened to the Original Circuit?
The Brooklands that exists today is only a fragment of the enormous circuit that once stood there. The original layout has been divided and surrounded by later development, parts of the old track eventually vanished beneath residential housing, new roads, and expanding industrial facilities.
Yet it was never completely erased; some of its most recognizable features survived, including the famous Members Banking, the huge concrete structure still gives visitors an idea of just how dramatic the original circuit must have been!
The historic Test Hill also survives, along with the old paddock and clubhouse associated with the early years of the circuit. The Byfleet Banking remains another significant surviving section, although parts of it have become heavily overgrown over the decades.
Together, these surviving pieces allow modern visitors to understand the scale and character of Brooklands even though they can no longer drive the original complete circuit.
Brooklands Today
Today, Brooklands is preserved primarily through the Brooklands Museum, which protects and interprets the site’s extraordinary history, visitors can still see sections of the original circuit and stand on the enormous banking that once challenged some of Britain’s bravest drivers.
The surviving concrete may look quiet now, but it carries the marks of an era when racing drivers were discovering the limits of cars that had only recently begun to transform transportation. The circuit is no longer a complete oval, and much of its original layout has been lost, but the surviving sections are powerful reminders of what once stood there.
Brooklands is more than an old racing circuit, it represents the moment when motor racing began to move away from ordinary roads and toward dedicated venues built specifically for speed.
READ MORE: The Nurburgring Nordschleife: F1’s Most Challenging Circuit
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS: Photo “Brooklands circuit” by David Ashcroft, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
