Manky Monkey Motors

From Monday's Brighton Argus newspaper (16 Dec 2013)

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10879630.Brighton_Speed_Trials_could_be_axed_amid_safety_fears/


The world's longest-running motorsports event could be stopped over safety fears.
 
The first Brighton Speed Trials took place in Madeira Drive, Brighton, in 1905.

But organisers say they fear for its future as Brighton and Hove City Council has not yet accepted an application to host the event in 2014.
 
Admitting concerns about the safety of the event following the death of a competitor in 2012, leading councillors said they had to weigh up all the options before making a decision.
 
But Tony Watts, of Brighton and Hove Motor Club, claimed the uncertainty was because the Green-led authority did not believe the event “fitted in” with their view of a modern Brighton.
 
Raising the issue at a meeting of full council on Thursday, Mr Watts said: “We have reason to believe this decision is purely ideological and has little if any foundation in fact.
 
“The loss of this event will mean the loss of over 100 years of history.”

Mr Watts said the decision would lead to a loss of income to retailers, the closure of the club and its Madeira Drive headquarters.
 
He added: “This situation will leave the council ultimately as being seen as anti-motorsport.”
 
Following the death of mother-of-three Charlotte Tagg, this year’s event was cancelled while a coroner investigated.
 
At the inquest the jury heard how vehicles were travelling at 150mph on a road with a 30mph limit.
 
In its place Brighton and Hove City Council agreed the seafront could be used for the inaugural Paint Run.
 
In response to Mr Watt, Green councillor Geoffrey Bowden, who is chairman of the council’s economic development committee, said: “Let’s be clear, this has absolutely nothing to do with the ideology of this administration.
 
“It is for personal safety grounds that the officers have made this recommendation.
 
“Businesses on the seafront also have to close and we are inundated with complaints from people who cannot access the beach [on that weekend].”
 
But Conservative councillor Ken Norman said cancelling the event would “destroy” part of the city’s great heritage.
 
Fellow Conservative councillor Garry Pelzer Dunn called for the local authority to have a “sense of realism”.
 
He asked if the council would have to close the beach, adding many more people had died in the sea than at the speed trials.
 
A decision is expected to be taken by the council’s economic development committee in the new year.



Here's a link to the Brighton and Hove Council meeting that recently discussed the Speed Trials (Council Agenda Item 61(c) ). The sound is poor, but if you go to 23 mins in, you'll hear the debate

http://www.brighton-hove.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/122589


Brighton & Hove City Council  Agenda Item 61(c)

NOTICE OF MOTION
CONSERVATIVE GROUP
BRIGHTON NATIONAL SPEED TRIALS
This Council notes that the historic Brighton National Speed Trials event, organised by the Brighton & Hove Motor Club, has been an integral part of the city’s outdoor events calendar since 1905, when Sir Harry Preston persuaded the Town Corporation to lay a tarmac motor racing track between Black Rock and the Aquarium. This much-loved event attracts many visitors to Brighton & Hove and hence makes a significant contribution to the local economy.
This Council notes with concern the proposals to stop supporting the BrightonNational Speed Trials on Madeira Drive and fears that if they are not given permission to take place; other motor vehicle based events such as the Veteran Car Run could also be put in jeopardy.
The Council believes that important historic events should not be removed from our annual calendar as this will destroy the heritage of our great City.
The Council further believes that efforts should be made to ensure that Madeira Drive continues to attract important motoring events, as well as many other diverse events, throughout the year and not replace any of them with new events that could easily be hosted in other areas of the city.
Therefore, this Council resolves to ask the Economic Development & Culture Committee to continue to support the staging of the Brighton National Speed Trials event in 2014 and beyond, by granting landlords consent to the Brighton & Hove Motor Club for the closure of Madeira Drive.

Proposed by: Cllr. K. Norman Seconded by: Cllr. G. Theobald
Supported by: Cllrs Barnett, Peltzer Dunn, Simson, A. Norman, Wealls, Cox,Bennett, Smith, Pidgeon, Mears, Janio, C. Theobald, Brown, Hyde and Wells.


