WHERE IT ALL STARTED

To say that we are 55 years old this year is not quite true. Because the A.A.R.C.- one of the senior partners in the eventual coalition of the five clubs which formed the W.P.M.C was founded as far back as 1938.

The Mets was formed in 1928.

Killarney - our spiritual and physical home, first saw action in 1947. And no history of the W.P.M.C., brief and incomplete as it may be, can be written without reference to the development of this circuit.

It began shortly after World War 2 when the Divisional Council bypassed what was then a section of the main road to Malmesbury, at the Potsdam Out span. This discussed stretch was then acquired by the M.M.C.C.C. (Mets) for sprint events. A section of the original road, picturesquely flanked by blue gums on both sides, still does duty today as our number one access road running from the new main gate to the BP subway.

A major breakthrough came about shortly afterward when a link was built to transform the strip into a very basic circuit. Shaped like a narrow triangle, it incorporated a tight hairpin, the remains of which can still be seen in the spectator area between the Malmesbury corner and the Malmesbury spectator admission gate. It then linked near the subway before rejoining the original stretch in the vicinity of the present Shell pavilion.

In 1952 the Tower Bend and the Big Sweep were built. The potholed remains of these corners are today incorporated in the stretch of tarmac which circumnavigates the clubhouse, from the subway to the infield area.

The then chairman of the Mets - Billy Kay - painstakingly measured the new circuit and proclaimed it to be 5 562 ft. X 9 ins. long, which translated into modern idiom becomes 1.65 kilometers.

Killarney was raced in this form for several years before the final addition to the "old" track, a loop down towards what is now BP Bend, was constructed. Before this was done there was considerable discussion as to where the Start/Finish should be located. It was finally agreed that this key position would be sited pretty close to where it is today, although all events on the original circuits were raced in an anti-clockwise direction.

In 1959/60 the club negotiated a loan of R40 000.00 with the Cape Divisional Council for the purpose of building a new circuit to the then Formula One International Standard (1500 cc cars such as Lotus 18 and 22, about as quick as a current Formula Ford). Raymond Reider was Chairman of the Mets Club at the time, the circuit was designed by Edgar Hoal who also supervised its construction and most of the successful Divisional Council negotiation was done by the Club President, Mr. C. Stanley Damp.

The Western Cape then had its first taste of international Formula One Grand Prix racing. The Cape Grand Prix was run at Killarney on 1st January 1960.

The following year the Grand Prix was promoted and organized by the Tex Kingon Racing Committee (a committee drawn from all of the Cape Town motor sports club). Drivers such as Stirling Moss, Jo Bonnier, Jim Clark, Taffy von Trips and Trevor Taylor competed in those events with spectator attendances of between 15 and 20 thousand people. Unfortunately the promoters and organizers in both instances over-extended themselves, ran at a loss and were unable to pay anything to the Mets Club for hire of the circuit, circuit preparation etc. In consequence the club could not meet their annual loan repayments to the Divisional Council....

On 30th November 1964 the Mets Club was informed that the Divisional Council had cancelled the lease and loan agreement and would retain ownership of the land and improvements.

Realizing that they would have to somehow find the resources to repay this loan, the Mets formed a new committee to firstly find the money and then to invite the existing clubs in Cape Town to bury their differences and their individual identities in a new, strong, unified club for the good of motor sport.

The committee comprised Adrian Pheiffer (Chairman), Ted Lanfear, Denis Joubert (Secretary), Charles Byron, Dave van Schoor, Ronnie Scullard, Ronnie Hare, Neville Clark, Barry Loftus and Cecil Barata, and with the enthusiastic support of many other club members they successfully organized a major seven-day Motor Show Extravaganza at the Goodwood Showground's, making enough money to repay the debt and incidentally introducing stock car racing or Hell Driving to the public of Cape Town.

Thereafter amid some die-hard opposition from some older Club members the Metropolitan Motor Cycle and Car Club, the Amateur Automobile Racing Club, the Cape Rally Association, the Kape Kart Klub and the Motor Sports Marshals Association combined to form the Western Province Motor Club. The Chairman was Adrian Pheiffer followed by Ted Lanfear, Ronnie Hare and Denis Joubert.

Over the years facilities were added and improved. Benefiting from their unfortunate experience in the early sixties the club never again overreached itself and an ultra-conservative finance committee always ensured that the money was available to meet any commitment.

During this period the moto-crossers who had begun on the beach and in the dunes at Kommetjie and Sandvlei, also joined the club. Finally with the formation of an active Drag section, Killarney has become the only true motor sport complex in the Republic.

THE BRIDGE HAS GONE

That’s right. After spanning the main straight at Killarney for over 45 years, the renowned Goodyear Bridge has finally been consigned to the cargo hold of a tramp steamer on its way to a port in China. Once there, the remains are going to be melted down, before resurfacing somewhere, probably as a selection of burglar bars or braai grids.

A somewhat ignominious end to a landmark that has dominated the local circuit’s skyline since the days when the only other feature higher than the tops of the open ended pits of the time, was a line of young bluegum trees along the back straight.

Today it remains the structure that has starred in more photographic background roles that any other single item at the complex.

On reflection, extend that claim to any circuit in South Africa.

Strategically situated, just past the start and near the entrance to the first corner, it also became a traditional brake mark. So much so that complaints from disorientated competitors before the most recent race meeting, led to metre boards indicating the distance to the bend, being placed near where the structure once stood.

Originally sponsored by Dunlop Tyres, it was constructed to coincide with the final redesign of the track, before the first Caltex Cape Grand Prix in 1960. At the time it was an unashamed replica of the even more historic Dunlop Bridge at Le Mans.

Although the original job description had it filling the role of a pedestrian link to the clubhouse, it later became a unique commentary point that enabled the mike-men to observe cars and bikes coming straight at them before passing under their legs, as it were.

Unfortunately it was also associated with several less pleasant motorsport incidents over the years. The first, and certainly most bizarre of these, occurred in January 1972, only seconds after the start of a national Cape South Easter meeting.

The Formula Atlantic McLaren V8’s, driven by Paddy Driver and John McNicol slewed off the line after McNicol attempted an impossible passing manoevre and the two collided during the initial pull-away.

Heading straight for the base of the bridge, the wheels of Driver’s single seater climbed over McNicol’s, launching his car sideways and almost two metres into the air before they both slammed against the structure. Fortunately, although visually horrific, neither driver was seriously injured.

And while the covering was repainted and refurbished more than once since that day, providing you knew where to look, the head high indentation left by Paddy’s flying McLaren remained visible until the breakers delivered the final rites.

Sadly, as speeds increased and competition – especially among the steel caged saloons --became fiercer, the bridge was soon the scapegoat for almost every accident that occurred in its proximity. But regardless of what drivers said in their reports, many of these were due to impetuosity and errors of judgment that had nothing whatsoever to do with its perceived menace. Despite that, it was decided that as part of the comprehensive safety upgrade currently under way at the circuit, that the structure would have to go.

The commentators now ply their trade from a luxurious new studio atop the control tower, almost 40 metres above the track. Meanwhile, calls for a new bridge with its supports further from the edge of the track, are being studied by the wise heads at the Western Province Motor Club.