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55-462: The Brighton Speed Trials , in full The Brighton National Speed Trials , is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held 19–22 July 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace Pier and Black Rock to hold motor racing events. This stretch was renamed Madeira Drive in 1909 and

110-472: A helter skelter and a cup and saucer ride . The Booster is a pendulum ride by Fabbri , which catapults people 130 feet (40 m) into the air, turning upside down in the process. For young children, Fantasia is a simple ride featuring Disney characters. The pier has featured regularly in British popular culture. It is shown prominently in the 1971 film , Carry on at Your Convenience , and it

165-510: A bomb planted by the IRA near the pier was defused by a controlled explosion. A similar bomb by the same perpetrators had exploded in Bognor Regis on the same day. The bombing was intended to mark the 25th anniversary of the start of The Troubles . The pier was closed for several days owing to police investigation. The pier was renamed as "Brighton Pier" in 2000, although this legal change

220-1502: A fatal motorcycle combination crash in 2012 Brighton & Hove City Council considered banning the event. However, on 23 January 2014 the Economic Development and Culture Committee voted in favour of the event continuing, after a petition of more than 12,000 signatures was presented. In 2024 the event was discontinued with losses being cited as the reason. Times are approximate. Handicap – Roadgoing cars of any type Class 1 – Roadgoing and modified production cars up to 1400cc Class 2 – Roadgoing and modified production cars over 1400cc and up to 2000cc Class 3 – Roadgoing and modified production cars over 2000cc and up to 3500cc Class 4 – Roadgoing and modified production cars over 3500cc Class 5 – Clubmans Class 6 – Sports Libre cars up to 1300cc Class 7 – Sports Libre cars over 1300cc and up to 1600cc Class 8 – Sports Libre cars over 1600cc Class 9 – Racing cars up to 500cc Class 10 – Racing cars over 500cc and up to 1100cc Class 11 – Racing cars over 1100cc and up to 1600cc Class 12 – Racing cars over 1600cc and up to 2000cc Class 13 – Racing and Sports cars constructed on or before 31 December 1959 Car 1993, John Gray, SPA Judd V10, standing start 1/4-mile 8.90s Bike 2009, Roger Simmons, Suzuki Hayabusa Turbo, standing start 1/4-mile 8.73s Fastest Recorded 64ft Launch Time (Car) Laurie Hatchard Dax Rush Quadra 5 Litre V8 Special 1.61 Seconds 2022 These are

275-401: A frequently-visited theatre and entertainment venue by 1911. Aside from closures owing to war, it continued to hold regular entertainment up to the 1970s. The theatre was damaged in 1973 and following a buy-out was demolished in 1986, changing the pier's character from seaside entertainment to an amusement park , with various fairground rides and roller coasters . The pier remains popular with

330-683: A hole in the pier's decking, but luckily not causing any structural damage. In 2004, the Brighton Marine Palace Pier Company (owned by the Noble Organisation), admitted an offence of breaching public safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act and had to pay fines and costs of £37,000 after a fairground ride was operated with part of its track missing. A representative from the Health and Safety Executive said that inadequate procedures were to blame for

385-428: A lasting impression on the crowd. The Allard dragster put two rods through the block on Madeira Drive that day. The Worden dragster of Tony Densham and Harry Worrall, a budget effort powered by a Shorrock-supercharged 1,500 c.c. Ford engine, was entered in the 1,101 to 1,500 c.c. racing car class, and, although not geared for the kilometre, finished second to Patsy Burt , in a time of 27.86 sec. Densham would later set

440-503: A new company based in Daventry with the aim of supercharging and turbocharging standard production cars. However this was not a success. The Shorrock/Centric supercharger is the type with sliding vanes, which by an efficient arrangement are able to travel very close to the walls of the compressor without making contact, thereby allowing greater maximum velocity and reducing lubrication requirements compared to earlier types that contacted

495-416: A number of accidents. The course length has varied over the years, generally becoming shorter to keep terminal speeds manageable as cars have got faster. The speed trials form a unique event, where vintage and exotic classics meet the latest in street and racing cars. Public access is allowed to the paddock and startline 'funnel' allowing visitors to get much closer to the action than at most events. Following

