Motor Sport
Prince Chula's cousin Bira came to England in 1927, Chula was supervising a racing team called White Mouse Racing. Prince Bira decided to drive for him. In 1936 Chula's White Mouse team purchased an ERA for Bira, and he quickly became one of the leading exponents of this class of international racing. Bira's partnership with Prince Chula ended in late 1948.
Davidstow Circuit was established in 1952 on the former military airfield and later modified. The track was 4.2 km (2.6 mi) long and used the main runways of RAF Davidstow Moor. Three Formula 1 races were held here between 1954-1955. The circuit hosted its last race in 1955.
From 2001 until 2003, the only fully professional sports team in Cornwall were the Trelawny Tigers speedway team, who raced at the Clay Country Moto Parc in the clay pits near St Austell. The team took over from the St Austell Gulls who were an amateur speedway team which operated from 1997 to 2000. The Gulls also operated at Par Moor in the 1950s. During the Trelawny Tigers years, a local young speedway rider emerged called Chris Harris who has since gone on to become one of the world's best riders. He is very popular in Cornwall and has twice won the local television personality of the year. Chris, nicknamed 'Bomber', came through the ranks of Grasstrack racing, another popular sport in Cornwall. He currently competes in the Speedway Grand Prix, the elite speedway tournament.
Read more about this topic: Sport In Cornwall
Famous quotes containing the words motor and/or sport:
“The motor idles.
Over the immense upland
the pulse of their blossoming
thunders through us.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)