British Automobile Racing Club

Did You Know?

• The BARC has a regional centre in Ontario, Canada, which organises ice racing events.
• In 2010, the Kendall Award for the most successful BARC-Ontario driver in events outside Ontario went to Robert Wickens.

History

The British Automobile Racing Club began its life in 1912 as the Cyclecar Club, organising races, rallies, and trials at Brooklands for small vehicles powered by motorbike engines. H.R. Godfrey and Archie Frazer-Nash were among those who helped found it. As cyclecars became less popular, the club renamed itself the Junior Car Club (JCC) in 1919. It grew quickly, setting up regional centres in 1921, the same year it ran the JCC 200 Mile race at Brooklands, Britain’s first long-distance race. Henry Segrave won that event in a Talbot-Darracq, while Captain Frazer Nash took the cyclecar race. The JCC went on to organise more long-distance races at Brooklands and Donington Park, plus rallies and International Trophy Races. After the Second World War, with Brooklands no longer available, the JCC merged with the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club and moved to Goodwood Circuit, changing its name to the British Automobile Racing Club in 1949. For the next 18 years, BARC held at least one international meeting at Goodwood each year, including Easter Monday Formula One races and 9-hour sportscar races, which were the first night races in Britain. The club also helped with the opening meeting at Crystal Palace in 1953 and ran the British Grand Prix at Aintree in the late 1950s and early 1960s. On 30 June 1951, BARC held the Eastbourne Rally, where Bancroft posted the best performance in a Ford 10 saloon, and the event included a Midnight Concours d'Elegance. From 1956 to 1967, the club organised competitive events at the Firle Hill Climb in Sussex. Goodwood closed for safety reasons in 1966, with BARC’s club meeting on 2 July 1966 being the final event there. The club then relocated to Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, opening it in 1968 and making it the club’s headquarters in 1974.

Racing

Today, BARC organises many race series, including the British Touring Car Championship, the Silverstone rounds of the World Sportscar and Rallycross Championships, and their support races. It also organises the annual Goodwood Members Meeting, Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Festival of Speed. The club runs smaller club racing meetings featuring classes such as Classic Formula Ford, Caterhams, Clubmans and Legend Cars. Five UK centres and one in Canada organise events: the Midlands Centre, North Western Centre, South Western Centre, Wales Centre and Yorkshire Centre. BARC frequently acts as the national appointed club for visiting international series; in 1995 it organised the first UK round of the FIA International Touring Car series. It played an active role in organising A1 Grand Prix and Grand Prix Masters at home and abroad. The club also runs three race circuits: Thruxton, Pembrey (leased in 1990 for 50 years) and Croft (acquired in 2006).

Other activities

Beyond race meetings, BARC organises hillclimbs and sprints at Gurston Down near Salisbury and Harewood in Yorkshire. It organises the Coventry Motofest, which in 2018 became the first event on public roads since the law change in 2017. The club has a social side with regional dinners and the Big Night Out awards night held every February. In 2019, BARC partnered with Racing Pride to support greater inclusivity for LGBT+ fans, employees and drivers.