Remembering the Superprix
New exhibition urgently needs your prized images, videos and memories
Asix-year archive project tasked with remembering the 1986-90 Birmingham Superprix has launched a fresh appeal for artefacts from race fans and eventgoers.
Three decades since the last race ended, The Birmingham Superprix Project is to hold an exhibition showing never-before-seen images collected at the time and its director, Andy Smallman, is asking for CCW readers’ help.
He said: ‘ We are always interested in receiving any images, footage, memorabilia or information about the race, as very little is available to the public in our own museums and libraries – and we believe that it is such an important part of both local and national motoring history.’
Andy said that submissons will be carefully copied and added to the project’s library: ‘Since 2014 we’ve received thousands of images as well as amateur camcorder footage. With funds that we have raised through collaborative products and our own merchandise, we have then managed to digitise and safely store these incredible memories of Britain’s first legal city street race.’
2020’s exhibition will comprise digitised photo slides at a to-bear-ranged Birmingham location, together with display cars that raced at the Superprix and guest speakers. The Birmingham Superprix Project posts regularly on social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It includes images and footage of the city’s classic parades that were run to build up support for the early events, and period TV interviews with racing drivers speaking in support of the event, including Sir Stirling Moss.
Andy said: ‘ We share the content that we’ve collected with the public and fans who remember it fondly.’
He plans to produce a documentary ‘to show people who might be unaware of what our city once hosted’.
‘My father would tell me about a race that was staged in the city. I couldn’t quite comprehend that a race happened in my home town.
‘ Years later I found a book on the race – and the images immediately blew me away. I then went home and did some research on the internet, finding race footage of the F3000 cars travelling over 170mph down roads that I went to work through.’