550-559: A smoky 7.69 sec quarter mile in his front-motored Chrysler dragster, which remains the quickest quarter yet seen on Brighton seafront. Motor Sport reported: "The sheer bravery and courage of the West Country lad as the Dragster accelerated along the bumpy, cambered road, brought forth the most incredible spontaneous round of applause heard at a motoring event for many years." It is said that the local police chief came to Priddle after

605-491: Is a pivotal part of the album's plot, and features in the 1979 film . Townshend later said that the rest of the band understood this element of the story, as it related to their mod roots. The 2014 novel The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell includes passages that take place on the pier. The 2015 British TV series, Cuffs , which takes place in Brighton features the pier, both in the opening theme as well as in parts of

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660-447: Is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held 19–22 July 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface of the road adjacent to the beach between the Palace Pier and Black Rock to hold motor racing events. This stretch was renamed Madeira Drive in 1909 and the event is still held there, normally on the second Saturday of September each year. In 1936 Motor Sport described

715-732: Is currently run as a quarter mile sprint for both cars and motorcycles, held under the auspices of the Motor Sports Association . The event is organised by the Brighton and Hove Motor Club , with the Sprint Section of the Vintage Motorcycle Club in charge of the Motorcycles. Entrants run individually, although in earlier days vehicles would race side by side. This practice was stopped following

770-558: Is shown to represent Brighton in several film and television features, including MirrorMask , The Persuaders , the Doctor Who serial The Leisure Hive (1980), the 1986 film Mona Lisa , and the 2007 film, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street . The Graham Greene novel Brighton Rock featured the Palace Pier. John Boulting's 1947 film adaptation helped established "low life" subculture in Brighton, and

825-713: The British land speed record at Elvington in the Ford-powered Commuter dragster. The canny Duce returned in 1964 with the Moonbeam modified sports car, which at least looked like a traditional European sporty car, but with a drag race and Bonneville heritage. The car as raced in Brighton was fitted with a 375-cubic inch supercharged Chevrolet V8 engine and a Devin bodyshell, and was originally built in 1959. Dante Duce also borrowed an A.C. Shelby Cobra , chassis number CSX2345, from John Wyer , and entered it in

880-647: The Royal Suspension Chain Pier in 1823 and the West Pier in 1866. The inaugural ceremony for laying of the first pile was held on 7 November 1891, overseen by Mayor Samuel Henry Soper. A condition to be met by its builders, in exchange for permission to build, was that the Chain Pier was to be demolished as it had fallen into a state of disrepair. In 1896, a storm destroyed the remains of the Chain Pier, which narrowly avoided colliding with

935-401: The Sprint Section of the Vintage Motorcycle Club in charge of the Motorcycles. Following a fatal motorcycle combination crash in 2012 Brighton & Hove City Council considered banning the event. However, on 23 January 2014 the Economic Development and Culture Committee voted in favour of the event continuing. It was discontinued in 2024 due to high costs. The Brighton National Speed Trials

990-554: The GT class, car number 110 at Brighton. Duce cleaned up that day winning overall in the Moonbeam in a time of 21.95 sec, and first in Sports and GT cars over 2,500 c.c., in the Cobra roadster in 24.35 sec. Soon Brighton started holding dragster demonstrations over the quarter mile. In 1972 Clive Skilton produced an 8.18 sec run in his rear-engined Chrysler dragster. In 1973 Dennis Priddle ran

1045-659: The UK until May 1950). So the application of the supercharger to modest vehicles, such as the original Morris Minor with its side-valve engine, were target areas for selling the Shorrock supercharger, not just the high performance racing and rallying sector. Figures for the Morris Minor MM engine showed 8psi boost using the Shorrock supercharger would increase the power from 24.5 bhp to 38.5 bhp (both at 4400rpm) on 70-72 octane fuel. Supercharging could also compensate for

1100-536: The US and finding major commercial success in Hollywood. During World War I , the sea surrounding the pier was extensively mined to prevent enemy attacks. In the 1920s, the pier was widened, and a distinctive clock tower was added. During World War II , the pier was closed as a security precaution. A section of decking was removed in order to prevent access from an enemy landing. The pier regained its popularity after

