The highlight of last weekend’s annual Brooklands Reunion event was the unveiling of a magnificent exact replica of the giant 12 metre scoreboard that stood proudly in the pre-war Brooklands Paddock. Funded by the Brooklands Trust Members and British luxury carmaker, Aston Martin, the scoreboard forms the centrepiece of the Brooklands Aircraft Factory & Race Track Revival Project.
15 August, 2017, Gaydon: The highlight of last weekend’s annual Brooklands Reunion event was the unveiling of a magnificent exact replica of the giant 12 metre scoreboard that stood proudly in the pre-war Brooklands Paddock. Funded by the Brooklands Trust Members and British luxury carmaker, Aston Martin, the scoreboard forms the centrepiece of the Brooklands Aircraft Factory & Race Track Revival Project.
Brooklands, near Weybridge in Surrey, was the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, opening on 17 June 1907 and serving as a great sporting arena and a high-speed test track for the fledgling motor industry. The circuit hosted the first British Grand Prix in 1926 and became one of the most popular social destinations for high society in 1920s and 1930s Britain. The last race was held in August 1939 before the outbreak of World War II.
Now a major aviation and motoring museum, the Brooklands Aircraft Factory & Race Track Revival Project is seeking to restore many parts of Brooklands to its magical heyday, something that Aston Martin was proud to support.
Aston Martin President and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer said: “We were delighted to support the restoration of the iconic Brooklands Scoreboard as a tribute to the Aston Martins and Lagondas that saw great success at Brooklands in the 1920s and 1930s.”
The original scoreboard was demolished after World War II so the design and mechanism of the new one has been created via painstaking research, which included the viewing of hundreds of photographs and hours of period racing film.