From the Argus 19 Sept 2013 - relating to the inquest http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/10684781.Accidental_death_verdict_in_Brighton_speed_trial_inquest/

That'd be a real shame to lose such a historic event, but I can understand the council's point of view. The trouble is, if you move it to a safer venue, it's no longer the Brighton Speed Trials.

I was there when the lady got killed 2 years back, I think then the decision was on the cards. Real shame, I love the trials and Brighton is a buzzing place while its on. Wish we could get something like it down here in the west country. Health and Safety has a place but we all know the risk and sign the disclaimer. I feel a petition coming on.

all competitors know the risks they take when they sit in or on their vehicle,those risks only vary slightly with location,no matter where you crash at high speed the outcome won't be good.it would be a pity to see it cancelled hopefully common sense will prevale,much the same discussion take's place over here if anyone is hurt at the nw200 etc

I can see the point of the family who'd like the road improved for the event, but I can also see the point of the council that it's a 30mph road.  I don't suppose local council tax payers would want to fund the roadworks!

They used to run speed trials on the promenade at Weston super-mare.

An e-petition has recently been generated to save the Speed Trials (see the link) which runs from 19/12/2013 to 23/01/2014.
If you feel this historic event, considered to be the oldest running event in Britain, and possible the world, is worth saving, PLEASE add your name to the petition, and ask to your friends too.
If any of you are on other forums, please feel free to copy the link.

http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=410&RPID=11175561&HPID=11175561


Just as a bit of info:
You may have heard it stated by Councillors that Madeira Drive is a 30mph road (for normal public use) which is true, what you didn’t hear from them is that, excuse my grammar, the Coroner’s Inquest did not find the road ‘at fault’.
On that day, there had been something like 200 runs before the tragic incident.

The Coroner also found no fault with the event running or documentation. In fact, the term ‘exemplary’ was used.


I question how well informed Cllr Christopher Hawtree (Green) is when he refers to the Speed Trials at Brighton as happening in an “adhoc way” stating that they don’t belong in Brighton, but in the deserts of Nevada.

Bearing in mind the Speed Trials are run under MSA (the Motor Sports Association) and ACU (Auto Cycle Union) permits, who are basically the governing bodies of motorsport in Britain, and as such, for an event to happen, track inspections, licensing and safety requirements are adhered to, and bearing in mind the Coroner’s comment of how ell the event was run, I personally, am quite astounded that Cllr Christopher Hawtree (Green) considers this ‘adhoc’.
Me thinks, even after he starts to spell Nevada, he means Utah.
Refer to the webcast, 44mins 15 secs onwards.

DONE.

Signed 8)

Done

  done ,

done and the wife did it too.

Signed that earlier today!

Wish mine would. ;)

It would be sad to see this event closed, as already said its got over 100 years of history. I read somewhere that the person who started the event paid for the road to be paved just to hold them there, I know the council have taken over but this should be taken into consideration.
Its sad and my heart goes out to her family, but in the early hours of Sat morning a girl walked into the sea just down the road and she still has not been found. Are they going to block all the beaches to stop this happening again??

DONE & DONE

Just as bit of an update, as of appx 09.00 on Tuesday 24th Dec, the number who have signed the petition is just under 4500.

The web has shown a whole load of sites referencing the e-petition, here are just a few (in no particular order) – so "thank you" to these and the unmentioned others, and to those who have so far supported the call.

The petition runs to 23/01/2014


http://www.savebrightonspeedtrials.com/index.php

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/topic/brighton-speed-trials-under-threat-being-cancelled-forever-please-sign-petition-155994/page2

http://mobile.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=29123

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pendine-Landspeed-Racing-Club/166621133481919?fref=ts

http://velocenews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/join-campaign-to-save-brighton-speed.html

http://www.mocgb.net/forums/showthread.php?58447-Brigton-Speed-Trials-under-Threat-from-Greens

http://www.classicbikersclub.com/news/2013-12/save-brighton-speed-trials

http://www.cobraclub.com/forum/general-cobra-discussion/50864-brighton-speed-trials.html

http://www.classicandsportscar.com/news/general-classic-car-news/huge-campaign-launched-to-save-brighton-speed-trials

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=187510

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/222690-save-brighton-speed-trials.html

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/160582/greens-brighton-speed-trials-banned

http://passionford.com/forum/general-car-related-discussion/464860-brighton-speed-trials.html

http://forums.autosport.com/topic/191402-bad-news-from-brighton/

http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/news_article/635.aspx

http://www.triple-mregister.org/forums/topic.asp?whichpage=1&TOPIC_ID=7641#35744

http://www.classicdirtbike.co.uk/news/2013-12/save-brighton-speed-trials

http://www.eurodragster.com/news/news.asp

http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?s=d5fd08816906c3d2fcc659efc4339094&p=3347389#post3347389

http://www.classicandsportscar.com/news/general-classic-car-news/huge-campaign-launched-to-save-brighton-speed-trials

DONE.