1155-491: The car never fully recovered, and Bill Boddy , editor of Motor Sport , called it a fiasco, saying the mechanical problems had also occurred in testing at Boreham. The Autocar described the Allard dragster as a "gallant failure." At Brighton on 15 September 1962 the Allard dragster clocked two runs at 22.30 and 22.04 seconds. A respectable performance but no outright win or record. Motor Sport reported: "It appears that before

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1210-549: The car racing and tuning markets, with some success, and were involved in the design of the supercharged Velocette racer in 1938. In spite of considerable technical success, Centric Superchargers Ltd was placed in voluntary liquidation in February 1939. During the war Christopher Shorrock was involved in the design of superchargers for submarines and tanks, and in the use of superchargers as a way to get more power from engines running on ' producer gas '. Shorrock Superchargers Ltd

1265-572: The city centre opposite the Old Steine . Established in 1899, it was the third pier to be constructed in Brighton after the Royal Suspension Chain Pier and the West Pier , but is now the only one still in operation. It is managed and operated by the Eclectic Bar Group. The Palace Pier was intended as a replacement for the Chain Pier, which collapsed in 1896 during construction of the new pier. It quickly became popular, and had become

1320-553: The city. In contrast to the redevelopment and liberal culture in Brighton generally, it has retained a traditional down-market "bucket and spade" seaside atmosphere. In 2016, the Brighton Fringe festival director Julian Caddy criticised the pier as "a massive public relations problem". On 8 April 2019 a piece of the Air Race ride, manufactured by Zamperla , came loose and hit some people, injuring four people, one of whom

1375-497: The class speed records for under 1.5 litre supercharged cars in Utah. Using a special streamlined MG, known as the roaring raindrop, with Shorrock designed supercharger he achieved 245 mph (394 km/h) average over the mile course. Numerous dragsters used Shorrock superchargers, including the well known Super Nero Vincent-engined motorcycle. Sydney Allard is considered the father of UK drag racing having built and demonstrated

1430-476: The climax of the film is set on it, where gangleader Pinkie Brown (played by Richard Attenborough ) falls to his death. The 1953 B movie Girl on a Pier is set around the Palace Pier and also features the clash between holidaymakers and gangsters in Brighton. The Who 's 1973 concept album Quadrophenia was inspired in part by band leader Pete Townshend spending a night underneath the pier in March 1964. It

1485-723: The council declined the club's application to run the event following a fatal accident in 2012. Following a Save Brighton Speed Trails campaign the event was reinstated in 2014. The first announcement that a dragster would race in Brighton came from Wally Parks , in an editorial in Hot Rod Magazine in August 1958. Parks had nominated Calvin Rice to travel from the USA to England with the Hot Rod Magazine Special for

1540-485: The council wanted to buy the pier, but this was quickly ruled out. It was taken off the market the following year, due to lack of interest in suitable buyers. In 2016, it was sold to the Eclectic Bar Group, headed by former PizzaExpress owner Luke Johnson , who renamed the pier back to Brighton Palace Pier in July. The Palace Pier remains a popular tourist attraction into the 21st century, particularly with day visitors to

1595-575: The end of the Brighton kilometre the Allard dragster had burst the pipe between supercharger and engine, a common problem with such an installation and the reason why the Americans bolt their blowers on the engine, eliminating a long induction pipe." Sydney Allard was joined on 14 September 1963, by Dante Duce in Dean Moon 's Mooneyes gas dragster and Mickey Thompson with his Ford-powered Harvey Aluminum Special for some match-race style action. It

1650-472: The event as: "undoubtedly the most important speed-trials on the British Calendar." The first speed trial, called the "Brighton Motor Trials", was held in July 1905, but because of the cost and opposition from ratepayers, it was not held again until 1923. A police ban of racing on public roads interrupted activity from 1925–1931, but because Madeira Drive was a private road owned by the council it

1705-407: The event is still held there, normally on the second Saturday of September each year. In 1936 Motor Sport described the event as: "undoubtedly the most important speed-trials on the British Calendar." The event was run as a quarter mile sprint for both cars and motorcycles, held under the auspices of the Motor Sports Association . The event is organised by the Brighton and Hove Motor Club , with

