120th anniversary race
Twenty archaic motorcycles and tricycles gathered at Brooklands on 29 November to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Britain’s first-ever motor race. The 1897 event was held on an oval cycle track at Sheen House, Richmond Park. The track and the house are long gone, so the re-enactment happened on Brooklands recently refurbished start/finish straight; this was the first competitive event to take place on the straight since WWII. Competitors were organized by Team Jarrot, an off-shoot of the Dedion club, and all 20 entries, with dates of manufacture ranging from 18981900, were Dedion powered. The Frenchmade Dedion was the first petrol engine to run at high-speed, and engines were bolted into modified cycle and tricycle frames. Races were one, two and five miles, with the winner of the main five-mile race being Philip Bewley on an 1899 Clement.