TRUCK RACING CHAMPIONSHIP FEATURE unusual supercars, as well as many motorsport vehicles from across the ages. It immediately became one of the region’ s biggest events and is on again in September this year.
“ It was the first time we had gone all-out to put on something like that and I could not believe how many people came,” says Davies.“ They just kept coming and coming! We had one of Ayrton Senna’ s McLarens down here that year, and this time we have a collection of James Bond cars – so we have got a few special surprises up our sleeves for that one!
“ We have a good variety of race meetings through the year which also feed the testing days, then we do a lot of private work where the gates are closed and it is totally confidential. In fact, if I see any of the staff taking a photo of a private event, they are sacked! The customer comes first and you’ ve got to be hard-lined sometimes.
“ It is a difficult game to be in these days because people’ s expectations are far higher. We are always looking to try to improve the venue and make things more efficient, and the pressures of costs mean we want to get as much racing through as was can, because that makes it more viable.”
To bring Pembrey up to date, Davies is currently overseeing the installation of the new marshalling lighting panels, bringing it in line with other circuits around the country. These have been installed with the help of a Motorsport UK and British Motorsport Trust part-funded grant to further improve safety. It is this constant commitment to raising safety levels, improving facilities and delivering smooth operation that ensures Pembrey remains a legendary venue that continues to shine.
“ A couple of Clubs on the motorcycle side have dropped away but things like StreetCar are opening opportunities. We try to use every bit of tarmac that we’ ve got for different things and we’ ve even got a small drift track, so we do a Championship event on the circuit once a year and once a month we run drifting on the small circuit.”
Over his 35 years, Davies has always looked to make sure Pembrey is at the top of its game and a match for other circuits around the UK. The venue is now one of five in the UK that are operated by BARC, the others being the Thruxton and Croft race circuits and the Gurston Down and Harewood Hill Climb courses.
Davies, however, is now in his fourth decade of the job and will soon be seeking a successor. Where the story continues is not yet clear, but this fantastic Welsh venue has established its position within the great and most popular circuits in the UK is testament to Davies and all his family’ s long-running hard work.
So, what are his most memorable and proudest moments of his time at the helm?“ I did enjoy the buzz of F1 with the testing, but in terms of race meetings, the early 1990s was great,” he recalls.“ We had the British Touring Cars and the Shell Oils Supercup and we were awarded‘ Most Improved Circuit in the UK’ then too, so that was a proud moment.
“ We are a bit out of the way and it’ s sometimes difficult to pull some of the biggest events over here, but we are proud to have the British Truck Racing and British Rallycross Championships, and both of those are fantastic. It’ s just always so nice to see people coming to the track and enjoying themselves – because that’ s ultimately what it’ s all about.”
“ As well as the lighting panels we’ ve put fibre optic cables out to all the marshal posts, so we have a fast and reliable CCTV feed to race control, so the set-up for organisers is the same as what is used everywhere,” he adds.
Kim Broughton
The British Sprint Championship is a regular visitor to Pembrey
Revolution- May 2025
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