Brooklands Spring Motorcycle Gathering

18th April 2010

Timed to mark the anniversary of the official start of motorcycle racing in the UK, at Brooklands on 20th April 1908, (and for those of you as sharp at maths as me, that’s a lot of years ago!!), riders of all sorts of machine, from the racers that competed in that very first race meeting up to the latest superbikes, were invited to come along and mark this historic date at the birthplace of British motorcycle racing.
In front of the clubhouse there was a display of specially invited machines with a genuine Brooklands history, some historic record-breakers and competition machines of the ‘older’ variety, many of which were demonstrated on the famous test hill. (which, when built, was a real challenge to the machinery of the era).
Hundreds of other bikes lined up in club displays, ranging from Rudges, Triumphs, Norton, Velocettes, BSAs, AMC variants etc from yesteryear, (most of which appeared being ridden to the event), through to many of the more modern and chrome-laden machines of the new millennium, (many of which had yet to see their first MoT).
This event was quite different from all the other motorcycle events I’ve been to over the last 25 years or so, in that it allowed riders of the ‘modern’ machines, (and I guess that could mean anything post ’73 nowadays), to park up and display in the museum grounds, hopefully showing many new faces what the museum has to offer.
Other motorcycle events planned for 2010 include Norton Owners May 22nd, (‘Brooklands Relived WAS scheduled for Sept 13th but has mysteriously disappeared from the Brooklands Website events calendar), plus Harley Chapter Event 19th September.

As well as it’s place in British aviaton history, (one of the Concorde supersonic airliners now lives there), Brooklands, in Weybridge, Surrey, (about 10 minutes from the M25, junction 10), is unique as it’s the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, having been constructed in 1907, which is why the site lays title to being the birthplace of British motorsport.

www.brooklandsmuseum.com

-Tony Oily Bike