Pendine Sands

Pendine Sands is a shoreline on the Welsh coast, which was used in the 1920s as a track for record attempts with racing cars.

We saw the first located in the forests of Surrey Brooklands course as ideal for record attempts, the " Wey - bridge " to its stretch across sloping road surface was increasingly perceived as disadvantageous. The search for an alternative that had mainly provide a long, flat sheet, began, and the American venue Daytona Beach already pointed the way. Among the first users was one of the racers Malcolm Campbell in 1924 after it became known that in Carmarthenshire Pendine between Laugharne and the beach from the RAC ( Royal Automobile Club ) for the six-day " Speed ​​Trials " that year had been selected. The length of eleven kilometers of the straight piece had enough road to accelerate the vehicles, towards the specified kilometers and miles distances. But problematic were the transitions from hard and soft sand, the latter made ​​for a wheel spin and the following rolling of the vehicle. Still, Campbell could set a new record for land speed record on September 24, 1924, 235.215 km / h. Among the peculiarities of the line was owned that car, if the sand was wet from the rain, could sink. The local flood conditions allowed record attempts until February. Who wanted to go on a dry runway, had sometimes with a plow first drainage ditches can be drawn in the sand.

Thrice Campbell broke on Pendine Sands the land speed record, it was twice Parry Thomas. His third attempt that paid with their lives, when on March 3, 1927, struck his car. The wreckage of Babs is buried on the spot in the sand. Campbell selected for further record attempts first Daytona Beach, then the Bonneville Flats. Again in the press fell Parry Thomas ' tragedy when in 1969 unearthed the wreckage of the car and a restoration was supplied. The car is now in the Pendiner Museum of Speed ​​.