As usual this country is being homogenised by people that have no understanding of what they are talking about.

Minimise the risk to all concerned. Yes, but stop destroying our way of life.

As has been said. How many have died in the sea in this area? How many have been injured/killed on Brighton's roads under normal conditions? Or killed or injured in local drinking establishments?

Are they going to ban that lot?

Of course not cos those people weren't enjoying themselves enough!

The likelihood of something getting banned is in direct proportion to the amount of enjoyment it offers!

And it doesn't generate revenue. The biggest contributors to early death are, in no particular order, fast food, alcohol and tobacco. No sign of any real action there. Why? Because people have a right to use them, and they generate revenue. Minority pursuits are easy to take a pop at, and give the appearance of doing something. Rant over :)

Some "interesting" reading:

http://tinyurl.com/q83ylwh


Taken from Agenda 51

3.8 The specialist was of the opinion that the most likely scenario of the accident was
that the Honda had ‘grounded’ i.e. touched the road surface, and at the speeds
at which it was travelling (final speed -110 mph) the impact between the frame
and the road could be sufficient to de-stabilise the machine, induce an
involuntary reaction by the driver i.e. rapid closing of the throttle, which in
combination could result in a significant change of course.

To the best of my knowledge, the inquest asked the specialist (police officer) who wrote the report what evidence would be available if grounding had occurred, the answer (under oath) was along the line of physical evidence (witness marks) on the vehicle and/or the road surface.
When asked were such witness marks found, the answer was no. The scenario as described in the document and was disregarded by the Coroner.

Its concerning that this ‘view/opinion’ (which is in the public domain /websites etc) was actually disregarded by the coroner, yet is banded around as what appears to be ‘definitive’ evidence.


As a point of interest, there had been around 200 runs by various vehicles before the tragic incident, and the vehicle involved had successfully completed 2 runs earlier in the day.

....................................................

When people want to ban an event they don't worry about 'evidence' - hearsay will do, specially as people are inclined to believe anything about bikes.

We're used to hearing the term 'Freedom of information', well here's one or you.....

Brighton & Hove's Economic Development & Culture Committee have Agenda Item 51 relating to the Speed Trials.
The meeting is on Thurs 23rd, and its dealing with the proposal to run the 2014 Speed Trials by the Brighton & Hove Motor Club, and the council's options in either letting it run or not.

Here's the conclusion of the agenda - (by the way SAG is the council's Safety Advisory Group)
6. CONCLUSION
6.1 The option to refuse landlord’s consent for the Brighton Speed Trials to take place in 2014 is based on the reasons laid out in 3.2.
6.2 Given the nature of the petition and the history of the event it is recognised that there are sufficient grounds to either defer the decision and refer the matter to the SAG with the request for a further report, or to grant conditional approval subject to advice from the SAG and other appropriate agencies.

Here's the above-mentioned 3.2
SAG has a remit to advise on whether an event should proceed on safety and not any other grounds and initial landlord’s consent may be withdrawn upon advice by SAG on safety grounds. The SAG compromises of external
representatives from Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, South East Coast Ambulance Service and NHS Trust. Council representatives are from Environmental Health & Licensing, Health & Safety, Civil Contingencies,
Highways and Sport & Leisure.

The stated "Supporting Documentation" (which one assumes is there to allow for an informed decision to be made), includes the Police Forensic Report (which itself contains the  opinion of the cause of the incident, which was later dismissed-by-Coroner-and-jury), but does not contain the Coroner's Report -

So here's the question - how can an informed decision be made if the Coroner's Report (and findings etc etc) are not made available in the Supporting Documentation.......????  ???

