Cirencester Car Club
Cirencester Car Club Logo
Foundation:	1950
Based At:	Cirencester Cirencester Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural... , UK
Events:	12-car rally 12-car rally A 12-car rally is a type of car rally, often run by motor clubs as a simple and strictly amateur form of the sport.12-car rallies are run to Navigational Rally rules, which are based on navigational skills rather than speed, and with usually a notable social element too...  Autotesting Autotesting Autotesting involves a series of tests, generally around traffic cones, to measure precision driving skill. The tests often include stopping with the front and rear wheels straddling a line, and always end stopping in a garage . Sections of each test are usually completed in reverse...
Website:	www.cirencestercarclub.com

In 1948 Jim Loveday and Bill Stallworthy were founder members of the Cirencester Motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 Club. They were instrumental in getting racing going at Chedworth Aerodrome

RAF Chedworth

RAF Chedworth was a Royal Air Force station near Chedworth, Gloucestershire. It opened in spring 1942 as a satellite station to RAF Aston Down. It was the home of 12 Group Tactical Exercise Unit....

 for bikes and they held several races there in the period 1948-50. Amongst the famous riders who competed were the late George Brown on his Vincent machine.

In 1950 Sir David Gamble chaired a committee, which formed the present Cirencester Car Club and incorporated the Motorcycle Club. Other founder members were Bill Stallworthy, Don Heaven (Bridges Garage), Gordon Philips (son of the late S J Philips of Kemble, Gloucestershire

Kemble, Gloucestershire

Kemble is a village in Gloucestershire, England.It lies four miles from Cirencester and is the settlement closest to Thames Head, the source of the River Thames. Kemble Church is part of the Thameshead benefice, comprising the communities of Kemble, Ewen, Poole Keynes, Somerford Keynes, and...

), Herbert Franklin, John Lampitt, Tony Broxton (Cirencester Garages) and B Nelson.

The first major event was a 400 mile rally, which went to Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....

 and Chester

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...

 before returning to Cirencester

Cirencester

Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...

 and this was in 1953. Over the next few years the Club concentrated on this annual rally

Rallying

Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...

 and autotesting

Autotesting

Autotesting involves a series of tests, generally around traffic cones, to measure precision driving skill. The tests often include stopping with the front and rear wheels straddling a line, and always end stopping in a garage . Sections of each test are usually completed in reverse...

 (a driving test against time). Jim Loveday, who is still a member, and the late Phil Smith competed in a Ford Zephyr

Ford Zephyr

The Ford Zephyr was a car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom. Between 1950 and 1972, it was sold as a more powerful six-cylinder saloon to complement the four-cylinder Ford Consul: from 1962 the Zephyr itself was offered in both four- and six-cylinder versions.The Zephyr...

 in these rallies.

During the sixties several Members drove autocross cars and were very successful. Charlie Todd of Oaksey was amongst those, driving an Jaguar XK150

Jaguar XK150

The Jaguar XK150 is a sports car produced by Jaguar between 1957 and 1961. It replaced the XK140.Initially it was available in Fixed Head Coupé and Drop Head Coupé versions. The Open Two Seater roadster was not launched until 1958...

. Alan Shaw in an MG Midget

MG Midget

The MG Midget is a small two-seater sports car produced by the MG division of the British Motor Corporation from 1961 to 1979. It revived a famous name used on earlier models such as the MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and MG T-type.-MG Midget MkI :...

, Lou Roper in a Triumph Vitesse

Triumph Vitesse

The Triumph Vitesse was a compact six-cylinder car built by Standard-Triumph from 1962 to 1971. The car was styled by Michelotti, and was available in saloon and convertible variants....

. This culminated in the Club running the Players’ Number Six Autocross

Autocross

Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either sealed or unsealed surfaces...

 series of races for a number of years.

