Lewes Speed Trials

The Lewes Speed Trials were speed trials held on a defunct course in Lewes, Sussex, England, sometimes known as "The Motor Road."

The racecourse used for the trials

History

The first meeting took place on 27 July 1924, on "a private road near Lewes", location unidentified. The event was organised by the Brighton & Hove Motor Cycle and Light Car Club, on a quarter-mile course. Fastest time of the day was set by J.A. Hall, Frazer Nash-GN, in a time of 16.6 secs.^[1]

"Speed trials were held on the Race Hill at Lewes three or four times a year from 1925 to 1939, at the instance of the Brighton & Hove MC, the Kent & Sussex LCC, the Bugatti Owners' Club and the Vintage Sports Car Club,..."^[2]

In 1933 The Autocar reported:

"The course bends slightly to the left, is one-third of a mile long, narrow, none too smooth, and slightly uphill. It leads directly off the London-Newhaven road just before reaching Lewes."^[3]

Jean Bugatti attended the races on 21 October 1933.^[4] Denis Jenkinson, motor racing journalist, attended his first motor sport event here in 1936.^[5] The Autocar reported from the meeting on 12 June 1937: "The first appearance in competition of the new four-wheel independent-suspension Atalanta was at Lewes. G.A.T. Weldon drove this 1½-litre model."^[6] Bill Boddy, editor of Motor Sport, drove the original HRG sports car, 1,497 c.c., at Lewes on 4 September 1937 with a best time of 27.4 sec, finishing third in the novices class.^[7] On 15 July 1939, Sydney Allard took a class win in a time of 22.12 secs.^[8]

The Lewes Record

Comparisons of times recorded at different meetings and by different clubs are problematic. There were differences in the method of timing (the electric Bachelier method favoured by the Bugatti O.C. allowed the competitor to start in his own time) and even differences in the length of the course.^[9]

Lewes Speed Trials past winners

Year	Driver	Vehicle	Time	Club	Notes
1932	R.G.J. Nash	Frazer Nash Terror	20.0 sec R	Kent & Sussex LCC	[10] 7 May
	N.W. Gardiner	Delage	22.7 sec	Bugatti O.C.	[11] 11 June
	R.G.J. Nash	Frazer Nash Terror	20.2 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[12] 18 June
	R.G.J. Nash	Frazer Nash Terror	21.0 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[13] 10 September
1933	R.G.J. Nash	Nash Special	21.0 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[14] 13 May
	R.G.J. Nash	Nash Special	21.0 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[15] 25 June
	R.G.J. Nash	Anzani-Nash Special	21.0 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[16] 9 September
	Richard Nash	Anzani-Nash The Spook	20.4 sec	Bugatti O.C.	[17] 21 October
1934	R.G.J. Nash	Anzani-Nash 1,496 c.c.	22.4 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[18] 12 May
	John Bolster	Bolster Special	20.2 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[19] 16 June
	R.G.J. Nash	Nash Special	21.6 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[20] 26 August
	Charles Martin	Bugatti 2.3	20.13 sec	Bugatti O.C.	[21] 8 September
1935	A.G. Bainton	Bugatti 11⁄2-litre		Kent & Sussex LCC	[22] 11 May
	S.E. Cummings	Vauxhall-Villiers S/C	19.4 sec R	Kent & Sussex LCC	[23] 15 June
				Kent & Sussex LCC	24 August
	S.E. Cummings	Vauxhall-Villiers S/C	18.13 sec R	Bugatti O.C.	[24] 7 September
1936	R.G.J. Nash	Frazer-Nash-Union Special	19.06 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[25] 9 May
	Robin Jackson	Alta 1,500 c.c. #17	19.18 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[26] 13 June
	A.G. Bainton	Bugatti 2.3-litre S/C	20.7 sec	Bugatti O.C.	[27] 15 August
	Geoffrey Taylor	Alta 1,488 c.c.	19.81 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[28] 22 August
1937	J. Lemon Burton	Bugatti 2.3-litre	19.12 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[29] 8 May
	Geoffrey Taylor	Alta	19.3 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[30] 12 June
	Geoffrey Taylor	Alta 2-litre	18.75 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[31] 21 August
	Arthur Baron	Bugatti 3,300 c.c. S/C	18.4 sec	Bugatti O.C.	[32] 4 September
1938	Arthur Baron	Bugatti 3,300 c.c.	18.61 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[33] 7 May
	John Bolster	Bolster Special	19.32 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[34] 11 June
	H. Whitfield-Semmence	Semmence-Special-A.C.	22.0 sec	Vintage S.C.C.	[35] 9 July
	Peter Monkhouse	E.R.A. 11⁄2-litre	18.27 sec R	Kent & Sussex LCC	[36] 20 August
1939	Norman Lewis	Bugatti 2,300 c.c.	18.47 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[37] 13 May
	Ned Lewis	Bugatti 2,300 c.c.	18.88 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[38] 17 June
	Stuart Wilton	M.G.	21.60 sec	Vintage S.C.C.	[39] 15 July
	Arthur Baron	Bugatti 3,300 c.c.	18.75 sec	Kent & Sussex LCC	[40] 19 August

Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged.

See also

• Brighton Speed Trials
• Firle Hill Climb
• Prescott Speed Hill Climb