Answers on a post card boys n girls.................

Because it contains information they don't want.

The cards are stacked.

Don't start me on this Tony.
I could rant for Britain on this subject.
As you know (but most who read this will not) I was involved at the 2012 Speed Trials when the tragic accident happened.
I was riding a sidecar outfit and had completed my run. Roger & Charlotte followed me and, sadly, did not make it to the other end.
As Chief Tech for the bikes I had many duties on the day both before and after the accident and was at the crash site within a minute or two and witnessed what happened from then on and made decisions as appropriate to my role as an ACU official.
I was duly summoned to the inquest to give evidence so I can say I have a deep knowledge of what happened, the nature of the track, the bike in question, the rider and passenger, the circumstances thereon and the opinions of various public officials and organisations who were asked to produce documentation for the inquest. These documents were produced by people who have no knowledge or experience of motor / motorcycle sport and, in my opinion, had a vested interest in apportioning blame. I am glad and relieved to say that the Coroner and the Jury saw through this and came to a correct and just conclusion.
It frustrates me no end when the council then present some of these documents as factual evidence that were found by a Coroner and a Jury not to stand up under scrutiny.
Political 'spin' in it's most distasteful and rhetorical form.
I can only hope that some of the people in Brighton will be able to have their say as it seems a significant number are supportive of the continuation of the trials.
Tongue duly bitten and rant over!!

To quote the Brighton and Hove Motor Club's Save Brighton Speed Trials facebook page    https://www.facebook.com/savebrightonspeedtrials

 "It will go ahead on 6th September"

 ;D

I saw this on the Rods n Sods forum earlier. Speed trials get the Yes vote.
Hopefully a successful conclusion to this drama, though I'm sure the bureaucracy & paperwork involved in running it will be a nightmare from now on.
Good luck guys.

good news indeed

Fantstic news,Now maybe i'll get to ride there one day.

Great news! thanks for keeping us informed, Tony. I will see you all there, I'll be the one wearing a carnation ;D

Here's the Press Release from the Brighton and Hove Motor Club (Fri 24th Jan)

VICTORY FOR THE BRIGHTON SPEED TRIALS
Council unanimously votes to give Brighton Speed Trials the go-ahead
www.brightonandhovemotorclub.co.uk

Brighton, 24 January 2014: The Brighton Speed Trials has been saved following a major campaign by event organisers, The Brighton and Hove Motor Club. After the council initially declined an application to run the event in 2014, its Economic Development and Culture Committee voted unanimously last night to allow the event to continue. It will be held this year on 6th September.
The Speed Trials has been running in Brighton since 1905 and the initial council refusal caused outcry among Brighton residents, the motorsport industry and the many fans of the event around the UK and abroad. A Save the Brighton Speed Trials campaign was immediately launched by the motor club to save this historic event.
In just one month the Save the Brighton Speed Trials campaign generated over 12,400 names on a petition, over 7,000 likes on the campaign’s FaceBook page, hundreds of online forum discussions as well as dozens of articles in the local and national press, on TV and radio. Among the supporters were Sir Stirling Moss, local bestselling author Peter James, Tiff Needell of Fifth Gear, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and Top Gear’s The Stig.
Tony Watts of the Brighton and Hove Motor Club said: “This is a major victory not just for the club but for the heritage of Brighton, its residents and businesses and the history of motorsport. We couldn’t have achieved this without the overwhelming support we have received and want to thank everyone who has helped by signing the petition, spreading the word online and writing letters to the council and the local paper.”
“The council has listened to its constituents and acted in the best democratic interest of the City of Brighton and Hove. We are thrilled to be able to now start the planning of the 2014 Brighton Speed Trial and the subsequent two years events. With the support we have had this year promises to be the best Speed Trials yet. ”
For further information about the Speed Trials visit: www.brightonandhovemotorclub.co.uk 

- ends –


It must still be noted that the SAG (council's Safety Advisory Group) will be reviewing the event which may result in certain caveats. What these may be is unknown.

Great to hear the powers that be have listened to public opinion for once & done the right thing, not just the easiest or cheapest thing. I'm sure the last thing those involved in the accident would've wanted is for the event to be cancelled.
Well done to everyone & long may the speed trials continue.