Grimsthorpe Speed Trials
Grimsthorpe Vintage Speed Trials 2019
It is generally recognized that the first motor vehicle was patented on the January 29, 1886 by Carl Benz. Having got the engine to fire up for the first time in 1879 the first outing of that vehicle under its own power was July 1886.
Fast forward a few years to 1903 and the local Lincolnshire Automobile Club held their first speed trial to test the performance of these new fangled motor vehicles over a half mile course in the grounds of Grimsthorpe Castle.
In 2019 the course might have changed at Grimsthorpe but the essence of the speed trial is the same. Bring your period correct motorcycle or car along and drive it as fast as it will go over a measured distance, quickest wins. Or do they?
Chatting to the owners of the cars, they are very aware of how old and how rare their vehicles are, so taking it to the max, some do most probably not.
There is a competitive element to this speed trial, but for a lot of the owners it’s a great environment to give their vehicles a run out and for the public to get up close to these machines of a bygone era.
And you can get very close, there is no paddock as such, just a staging area where the owners are more than happy for you to chat about their cars and motorcycles and if you are lucky, take a seat behind the wheel.
The vehicles in the paddock / staging area were a varied bunch from totally mint recommissioned cars to ones that looked like they hadn't been cleaned for years.
The patina you get on an old car, especially a race car is something I like, it adds character and as a photographer it makes a nice change to photograph something that hasn’t been polished to mirror finish.
Checking out the cars under the trees, I noticed quite a few with impressive bonnet mascots. I tracked down the owner of a very nice Triumph and asked him why is there a cat on his bonnet, as I don't remember Triumph using a feline as a mascot. His answer was simple, I have cats, I like cats and I like cars so when I saw this for sale there was only one place it was going.
I think this is probably true of a lot of the mascots on show, it’s a bit of fun. My favourite was the Goblin that looks a little like the Lincoln Imp. Let's hope the demons stay on the outside of the bonnet and don’t wreak havoc on the owners car!
I went along to photograph the event as an official photographer. I don’t usually do "work". I can be persuaded to come out of semi retirement, but it has to be on my terms. The organizers saw last years' report on the PistonClick site and asked me along. As I would have probably gone anyway, it's always nice to be appreciated and I enjoyed my visit last year, so why not?
The event is held at Grimsthorpe Castle near Bourne, which is an impressive building set in a large deer park that also has a lot of cattle roaming the grounds. The Castle has been in the hands of the Willoughby family since 1516 and was open during the speed trials event for you to look around.
The gardens and the tea rooms were also open to take refreshment during the day. There were also food and drink stalls set out around the grounds so you didn’t have far to walk to get a cuppa. The weather was excellent, setting records for the hottest late bank holiday ever, which made the small children and the ice cream seller very happy.
The speed trials were held on the main access road to the Castle. This gave the spectators a great view of the whole track. Standing at the start line you are only a few feet from the vintage vehicles as they set off over the measured distance.
Most people moved to the shade of the trees that line the entrance road and watched from the first quarter of the track. The rest of the tree line was out of bonds for safety reasons but you still get a good view of the track from this area.
The heat of the day did take its toll on some of the vehicle. A few spluttered from the start to come to a grinding halt a few feet into the course. This just added to the show, when the ancient engines came back to life there were cheers from the crowd, bows and waves from the drivers and a general jovial atmosphere that I haven't seen at other speed trials - great stuff.
For the photographers coming along to capture this event (and there were quite a few) it is one where you don’t really need a super big lens. It would be helpful, but a you can get close to the action so it's not a must- have.
The static show had a very good selection of motor vehicles where you can pick up some nice detail and some atmosphere shots for your portfolio, or just as mementos of your visit.
It being a bank holiday weekend and splendid weather, there was a good crowd out for this event which can make a nice backdrop for the cars. At one point the announcer said they had run out of wrist bands that denote you have paid, they had printed 1500.
Most of the riders, drivers and the support staff were dressed in period correct dress. Quite a few of the visitors had also joined in the period dress theme which added to the atmosphere. However, most had taken off the heavy wool jackets by mid morning
So, if you are considering coming along next year, dust off the tweed jacket and don that flat hat and get down to the Grimsthorpe Speed trial. The Peaky Blinder look is in vogue at the moment and it's a good look anyway!
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