Brooklands Relived 2005: David Vincent

David Vincent is among the last surviving veteran of racing at Brooklands, which shut down in 1940 to be used as an RAF base.  David won a Gold Star for a 100mph lap in a race at Brooklands in 1936, riding a well tuned 1934 Velocette KTT MkIV.  He explained how he was inspired to begin racing after his friends grew tired of being blown off by his fast riding, and insisted he take it to the track!   He competed on his ride-to-work Velocette KSS in the very first Clubman’s race held at Brooklands, netting a lowly position, so he immediately sought out a real racing machine.

What David found was a well-raced MkIV KTT on which H.C. Lamacraft had won a Gold Star.  Lamacraft was a longtime Brooklands habitué and Isle of Man TT racer, who never placed below 19th in 11 races at the TT.  A solid competitor, likely with help from professional tuners, or the factory itself, to get the best of his Velocette.  By the time David Vincent purchased the KTT it was two years old, yet within a few races he had gained his coveted Gold Star, a rare achievement for a 350cc machine, he was one of 5 riders to earn a Gold Star with a 350cc bike in 1936, and one of only 29 riders to do so with a 350cc machine between 1928-39, the ‘Gold Star Years’.  Vincent’s MkIV KTT was the same model as mine, and I can attest to the speed possible with a good KTT, as my 1933 example was clocked at 105mph and rising on a public road in 2000. Although it took considerable time, money, and effort to earn it, David Vincent was charmingly dismissive of the actual Gold Star medal give out by the BRMCC (‘Bemsee’); he told me,  “Gold Star, pah! It’s brass!”