Pete Stowe ........
some MotorSport History
The Bristol Aeroplane Company Motor Club
The Bristol Aeroplane Company Motor Club, or as it's been known since 2001 the Bristol Pegasus MC, is my local motor club, and one I've been an active member of for over 25 years. The original Bristol Aeroplane name was because it was for employees of the Bristol Aeroplane Company at the Filton aerospace factories that are now Airbus, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce. It's a real grass-roots motorsport club for enthusiasts - sprints at Colerne and Castle Combe, track days, autotests, trials, rallies, socials - it's done it all.
The history dates back to 1944, with the Filton Sprint, won by Bob Gerard (ERA) and St. John Horsfall (Vincent), in October 1945 being the first tarmac speed event in the UK after WW2. It is also famous for devising the 500cc formula that became the International Formula 3 of the late 1940s and the1950s.
Full details of current activities and a short history can be found on the club website www.bristolpegasus.com
The compete story (and also details of pre-war CAPA racing) is related in a 40 page soft cover booklet:
The book includes accounts of the 1945 Filton Sprint and the creation of the 500cc Formula 3 at a Club meeting in 1946, with memories from surviving original Club members. It traces the origins of the formula, that led to the rise of the world championship winning Cooper marque, from the local pre-war CAPA racing to the formation of the 500 Club, the forerunner of the BRSCC.
The story continues with rallies and trials in the 1950s and 60s, and speed events from the 1970's to Castle Combe today.
The foreword is by Stuart
Turner "it is an absorbing history
.... the story of the ups and downs of the Club is so typical of many of the 700
or so now operating in the
With 8 colour and 19 b&w photos, previously unpublished pictures include the Issigonis/Dowson Lightweight Special at Filton in 1945, with a youthful, beardless Denis Jenkinson among the onlookers, the Watkins-Nash , and a CAPA Riley special.
Reviews:
"An excellent Club history ...... a most enjoyable book" Jerry Sturman (Speedscene)
"this short history records the changing patterns of amateur motor sport and the clubs fortunes in a readable style" National Motor Museum Newletter
"a fascinating little book, especially for anyone interested in the history of the Original Formula 3 .... A useful contribution to the history of motor sport" The Automobile
Originally priced at £4.50, copies now available for £2.50
inc. p&p in the
e-mail pete.stowe@lineone.net for details.
© All Rights Reserved Pete Stowe 2003-5