Three-pointed star at the track

The link between Mercedes and Brooklands goes a good deal further back than the firm’s acquisition of the circuit

In view of the extent to which the Mercedes-Benz World has extended Brooklands since it was a racing track between 1907 and 1939, I thought that it might be interesting to see what successes Mercedes cars have achieved there during that period.

The big race at the opening meeting in 1907 was the Montague Cup Race. The favourite was Cecil Edge on S F Edge’s Napier, but he retired and Dario Resta on a 1906 GP Mercedes went into the lead. But he inadvertently did an extra lap and was placed third, losing £1004 for his entrant F R Fry. J E Hutton’s Mercedes was declared to be first. At the August meeting Hutton’s 1906 GP Mercedes won the Heath Stakes, and in the Prix de France Dario Resta and Hutton were first and second in the GP Mercedes cars.

In 1908 Mercedes won six races at the Track. In the following year the marque won two races, in 1910 one race, in 1911 five races and in 1912 four races, one of which was a Mercedes Handicap. After the war there were notable wins by Zborowski’s Mercedes in 1921-22, but otherwise no resurgence of those pre-war results.

When Mercedes-Benz World organised its meeting at Brooklands last year it was combined with that of the Brooklands Society. It was an elaborate affair with pre-war GP cars being demonstrated and Lewis Hamilton and other team drivers in action in current McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 cars. They named their meeting ‘The Double Twelve’ in memory of the JCC sports car races of that name, although only one Mercedes was entered in one of these meetings, and it was then withdrawn. Last year’s was an exciting event, but some of the post-vintage cars clashed at times with the pre-war cars of the Brooklands Society.

Sadly this year’s Double Twelve has been cancelled due to the world credit crunch, but the Brooklands Society will hold its 42nd Reunion at the Track on Sunday July 26.

Pre-war cars will be assembled and some Brooklands cars will be on display. Details from 01252 408877, or the Brooklands Society website: www.brooklands.org.uk