The Swansea Motor Club Centenary was celebrated in style with a dinner for members in Mumbles.
Motorsport’s governing body in Great Britain, Motorsport UK, was quick to recognize Swansea Motor Club’s significant anniversary and their Club Development Coordinator Elise Whyte attended the anniversary dinner at the Norton House Hotel in Mumbles last Saturday to present a certificate marking the occasion.
In her presentation address Elise said that there are around 650 motor clubs currently registered with Motorsport U.K., but less than 8% of these have reached their 100th milestone year and in July 2024 Swansea Motor Club joined this select group and has now presented the centenary certificate to SMC Chairman Neil Samuel (above).
The Club’s first major event, a hill climb for motorcycles up Fairy Hill, Old Walls on the Gower Peninsula was run in 1924, and therefore 1924 is taken to be the year that the club was properly founded. This event proved a great success and later, in September of the same year, a sand race meeting was held at Rhossili.
In 1927 the Swansea Motorcycle and Light Car Club changed its name to the Swansea Motor Club as four-wheeled transport became a more common part of business and social life.
A saying credited to Henry Ford proclaimed, “Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built”, meant drivers quickly developed competitive instincts and as a result, motor clubs started forming all over Great Britain as pioneer drivers raced and rallied thus marking the dawn of motorsport.
Meeting weekly at Fairwood Airport, Swansea Motor Club was known as a club for active competitors and particularly prominent in the 1960s and 1970s when membership reached almost 300. Swansea MC members also took part in international events such as the Monte Carlo Rally as the club prospered.