During the 1970s Lord Bathurst invited the Club to run stage rallies in the Cirencester Park. These were sponsored by Arkell's Brewery

Arkell's Brewery

Arkell's is an English brewery located in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire. The brewery has been owned by members of the Arkell family since its establishment in 1843. It is Swindon's oldest established company...

 and were a great success with the top national drivers competing. This was followed by the RAC

RAC

-Companies:* Rent-A-Center, an American public furniture and electronics rent to own company* Royal Automobile Club, a private club in Pall Mall, London* RAC plc, a breakdown company in the United Kingdom...

 asking the Club to organise a major stage on the International RAC Rally (Now known as Rally GB

Rally GB

Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales...

).

Also in the seventies the Club ran many fine sprint meetings at Wroughton Aerodrome near Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

 and gained a reputation for good events. Included in these were the Cirbat Road Rally organised with the Bath Motor Club and production car trials.

Some of the Members, led by Jim Loveday became involved in circuit racing and competed at national level for quite some years. Amongst these were David Huck, Chris Merrick and Bunny Lees-Smith.

Rally marshal

Rally marshal

In motor racing, a rally marshal is a marshal who is experienced or trained in the area of rallying.They hold different duties than a track marshal, as they are isolated from other marshals with radio cars spaced out along the length of a stage...

ling and organisation was a strong interest, led by Don Lawrence and Paul Lawrence who were stalwarts of the club at that time.

In the Eighties and Nineties, Stage Rallies were run each year at Down Ampney and Kemble attracting entries from all over the country, with some of the finest drivers in the land competing in these Championship events. In 1987, the Club was permitted the use of RAF South Cerney

RAF South Cerney

RAF South Cerney is an airfield which is now the home of the Joint Air Mounting Centre. It is located in the village of South Cerney near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England....

 Airfield and returned to running major sprint events.

In 1989 the Club supported Martin Saunders (the present Chairman) in his attempt at the Lombard RAC Rally, co-driving for London’s Barry Sugondo in a GRP A Toyota Corolla

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...

. This is the first time a Club member had represented the Club at World Championship level a feat he has since repeated some nine times.

In the nineties the Club continued to run occasional stage rallies at Kemble Airfield

Kemble Airfield

Cotswold Airport is a private general aviation airport, near the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire, England. Located southwest of Cirencester, it was built as an RAF base . The Red Arrows aerobatics team was based there until 1983...

 and Down Ampney

Down Ampney

Down Ampney is a medium-sized village located in Cotswold district in Gloucestershire, in England.It is off the A417 which runs between Cirencester and Faringdon on the A420, and about 5 km north of Cricklade,...

 venues, as well as sprints at the re-opened RAF Wroughton

RAF Wroughton

RAF Wroughton was a Royal Air Force station located just south of the village of Wroughton, Wiltshire, UK. It is south of the town of Swindon. The station was an operational military installation from the late 1930s through the 70s, during which time it served as host to maintenance units...

 Airfield and RAF South Cerney

RAF South Cerney

RAF South Cerney is an airfield which is now the home of the Joint Air Mounting Centre. It is located in the village of South Cerney near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England....

.

IN 2002 the Club celebrated its 50th anniversary with a grand day at the Royal Agricultural College and an Anniversary Run in the Cotswolds, attended by many former members.

Into the 21 st Century and the Club continues with its grass roots Motorsports events (12 car navigational events, Summer Series Driving Tests, treasure hunts, scatters, touring assemblies, economy runs and social events) with members competing at all levels and most disciplines.

In 2006 The car club held its first "Motorsport Weekend", this will become a yearly event.http://www.nationalmotorsportweek.co.uk/CIRENCESTER-CAR-CLUB-MOTORSPORT-WEEKEND-A-GREAT-SUCCESS/

External links

• Cirencester Car Club has its own website http://www.cirencestercarclub.com/
• The text for this entry was taken from the Cirencester Car Club website http://www.cirencestercarclub.com/history.shtm/
• Report on the Cirenencester Car Clubs Motorsport weekend 2006 .http://www.nationalmotorsportweek.co.uk/CIRENCESTER-CAR-CLUB-MOTORSPORT-WEEKEND-A-GREAT-SUCCESS/