During August the Midland Automobile Club celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Shelsley Walsh hillclimb, the oldest motorsport event still in existence. That it happened at all must partially be down to the resilience of the club that, itself, has been in existence for over a century. For more than a century the MAC has epitomised the British club motorsport scene, but how is such an ancient, by automotive standards, body coping with the commercial demands of the 21st Century?

First started as what former president Ian Harper described as “another string to the Victorian lady's and gentleman's social scene”, the club became a limited company in 1976. With litigation on the increase, it brought the MAC under the protection of Limited Liability. For the last quarter century it has been run by the Midland Automobile Club (Est.1901) Limited.

The MAC claims seniority among British motoring clubs having been the first to be affiliated to the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland. In August 1905 it held a hillclimb on a steep 992-yard road that linked two parts of the Court House farm in the Teme Valley. The track was on the Shelsley estate of one Montagu Taylor who entertained the club members in lavish fashion. Ernest Instone wrote himself into history by ascending the hill in 77.6 seconds in his 35hp Daimler. The MAC has run a wide variety of motorsport events at many venues in subsequent years but its regular appearances at this hill have linked its name irrevocably with that of Shelsley Walsh. When British hillclimb champion-elect Martin Groves in his 3.5-litre Gould-NME GR55B reduced the hill (now a full 1,000 yards long) record to 23.77 seconds at the 100th anniversary meeting, he was following in the wheel tracks of numerous competitors both great and small. His climb was also, arguably, somewhat more spectacular than that of Instone and his passengers. Writing in Autosport, seasoned observer Marcus Pye described the run as “the greatest piece of driving I have witnessed all year. On a country lane…”

To point out that hillclimbing does not receive the coverage that it once did is to condemn the Formula One obsessed specialist media of today. That the MAC has managed to overcome the obscurity of the sport was illustrated by the numbers that thronged the hill this August (probably about 13,000 on the Sunday alone). This surely brought back memories of 1936 when Hans Stuck attacked the hill in his twin rear wheeled, V16 Auto Union C-type. Such was the importance of the event then that the BBC broadcast it across the world. The MAC's success can also be measured by the way in which Shelsley Walsh has been saved for future generations of Instones and Groves.

As national motor racing has changed in recent years with more commercialisation and, it has to be said, fewer spectators, so it has become increasingly difficult for the regional clubs to compete. An example of this occurred in the 1970s. The MAC had, starting in 1968, run a series of successful race meetings at Silverstone, establishing a regular date in the season. However, as life changed so the club was squeezed to the end of the season and then off the track's calendar altogether. A plan to replace the meeting with one at Oulton Park was cancelled at great cost when it was realised that, unless two-thirds of the programme was for championship rounds, full grids could not be guaranteed. The shape of club race meetings with their previously wide variety of one-off races had considerably altered. In the 1990s the Midlands' club did run some more circuit races using the Pembrey track in far off South Wales. However, the BARC took over the running of the track from Llanelli Borough Council and the MAC lost its preferential position in the calendar. Again it was to be shunted to the tail end of the season and, with the prospect of no championship races, the club chose to cancel its 1994 meeting. It has not been involved in circuit racing since.

At the time of the club's own 100th anniversary in 2001 it was said that its future was linked to three circumstances, the continuity of motorsport in Britain, its on-going connection with Shelsley Walsh and it own ability to adapt to change. The main concern was that the MAC's lease on Shelsley expired in 2004.

Prev 1 | 2 | 3 Next

Back to Documents