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1760-473: The fact that nothing had been done to alert staff or passengers that the ride would be dangerous to use. The pier management came into criticism from Brighton and Hove City Council , who thought they were relying too much on fairground rides, some of which were being built too high. In 2011, the Noble Organisation put the pier for sale, with an expected price of £30 million. It was rumoured that

1815-463: The fastest car times recorded on the day for each year. Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged; T/C = Turbocharged. 1996 Dave Hughes Suzuki GSX 1328 turbo 2000 Dave Hughes Suzuki 1326 turbo / nitrous 9.0 / 151 "R" Key: R = Course Record; S/C = Supercharged. Brighton Pier The Brighton Palace Pier , commonly known as Brighton Pier or the Palace Pier , is a Grade II* listed pleasure pier in Brighton , England, located in

1870-532: The new pier during its collapse. Some of its remaining parts, including the toll houses, were re-used for the new pier. A tram along the pier was in operation during construction, but it was dismantled two years after opening. Work was mostly completed in 1899 and the pier was officially opened on 20 May by the Mayoress of Brighton. It was named the Brighton Marine Palace and Pier, whose name

1925-485: The pier's landing stage broke loose and began to damage the pier head, particularly the theatre. Despite fears that the pier would be destroyed, the storm eased and the barge was removed. The landing pier was demolished in 1975, and the damaged theatre was never used again, despite protests from the Theatres Trust . The pier was sold to the Noble Organisation in 1984. The theatre was removed two years later, on

1980-513: The public, with over four million visitors in 2016, and has been featured in many works of British culture, including the gangster thriller Brighton Rock , the comedy Carry On at Your Convenience and the Who 's concept album and film Quadrophenia . The pier entrance is opposite the southern end of Old Steine (the A23 to London) where it meets Marine Parade and Grand Junction Road which run along

2035-404: The run and said "That was that most amazing thing I have ever seen and there's no way I am going to let you do it again!" The dragsters were getting too quick for Brighton and there were concerns about how to deal with fires involving exotic fuels. They faded from the scene with only occasional wins by drag-race type vehicles, such as Shaun Saunders (2000) and Paul Marston (2001, 2002). The event

2090-420: The seafront. It is 1,722 feet (525 m) long and contains 85 miles (137 km) of planking. Because of the pier's length, repainting it takes three months every year. At night, it is illuminated by 67,000 bulbs. No. 14 and No. 27 buses run directly from Brighton railway station to the pier. The pier was designed and constructed by R. St George Moore. It was the third in Brighton, following

2145-534: The speed trials. In the event the trip was aborted. In 1961 Sydney Allard built the Allard dragster in the UK and its first competitive appearance was at the Brighton Speed Trials on 2 September 1961. A new track record over the kilometre was anticipated but a fuel line ruptured caused a misfire and a time of 37.91 secs. Hot Rod Magazine reported: "During warmup it backfired and blew off one set of blower pipes and never got going." The reputation of

2200-523: The story lines. Graham Swift 's 2020 novel Here We Are , focuses on a trio of entertainers performing at the pier in the immediate postwar period. In 2015, Martyn Ware , founding member of pop group the Human League , made a series of field recordings on the pier as part of a project with the National Trust and British Library project to capture the sounds of Britain. The pier

2255-524: The thinner air at higher altitudes, and Shorrock's work with Harry Ferguson was to allow tractors to work efficiently at high altitudes, particularly in Kenya. In 1935 a Triumph Gloria fitted with a Centric supercharger, driven by Jack Ridley, won the 1500cc class in the Monte Carlo Rally . However the drive to the supercharger was only connected during the speed trials. A more famous success

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2310-508: The understanding that it would be replaced; however a domed amusement arcade was put in place instead. Consequently, the seaward end of the pier was filled with fairground rides, including thrill rides, children's rides and roller coasters . Entertainment continued to be popular at the pier; the Spice Girls made an early live performance there in 1996 and returned the following year after achieving commercial success. On 13 August 1994,

2365-402: The walls. It was also claimed in the patent that the design kept the assembly sufficiently cool that even at high output no external finning was necessary. The application of the supercharger enabled a power boost to existing engines, and in the 1950s many of the engines were of very modest output as they had to run on poor grade petrol available after the war ( petrol rationing didn't finish in

