Brooklands 1000 Miles Race Poster – Crosby 1932 – Vintage Car Poster
Our reproduction Brooklands 1000 Miles Race Poster, is a stunning print of a motor racing poster created by the English automotive illustrator Gordon Crosby. It was designed to promote Britain’s inaugural 1000 miles race, which unfolded over two exhilarating days on Friday, June 3rd, and Saturday, June 5th, in 1932. This iconic poster depicts a racing car driver that strikingly resembles Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin expertly maneuvering his Bentley Blower around the sweeping curves of the historic Brooklands race track.
Situated near Weybridge in Surrey, England, Brooklands stood as a testament to automotive innovation and passion. Spanning 2.6 miles, it was more than just a circuit; it was an aerodrome, embodying the spirit of speed and adventure. Remarkably, Brooklands was not just another racetrack; it was the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit, setting a precedent that would influence motorsport history for generations to come.
Opening its gates to enthusiasts on Friday, June 3rd, 1907, Brooklands became a hub of excitement and a proving ground for pioneering engineers and fearless drivers. The thunderous roars of engines, the scent of burning rubber, and the electric atmosphere made it a pilgrimage site for motor racing enthusiasts from all corners of the globe.
Gordon Crosby’s artistic vision immortalized the essence of Brooklands in his poster, encapsulating the thrill, the skill, and the sheer audacity of the racers of that era. Through the expert strokes of his brush, he managed to evoke the heart-pounding sensation of speed and the unyielding determination of those who dared to challenge the limits of technology and human capability on this historic track.
The Brooklands 1000 Miles Race
As the vintage car racing poster explains the Brooklands 1000 Miles Race was organised by the Junior Car Club (JCC). The race was held over two days on Friday 3 June and Saturday 4 June with racing from 10 am to 5.30 pm each day. Covering the 1000 miles race distance would require 400 laps of the Brooklands race track. 200 laps were to be raced on each day. The cars ran a handicap system and were divided up into seven categories based on engine size. The categories were: Class 2 – 5000-8000 cc, Class 3 – 3000-5000 cc, Class 4 – 2000-3000 cc, Class 5 – 1500-2000 cc, Class 6 – 1100-1500 cc, Class 7 – 750-1100 cc, and Class 8 – 500-750 cc.
Although thirty-seven cars entered the race, only thirty made it to the starting line. The nine Class 8 cars were all MG Midgets. The ten Class 7 entries comprised 6 Riley, 3 Crossley, and an Amilcar. Class 6 was made up of Wolseley, Alvis, Riley, and Aston Martin automobiles. There were no entries in Class 5 and Class 4 comprised 7 cars, 6 of which were Talbot the other an Alfa-Romeo. Class 3 had just two cars, an Invicta and a Bentley, and Class 2 had just one car. It was a 7L Mercedes and it was being driven by Capt. Sir Malcolm Campbell.
The race got underway at 10 am with the Class 8 MG Midgets. The other classes were let loose at seven-and-a-half-minute intervals. Shortly after the 1100-1500c cars were released, the race suffered its first fatal casualty. On Lap 28, Harry Leeson’s MG suddenly veered left as it approached the corner into the finishing straight. The car struck the parapet of the tunnel leading into the paddock. His car rolled over on its side, throwing Leeson 20 feet into the road below. As ever in motorsport, the race continued uninterrupted, at 11.46 am the 7L Mercedes-Benz driven by Malcolm Campbell was released to join the race.
At 12 noon, the Black-Gibson driven MG was in the lead. The MG was being chased by three of the Rileys. The first being driven by the Sutton-Harvey pairing. The Wisdom-Richmond team were holding third place and Whitcroft-McClure was in fourth.
The pits were kept busy throughout the race as a steady flow of cars pulled in to refuel, take on water, add or change oil, make repairs, and swap sparkplugs and drivers. The day’s racing finished with Sutton-Harvey in first place, Lewis-Cobb in second, Saunders-Davies third, Wisdom-Richmond and Whitcroft-McClure in fourth and fifth respectively. Sutton and Harvey in the Riley was the winner of the Rootes Trophy, given to the leader at half-distance.
The race resumed on Saturday morning and by 11 am the leaderboard had the Talbots of Lewis-Cobb and Saunders-Davis in first and second place. The Riley automobiles of Sutton-Harvey and Wisdom-Richmond followed close behind. At 12.30 pm Sutton-Harvey who had just gained the lead in the race suffered from clutch trouble and. along with several other cars was forced to retire.
At 3 o’clock, Wisdom-Richmond was leading the race. They were pursued by the Talbot cars of Saunders-Davies and Lewis-Cobb. The fourth place had been taken by the Black-Gibson team in their MG. It was becoming apparent that, if they could keep their car out of trouble, Mrs Wisdom and Miss Richmond would win the race. They did! The 1000-mile victory was recorded as taking 12h 23m 53s driving at a speed of 84.41 mph.
News of the two women winning the race, in a sport dominated by men, was sensational and even shocking to many (probably men!). The result was reported all across the globe. After all, it was only two decades earlier that women were banned from racing. However, by 1908, the rule was relaxed and by the early 1920s, women were racing in both female-only and mixed races. However, it was 1933 before the RAC gave permission for women to drive at Open meetings at Brooklands on equal terms with men.
An article in the July 1932 edition of Motor Sport magazine described the victory “A landmark in motoring history was made at Brooklands on May 3rd and 4th, when two women, Mrs T. H. Wisdom and Miss Joan Richmond, won the British 1,000 Miles Race on a Riley, at an average speed of 84.41 m.p.h. Mrs Wisdom is already well-known to the readers of Motor Sport, as a clever performer at the wheel of a supercharged Frazer-Nash, on which she has won races at Brooklands, on one occasion at an average speed of 95 m.p.h. She also has the distinction of recording the fastest time ever made by a woman driver at Shelsley Walsh. Miss Richmond is a newcomer to this country. With a party of other ladies, she came over from Australia last winter to compete in the Monte Carlo Rally—and stayed to win the 1,000 Miles Race!
