From Brands Hatch in 1962, here’s the first endurance road-course race ever held in Britain for production saloon cars. See racing as it really was in this awesome historic newsreel.  

On October 6, 1962 at the Brands Hatch Circuit southeast of London, the British Racing and Sport Car Club hosted an event billed as the nation’s first long-distance race for production saloon cars. A six-hour tour around the famed 9-turn road course, the race featured an incredible variety of sedans both large and small: Jaguar Mark 2, Mercedes 220SE, Alfa and Lancia, a handful of Minis, even a Volvo and a Chevy Corvair. It’s great fun to see this menagerie screaming and swerving around the course that Gerhard Berger called “the best circuit in the world.”

As you might expect, the Jaguars were the class of the field. By the two-hour point, the Mark 2 of Mike Parkes and Jimmy Blumer had built a lead of over a lap, and they eventually cruised to victory over the similar 3.8-liter sedan of Linder and Nocker. However, coming home an impressive third was the works Austin Mini-Cooper of John Aley and Denis Hulme, foreshadowing many great things to come for the Mighty Mini.

Although it’s not mentioned in this British Pathé newsreel item, hubs and spindles proved to be a weak point for the stock production racers, as at least seven cars lost wheels over the six-hour grind. Here’s some wonderful racing action from the golden age of motorsports. Enjoy the video.