2420-409: The war, and continued to run regular summer shows, including Tommy Trinder , Doris and Elsie Waters and Dick Emery . The pier was listed at Grade II* on 20 August 1971. As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures , and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove . During a storm in 1973, a 70-long-ton (71 t) barge moored at

2475-512: Was an eccentric sliding-vane type engine supercharger patented by James Haydock and Christopher Shorrock in 1933. Originally known as the Centric supercharger, it was widely used by engine tuners in the UK in the 1930s and in the 1950 and 1960s. Centric Superchargers Ltd was formed in 1934, based in Preston , Lancashire, to make the Centric blower based on the patented invention. They targeted

2530-602: Was awarded the National Piers Society 's Pier of the Year award in 1998. In 2017, it was listed as the fourth most popular free attraction in Britain in a National Express survey. In 2017, the pier was said to be the most visited tourist attraction outside London, with over 4.5 million visitors the previous year. Notes Citations Sources Shorrock supercharger The Shorrock supercharger

2585-504: Was designed to resemble kursaals , which were entertainment buildings found near spas on the Continent, and included reading and dining rooms. The pier was an immediate success and quickly became one of the most popular landmarks in Brighton. By 1911, the reading rooms had been converted into a theatre. Both Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin performed at the pier to hone their comic skills early in their career, before migrating to

2640-424: Was eventually exempt from the ban. The Speed Trials were not run between 1939–1945 due to World War II. The 1939 event had been scheduled for 23 September. In 1969 the fuel crisis led to the cancellation of this year's event. Autocar reported in 1970: "Last year this traditional event did not take place because the condition of the road surface was thought unsuitable for the more powerful sprint cars." In 2013

2695-668: Was formed on June 12, 1947, based in Preston and Willenhall , Staffordshire. From 1951 to 1953 Christopher Shorrock also worked as a development engineer for Harry Ferguson Ltd., and in January 1952 it was announced that the Harry Ferguson Group had acquired the financial interest of Shorrocks, and its premises had been relocated to Fletchamstead Highway, Coventry . In October 1954 the financial interest in Shorrocks

2750-477: Was inscribed into the pier's metalwork. It cost a record £27,000 (£3,839,000 in 2023) to build, including 3,000 lights to illuminate the pier. Part of the cost was repairs to the West Pier and the nearby Volk's Electric Railway caused by damage in the 1896 storm from the Chain Pier's debris. The pier was not fully complete on the opening date; some work on the pavilion was completed shortly afterwards. It

2805-442: Was not recognised by the National Piers Society nor some residents of Brighton and Hove. The local newspaper, The Argus , continued to refer to the structure as the Palace Pier. The Palace Pier caught fire on the evening of 4 February 2003, most of it reopening the following day with police suspecting arson. The fire destroyed the ghost train ride, which is where the fire started, as well as damaging two other rides and leaving

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2860-402: Was not to be. The American cars were not really suited to the kilometre, and there were no clocks for a quarter-mile distance. They had no brakes at the front and parachute brakes at the rear, no rear suspension, and advertising on the bodywork. All of this was enough to give the scrutineers (technical inspectors) fits. The cars did demonstrations only, reduced to burnouts and wheelstands, but left

2915-499: Was taken over by Rubery Owen and Co Ltd, with Christopher Shorrock as technical director. In 1957 the works was moved to Wednesbury , near Birmingham . In 1961 there was a fresh effort to promote the use of superchargers, and the Allard Motor Co. Ltd of Putney, London was appointed global distributors. Allards eventually bought the Shorrock supercharger business, and in 1973 Allard Motor Co created Allard Engineering Ltd,

2970-418: Was taken to hospital. In 2024 it was announced that the pier would introduce a £1 admission fee beginning on 25 May. The fee is in place over weekends during June and throughout July and August and will not apply to local residents who have a Brighton Palace Pier local residents card. The pier includes several fairground rides, such as two roller coasters , a haunted house ride , a traditional carousel ,

3025-595: Was the world land speed record for under 1100cc set by Major "Goldie" Gardner in a 1087cc MG with Centric supercharger. In 1938 on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt Autobahn in Germany he broke the record with an average speed of 187.616 mph (301.939 km/h), and in May 1939 he raised the record to an average of 203.159 mph (326.953 km/h) over the flying mile. In 1957 Stirling Moss broke

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