Crystal Palace Sprint - August Bank Holiday 2017

[Julian Harber]

Part of the famous Crystal Palace circuit is used as a Sprint now and on Sunday 27th and Monday 28th there will be many historic cars racing - see the web site Motorsport at the Palace for details, it looks to be a great event. There have been many minis in previous years and Jerry Walters (1969 Cooper S) and myself (1970 Clubman S/Stroke 1340) have entries accepted so we are looking forward to driving on a part of motorsport history.

[mab01uk]

Some photos from last years event (2016) here:-
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15265&start=0

2014 event was wet and muddy on the grass paddock area for the first time!
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9659

2013 event was hot, dry and sunny!
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7287

Motorsport at the Palace 2017:-
http://www.motorsportatthepalace.co.uk/

[Pete]

I do fancy this! (maybe in 2018 the way it's going! )

[BigWig]

I'll be doing this on the Sunday, the car hasn't been there since 2013 so it will be nice to return. Great day out, just a shame the class structure isn't more conventional.

[Julian Harber]

Looking forward to meeting other minis at Crystal Palace on Sunday event

[BigWig]

Clubman looks the part, look forward to seeing it

[Pete]

I'm hoping to enter.

[acespeed72]

It's a great event to do in a lovely setting...

[acespeed72]

2010 in 72 ACE

[Julian Harber]

The lovely 1969 Cooper S of Jerry Walters will be there - we both have enties accepted and looking forward to being at this Historic event competing on Sunday watching on the Monday

Jerry Walters Car # 109
Julian Harber # 42

[mab01uk]

Tomorrow and Bank Holiday Monday.........weather is looking good too!
http://www.motorsportatthepalace.co.uk/

Post war and into the 60s
Crystal Palace after the war was a very different venue. The circuit lay dormant until 1953, when motorsport finally made a return. And what a return!
Motorsport in general was riding a wave of popularity, spurred on by the post-war bravado of Boy’s Own comics and national pride. Great names like Jim Clark and Graham Hill were emerging onto the scene, and all cut their teeth on the tight, twisty parkland circuit among the trees.

For the next two decades huge crowds and superstar drivers would bring glamour and excitement to this small borough of south London. Photographs from the time depict legends like Jim Clark, serenely drifting his Lotus Cortina around the circuit, and future F1 stars Clay Regazzoni and Jochen Rindt, flat out along the Terrace Straight. Rindt in particular forged his reputation at Crystal Palace during the London Trophy meeting of 1964. That year the then unknown Austrian left spectators gasping as he dominated the Formula Two meeting at the park. Driving his own private Brabham-Ford, he beat Clark and Hill to the chequered flag in a classic encounter still talked about by those lucky enough to have been at the Palace on that hot Monday afternoon.

The Palace was in its heyday; the little circuit in the heart of London was now an extremely popular and permanent fixture on the European motor racing scene. Its relatively short, narrow character made it ideal for the smaller engined British cars of the 1960s, notably the charismatic little Minis, which could exploit their superior handling over the larger American muscle cars that regularly out-paced them in terms of straight line speed. Gordon Spice, another racing legend of the day, explains why the circuit was so unique: “I hold Crystal Palace in great affection. It was ideal for the Minis. We’d get blown away on some other tracks, but Crystal Palace really suited them. The only way you could get the Minis round the corners was to really chuck them in; we could do that at the Palace and it was very satisfying.”

The 1970s - A fond farewell
Sadly, the halcyon days of motor racing at the Palace could not last. The narrow confines that gave the circuit its unique character now made it ill-suited to the new safety requirements being imposed on the great race tracks of Europe. Vast run-off areas distanced spectators from the action, while convoluted chicanes would eventually dampen the high-speed challenge of great tracks like Monza, Spa and Silverstone. Crystal Palace required heavy investment to maintain its status in this new safety-conscious age, and unfortunately, it was not forthcoming.

With its demise now a certainty, Crystal Palace sought to delay the inevitable for as long as possible, and in doing so, gave fans some of the classic moments of 1970s motorsport. The epic battle between Gerry Marshall, Mike Crabtree and Martin Thomas in the 1971 Osram Saloon Car race, won by Marshall in the his Vauxhall Viva GT, is the stuff of legend, while future British Formula One world champion James Hunt made a name for himself in 1970 by climbing from his car and punching rival Dave Morgan in the middle of the track after a final corner incident. Also in 1970, Jochen Rindt became the first driver to lap the circuit at over 100mph - sadly Rindt was killed at the Italian Grand Prix before he could receive his trophy acknowledging this feat.

It’s one of the great tragedies of the sport that Crystal Palace had so much more to offer race fans, when it finally closed for good in 1972. A Motoring News article captured the sombre mood of the time: “After the last champagne cork had settled on the grid, it was sad to look into the fading light and reflect that never again would these white washed sleepers and golden trees echo to the roar of un-channelled exhausts”.

1990s and onwards - A new era
Motorsport did return briefly to the Park between 1997 and 2000, driven - as was originally the case - by enthusiasts. However, the approaching millennium, and the associated celebratory events in the park, brought an end to the project. However, thanks to the tireless work of Sevenoaks and District Motor Club, the sound of racing engines is once again echoing across Crystal Palace Park.

[Pete]

Looks agreat event this and I've never understood why it's been so poorly supported by Mini clubs and / or drivers since it began. ??

[mab01uk]

Some race paddock photos from a very hot day at Crystal Palace today.....

[mab01uk]

[mab01uk]

[mab01uk]

and a few photos from the classic/modified car show areas.....

[Julian Harber]

Did you get any photos of the Saturday entry minis ?

[mab01uk]

Did you get any photos of the Saturday entry minis ?

This year I could only get there on the B/Holiday Monday.