The seafront promenade-turned racetrack that attracted thousands

Q: What years did the Colwyn Bay seafront races take place?

The Colwyn Bay seafront races occurred between 1910 and 1928.

Q: How many spectators attended the races at Colwyn Bay?

The races attracted crowds of up to 10,000 spectators.

Q: What is the length of the racetrack on Colwyn Bay promenade?

The racetrack on Colwyn Bay promenade was 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long.

Q: How can visitors relive the history of the Colwyn Bay races today?

Visitors can relive the history of the Colwyn Bay races by scanning a QR code located at the former finish line.

A white 1910s car races towards a marshall waving a flag at the finish line on Colwyn Bay prom. Bathing huts can be seen on the left, with a single layer of fans, whilst on the right is a railway embankment where spectators are massed seven or eight rows deep.

Eric Myers in a Sunbeam reaches the finish line in a pre-war race at Colwyn Bay [Science Museum]

Decades before Formula 1 was ever conceived, the pinnacle of British motorsport was the seafront promenade of a north Wales town.

Between 1910 and 1928, crowds of up to 10,000 amateur motorbike and car enthusiasts would gather in Colwyn Bay to watch drivers and riders try to achieve their highest possible speed over the seafront's 2km (1.2 mile) stretch of tarmac.

Now, visitors to the prom can relive their daring exploits thanks to a QR code on the erstwhile finish line.

Non-profit organisation HistoryPoints has installed the plaque, which can be scanned with a mobile or tablet, linking to a cine movie film of the July 1914 trials, shot just a month before the outbreak of World War One.

Speeds in those day ranged from 60mph (100 km/h)for the least powerful 10 horsepower vehicles, to over 90mph (145 km/h) for the beefiest 50+ horsepower category.

Entrants were further divided into "flying" or "standing" starts, depending on whether they chose a 350m run-up, or preferred to launch directly from the start line.

A 1912 Singer 10hp races along Colwyn Bay prom. Its front left wheel sticks out at a ludicrous angle, but John Harden says this was part of the plan. A group of nurses cheer-on the driver, behind them is a steam train crossing the railway embankment

The front-left wheel of this Singer 10hp may look ready to fall off, but drivers set their cars up with the top of the wheel pointing out to aid handling with poor steering [Residents of Old Colwyn Past and Present]

The events were organised by the Mersey Motor Club, now the Liverpool Motor Club, who arranged similar spectacles across north Wales and north-west England, with prizes of up to £160 - approximately £20,000 today.

Current chairman John Harden said the problem in those days wasn't so much getting up to speed, but stopping at the other end of the prom.

"Even by the earliest days of the trials, engines were powerful and efficient enough to propel vehicles to eye-watering speeds for the day, however harnessing that power was something else altogether.

"Steering was rudimentary and initially wheels were wooden with leather brake pads - they'd stop you... eventually, but not without a spectacular display of sparks, and often not before a wall had already done the job for you."

In the 1914 event, the engine of one motorbike jammed, sending the rider through several cartwheels.

While he miraculously escaped uninjured, those following him crashed as they attempted to swerve out of the way, one of whom sustained serious head injuries.

Crowds, as far as the eye can see, press against a rope barrier as a Talbot racing car speeds by. A lady dressed entirely in white, from stockings to hat, leans over to get an even closer view

Fans often thronged the very edges of the track, one newspaper advert even warned that dogs off their leads could cost lives [Autocar Magazine]

Despite danger to competitors and spectators alike, thousands would pay between sixpence and 2 shillings to be part of the action.

John said: "The pictures are unbelievable! The fans are standing six or 10 feet away from the track, sometimes separated by a rope, but more often just relying on their common sense to get out of the way of a speeding car.

"The appetite for speed in those days was phenomenal – almost as popular a spectator sport as football – it was the Space Race of its day, because many of the crowd wouldn't have ever seen a car before these races, far less have ridden in one."

To the left is a Singer 10hp advert, extolling its prowess at the Colwyn Bay Trials and the nearby ascent of the Great Orme. To the right is a 1913 example of the same car, with a snub bonnet and radiator grill with chrome surround. On board are a couple, the man is in a flat cap and tweeds and a woman wearing a hat and fur coat

Early manufacturers, such as Talbot, Singer, Sunbeam, and even Mercedes, used trials like Colwyn Bay to promote their vehicles to the public [HistoryPoints.org/Сhronology of cars]

John explained that Colwyn Bay's time trials were initially quite female-friendly - Miss LB Starkey of Bournemouth won 1914's 12/16hp category in a Sunbeam, with a top speed of 60.4mph – but by their heyday immediately after World War One, the picture had altered.

"After the war there were a lot of former servicemen trying to replicate the sort of adrenaline rush they must have experienced at the front, and as many of them were from affluent officer classes, a lot more money came into the sport, and the barrier to entry became a lot higher."

It was precisely this Space Race of speed and cash that ultimately proved the downfall of the Colwyn Bay Trials.

After 18 years of high-octane thrills, the roars of the engine on the seafront were no more.

John said: "The cars just got too quick for the 2km strip, by the late 1920s they had to find venues which were longer and safer for competitors and spectators."