Above: Roger Marshall & Mick Grant at Carnaby Raceway
Photograph by kind permission of Mike Dowkes

As many of our visitors know, there was once a much-loved motor racing circuit at Carnaby that attracted a who’s who of solo and sidecar motorcycle racers (and perhaps the most iconic of all commentators) during its sadly fleeting existence.

No only did Carnaby attract the stars, its regular clubman events and large fields of competitors gave an affordable, grass roots start in racing to so many orange-vested novices, several of whom went on to be notable talents and local legends (and all were doubtless left with priceless and thrilling memories of their time as racers).

Whilst Carnaby Raceway is still remembered fondly by those who raced, watched, marshalled and spannered there, we’re realising that those memories are fading and they need to be preserved, honoured and curated in order to keep them alive for future generations.

So that’s exactly what we’re going to do here at HB.

Our Carnaby Raceway History Project is basically an effort to accumulate and curate stories, pictures, documents and pieces of memorabilia related to the circuit and the Auto66 Club who operated it, which can then be shared with and displayed for those who are interested in this fascinating aspect of local history.

We were collecting odd bits privately as a hobby for many years but now we have the shop as a focal point where we can display things (and where we get so many enthusiastic visitors with tales to tale, things to show and an appetite for learning more), we’ve decided to take it up a notch and try to curate a proper collection for the public.

We’ve been incredibly lucky to have many things donated or lent to us already including programmes, press clippings, photos, trophies, overalls, a helmet and a even a bike that was raced at the circuit! Some of these are already on show in the shop whilst some are awaiting more wall space, display furniture or framing.

We’ll try to keep you posted as we collect and catalogue new items, whilst sharing details of the ones we already have, but we wanted to get this page up as soon as possible so that people know there is a place where we are eager to hear their stories and see their treasured items of Carnaby Raceway and Auto66 history.

We’ll also try to arrange events where people can get together, talk about Carnaby and perhaps listen to veterans & legends of the circuit talk us through their memories whilst showing us footage, photos or bikes.

If you have anything you’d like to tell us, show us, lend us, to suggest or to ask, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.