Birmingham staggered into the 1980s as a city ill at ease with its current situation. Still reeling from years of industrial action and social decay, civic leaders such as Sir Richard Knowles searched for a new plan to put a city which was once the industrial heart of an Empire back on the world map. The National Exhibition Centre was helping to steer the city in a new direction, away from the factories and workhouses which had helped make Birmingham known as the city of a thousand trades. In the mid 1980s plans for a huge new International Convention Centre and a bid to stage the 1992 Olympic Games showed the world that Birmingham meant business both as a venue for commerce and sport. But to prove that the city was not going to miss a gear in boosting its reputation as a place that could deliver, a prestigious event was needed that would put the its name on television sets around the world. Attempts were made in 1975 to get a Bill through Parliament that would allow Birmingham to stage a motor race through its streets, but legal problems scuppered the plans at that stage. However, when a crowd of 100,000 watched the On the Streets parade of racing cars in 1984 city leaders realised the potential of a motor race in Britains home of car manufacturing. So in the spring of 1985 Parliament approved the Bill and it received Royal Assent in October that year. But the Bill, which gave Birmingham its unique position of being the only British city allowed to hold street racing, was almost blocked in the Commons by three of the citys own Labour MPs. Terry Davis (Hodge Hill), Jeff Rooker (Perry Barr) and Clare Short (Ladywood) opposed it because they believed the £1.5 million needed by the city council to stage the race was unacceptable. Ms Short moved that permission to hold the race should be withdrawn if it was not making a profit by 1991. Sir Reginald Eyre, the Conservative MP for Hall Green, promised such an amendment would be added to the Bill in the House of Lords. Little did he think that that amendment would come back to haunt him. Then, just when the council thought the legal barriers had been overcome, the sport itself started to cause difficulties. Established racing circuits such as Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park were wary of the proposal and the RAC Motor Sports Association even threatened to withhold the necessary licences. But the problems were ironed out and, ironically, the council called in John Webb of Brands Hatch to advise on running the event. And the 16-year battle finally came to an end on August Bank Holiday 1986 when Britains first mainland city street motor race began. The main attraction was the Halfords Formula 3000 Super Prix, which was held on the Monday. It represented the ninth round of the FIA (Federation Internationale de lAutomobile) Intercontinental F3000 Championships, a 14-race competition catering for Grand Prix look-a-like cars powered by three-litre engines and restricted to 9,000 revs per minute. The inaugural race was stopped prematurely because of heavy rain, but was considered to be a huge success despite losses of £400,000. It may not have helped when the first Super Prix winner, Spanish driver Luis Sala, reminded people from the rainsoaked podium that it was a sunny day in Barcelona, a city considered to be Birminghams main competitor for the 1992 Olympics. Thousands of people then lined the streets to watch the race for the next five years as British drivers such as Eddie Irvine and Damon Hill went head to head with the worlds best. But the curtain came crashing down on the Super Prix following a string of political wrangles, the introduction of restrictions by the sports governing body, and a furore over funding. In 1991 the FIA put a question mark over the race when it ruled that an extra practice day was needed, thereby extending the Super Prix from a twoday to a three-day event. A new Bill designed to extend the event and give it more flexibility was sponsored by Conservative Northfield MP Roger King. However, the three MPs who had opposed the financing of the race in 1985 objected to the Bill on the grounds that council creative accounting transformed the events losses into paper profits. The Bill was carried over one Parliamentary session and when the Commons business managers ruled it would not be held over again, it was stymied. Conservative councillors in Birmingham, who had previously supported the event, accused the ruling Labour council of financial mismanagement. They pointed to accounts for the first four years, which revealed that the race had chalked up losses of £1.6 million. Labour maintained that the race was cost-effective because of publicity spin-offs generated by such a high-profile event. However, against this background, the race was doomed and the Super Prix became part of Birminghams history. However, the chequered flag has not yet been permanently waved on the idea of a street race in Birmingham because the Bill that was passed in 1985 remains in force if the council can prove the Super Prix was economically viable during its brief existence. | 
