Conversations with friends and colleagues often reveal knowledge about things we never knew existed. Recently, I chatted with Dave Thomas, a colleague at work, and our discussion shifted from the company’s ICT business to our usual subject of cars.
“Have you ever heard of cable racing, David?” he asked.
Dave described a cable racing car that his father built, which now sits in his home office. These cars use a small internal combustion engine, connected to a steel cable, and race around an oval track, sometimes reaching speeds of 80–90 mph. Intrigued, I decided to research the sport further.
Tether racing began in the 1930s and quickly gained popularity throughout Europe, the US, and Australasia in the 1940s and ’50s. The sport’s concept is simple and has remained unchanged since its inception. A steel cable of varying dimensions, depending on the car’s class, connects the car to a rotating pylon. Competitors push the cars off and accelerate them to speed—a process unchanged for seventy years. When the car reaches the desired speed, the timing begins for the number of laps that equals 500 metres. Afterwards, a trip lever on the car turns off the fuel. While competitors once used caps, rags, and mats, they now rely on a precisely adjusted mop. Like hydroplane racing, the pursuit of ultimate speed drives competitors.
Initially, the models resembled full-sized cars, but over the years, enthusiasts refined them into extremely fast, streamlined vehicles. Many model engineering societies formed model car racing sections, and groups of enthusiasts established independent clubs such as the prestigious Surrey Club. Racing took place in hangars, factories, works canteens, garages, tennis courts, and purpose-built tracks across the country. After the war, surplus production capacity and machinery sought new markets, leading commercial concerns and individuals to produce wheels, tyres, gearboxes, engines, and complete cars to meet growing demand.
Prominent manufacturers included M&E Models of Exmouth, G.I. Hastings’ 1066 Products of Worcester, E&M Models of Coventry, and Replica Models in Sloane Street, London, founded by Guy Rickard. Guy Rickard belonged to the Pioneer and Surrey Clubs and had his own track in Beech, Hampshire. For competitive racers, Paul Zere’s ZN Motors in Hendon and Rowell Motors in Dundee catered to their needs.
As the sport developed, it evolved, which ultimately led to its decline. Cars became more sophisticated, and speeds quickly rose from 30 mph to 70 mph, with Gerry Buck exceeding 100 mph for the first time in 1947.
Gerry Buck’s ‘Topsy’ became the first all-British car to exceed 100 mph.
American servicemen stationed in Britain and the products they introduced soon dominated the sport. The 1.5cc and 2.5cc classes remained the domain of the Oliver concern and their diesel engines. The best speed ever by an entirely British car was 115 mph, set by Joe Riding in 1952, while the Doolings and McCoys regularly achieved speeds 15+ mph faster.
By 1952, when Joe Riding set his record, the Model Car Association recognised records in the 1.5cc, 2.5cc, 5cc, and 10cc classes. Each class was subdivided into British and Open categories, which could compete over five distances, from the standard quarter mile up to ten miles.
Most commercial products weren’t intended for serious competition or such high speeds, so many companies quickly ceased trading. Higher speeds brought problems of cost, noise, track safety, and divisions within the sport. Disagreements arose over using British versus imported cars and engines, and between those who wanted to maintain a scale aspect at leisurely speeds and those focused solely on competition.
The sport declined as quickly as it had arrived, with many well-known names leaving or moving on to rail car racing and other modelling activities. Despite hosting the European Championships at Woodside in 1954, the sport was in decline, and by 1955, tethered car racing and its supporting industry had nearly vanished. A few specialist manufacturers, such as ZN, continued for a while, but apart from Oliver, none survived for long.
Enthusiasts continued to race and compete at the few remaining tracks, and British competitors still prepared very quick cars at the international level. Jack Cook, Jim Dean, Stan Drayson, and Ken Procter won six European Championships between 1953 and 1957. The last official competition in the UK seems to have occurred in 1959 at Blackpool, coinciding with the winding up of the Model Car Association. Of the tracks that continued informally, Mote Park in Maidstone lasted the longest, finally closing in the 1970s.
Effectively, competitive tethered car racing in Britain ended. However, British interest persisted. David Giles, one of the young men at Mote Park, began competing internationally in the late 1970s, founded the British Tethered Car Association in 1978, and won the 5cc European Championship at Lyon in 1979.
