Photo: mybrightonandhove
In Brighton, England there is a stretch of tarmac located along the beachfront roughly 1.2 miles (2km) long known as Madeira Drive. This particular road has been used for the annual Brighton Speed Trials since 1905. Sir Harry Preston had pursuaded the town council to lay Tarmac on the surface that connected Palace Pier and Black Rock with the sole purpose of holing motorsports events. Interestingly this happened to be the first time Tarmac was used for a road surface. The Brighton Speed Trials allowed car and motorcycle enthusiasts and professionals to go out and run as fast as they could over a set distance. Most of the time it was the standard quarter mile passes, but they also ran full kilometer races as well.
Photo: morganmotorcompany
The guys at carfection put together this video that explains some of the details regarding the history of the event. To see all those classic cars and newer cars all running on the same track in person must be quite the experience. They decided to try and beat one of the records that was set back in 1924 by the popular Morgan Motor Company and their V-twin three wheeler, which is still made to this day although upgraded of course. The record was 16.4 seconds for the standing quarter mile and where it’s a 90 years old the guys at carfection figure they can beat it.
&npsb;
Photo: autocar