Just who it was who first suggested an amalga mation of Volvo Car Club, Salisbury Motorcycle and Light Car Club, and Sports Car Club of Rhodesia would be difficult to name. Perhaps it was Mike Wesson or Allan Martin, or maybe it was Cherrie Preddie or Brian Vickers or Dave Pinder-Browne to name just a few of the people who were concerned at the time about the fu ture of motor sport in Mashonaland; particularly with regard to circuit racing.
A revitalised approach was needed if racing in Harare was going to survive, as the capital city had fallen some way behind Bulawayo in its plans for a new circuit. Donnybrook was just a piece of untouched bushland, and it would have required a powerful stargazer to foresee the opening of a racing circuit there.
A powerful club pushing along the interests of all forms of motor sport would perhaps act as the catalyst in many spheres, and especially act as encouragement for those that were trying to get the Donnybrook race circuit off of the draw ing board.
Most club members were in favour and the fateful decision was made; a new club would be formed. Strangely, the involved and compli cated process of winding up the affairs of three clubs simultaneously, and combining their as sets and liabilities went off relatively smoothly, the apparently simple task of choosing a new name for the dub caused endless hours of debate. It was agreed that a string of letters should be avoided, and that a short name that could not be abbreviated but would be associ ated with our country should be chosen.
“Sables· was by no means unique, and need less to say did not find favour with everyone, but in retrospect has proven itself wisely chosen.
Under the leadership of the first Chairman, Brian Vickers, Sables Motor Club was im mediately successful, establishing itself as the pre-eminent motoring club in the country by adopting a business-like approach to the man agement of motor sport by reducing the size of the committee to produce action rather than
words. That committee adapted to the changing requirements of the time, and kept its financial head firmly above water, with treasurer Dick Higson-Smith holding the purse strings. This was reflected in healthy membership figures, with over 1000 names passing through the membership register in the first ten years since that first AGM at the Park Lane Hotel on 19th of October 1967.
Of course, one of the first orders of business was to establish a watering hole where the members could socialise, and the commit- tee could plan. The first Sables Stable was a converted shop in Mervyn Arcade with Dick Higson-Smith as the licencee. In 1968 the
annual subscription was set at one pound, and in August the Sables Stable moved to Hatfield Road above AA Performance Motors. This would prove to be the home of Sables Motor
Club for two years, and in 1969 the Marshals Association was absorbed into the club, and a beach buggy built by Mike Wesson was raffled to raise funds.
Although Sables was the largest and most successful club by 1970, it was by no means the only motoring club in Harare. The MG Car Club and the Vintage Car Club were active as was the Mashonaland Motor Car Club who had bought a plot of land on what was then called Jameson Avenue and had plans to build a Club house. It soon became apparent that MMCC wo ld not be able to complete the project on their own, so at a special general meeting it was r solved to form a company with the participa tion of all of the motoring clubs, and purchase the land from MMCC.
The building of the Motorsports Clubhouse was initially beset with permit problems, but by De cember of 1970 the foundations were dug under the enthusiastic guidance of Graham Johnson and new Sables Chairman Ron Lupson. Brian Vickers had by now settled into his role as club secretary, and though he served Sables wear ing many hats including president and treasurer, he sat on the committee continuously until his death late in 2006.
Meanwhile the members could not be with- out a meeting point, so a bar was hired from Alexandra Sports Club for the sum of $1 per member per year ( Sables membership was now $6 per annum or $3 for country members). This arrangement proved to be short lived, and by January 1971, the Sables Stable had been relocated to the basement of the Golden Dragon restaurant where a “full lubrication service” was advertised.Meanwhile work was progressing at pace on the Clubhouse, and on the 3rd of November the grand opening was held with new licensee Tony Penfold behind the bar. Sables was home.
While the Sables members were proving them selves very adept at drinking, there was some racing and rallying to be done. Fortunately Allan Martin was on hand, and in 1968 Sables took over the organisation of the Challenge Rally from the Vintage Car Club. The first event, won by HenkVeenendaal and Graham Johnson, was a great success and Castro! was lured on board as the title sponsor for 1970. Incredibly, the event had to be cancelled due to lack of entries, so for 1971 Allan made it longer and tougher, and the entries poured in. By 1972 Total were the main sponsor and the rally was now over 5000km long, and the biggest motor sport event in the country. However the security situation
In the country was worsening, and the 1973 event was the last held for some years. Sables’ turbulent relationship with National Rallying had begun.
Circuit Racing was initially Sables’ main focus as the situation at the old Marlborough Race Course was somewhat precarious. The Des Wolff raceday in November 1967 was the first to be organised by Sables, although racing had been held at that venue since 1955. In 1968 Sables calendared 14 events, including a 3 Hour motorcycle endurance race.
A two year extension of the lease at Marlbor ough was negotiated with the municipality, and a Control Tower and covered pits were constructed, but racing had started at the new Bulawayo circuit, and it was clear that Sables was being left behind. There was increasing residential resistance to the noise and the dust generated at Marlborough, and the ablution facilities could only be described as primitive. A new circuit was needed and work had begun at the new site named Donnybrook. Marlborough had a few more aces up its sleeve however.
In 1970 the brand new sport of auto-X was introduced to the Marlborough quarry, and was an instant hit. Its popularity paled into insignifi cance in 1971 however, as Drag Racing burst onto the scene.
South African competitors blasting through the quarter mile in a variety of VB powered rails and funny cars attracted over 30 000 spectators to Marlborough, still the largest paying crowd at a motor sport event in this country. It wasn’t enough to save the circuit though, and on the 29th of October 1971, the final race meeting was held, the final race being won by Ron Lupson.
1973 was a bleak year for racing enthusiasts. Marlborough is finished and all eyes are on Donnybrook, but progress is slow. An FIA inspection threatens to stop the project com pletely as new safety requirements add 40% on to the building costs at a time when the World Energy Crisis is threatening the future of motor racing everywhere. Sables soldiers on, braving torrential rains at the beginning of 1974 that further delay operations. Finally in July a club meeting is held at Donnybrook, and once more Sables is home.
It took a long time to start rolling, but the ball gathers speed quickly. The Rhodesian Grand Prix is held as a round of the South African Championships, and the public thrills to the sight of current Formula 1 cars, Ian Shechter in a Tyrell setting an overall lap record that has still not been broken. In addition to the International and National Championship meetings, a racing league is set up featuring monthly handicap races. By the end of the year the competitors, officials and vehicles are exhausted, but mo- tor racing at Donnybrook is a huge success. Since then, numbers of entries have ebbed and flowed as the sport has faced problems such as the fuel crisis. The Haddon Motors Grand Prix of 1995 saw over 40 cars attempting to enter the Shell Race, while the 2007 season saw only 9 hardy souls on the grid.
As Sables Motor Club approaches its 45th birth day it is amazing to look back at the achieve ments of that first decade. Within ten years Sables Motor Club built a world class racing circuit, built a Clubhouse complete with bar and functions hall, and produced a monthly club mo tor sport magazine which was so popular that it was sold at Kingstons. Personalities such as Brian Vickers achieved so much in his 40 years of service to the club,and we as Sables mem bers can be very proud of our heritage.