120+ Grand Prix cars unite at Brooklands, where it all began

A century after the first British Grand Prix roared into life, Brooklands briefly became a time machine last weekend.

More than 120 Grand Prix cars spanning the history of motor racing gathered at the legendary Surrey venue to celebrate an anniversary that predates Formula 1 itself.

From early machinery to modern McLarens and Haas cars, the collection offered a spectacular reminder that Britain’s Grand Prix story did not begin at Silverstone. It began at Brooklands, on August 7, 1926.

Nine cars contested that inaugural 287-mile race, with Robert Sénéchal and Louis Wagner sharing victory in a Delage – despite suffering burns to their feet from an exhaust system positioned rather too enthusiastically close to the cockpit. Malcolm Campbell, Henry Segrave and other giants of the era were also among the starters.

Brooklands would host the British GP only twice before war and aviation transformed the venue forever. The circuit closed in 1939, its concrete banking later partly sacrificed to development, while the site became a major aircraft-production centre.

Yet the spirit of the old track never disappeared.

For this remarkable centenary gathering, the surviving banking once again provided the backdrop, while more modern Grand Prix machinery took to the nearby Mercedes-Benz World circuit. And amid the static displays, the thunder of the BRM V16 and Honda V12 brought the past spectacularly back to life.

Not bad for a circuit that hosted the British Grand Prix 24 years before Formula 1 even existed!