The Man Behind Pembrey: 35 Years at the Helm
Phil Davies has been Pembrey Circuit Manager for 35 years – ever since the former RAF airfield became a fully licenced racing circuit – and as his latest creation, the Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival (Sunday 21 September) nears, he’ll do what he’s always done at every event at Pembrey – be the first to arrive, the last one to leave and making sure everyone has a safe and enjoyable visit.
From Chicken Farm to Premier Circuit
Pembrey Circuit was being used as a chicken farm when it was acquired by Llanelli Borough Council, and its first taste of motorsport were motorcycle racing events organised by Port Talbot Motorcycle Club and rallycross races organised by Towy Valley Motor Club.
Its potential as a major tourist attraction saw the council put the running of the motorsport venue out to tender in 1989, with the 50-year lease to operate the new circuit won by the British Automobile Racing Club.
One of the BARC’s first moves was to hire a circuit manager. Phil Davies, a keen motorcycle racer (his father raced ‘bikes at Aberdare Park in the 1950s and he started to get involved himself in the late 1970s) spotted an advert for the role and went for it. And he’s been at the helm ever since!
“I was the youngest Clerk of the Course in the country at the age of twenty-four, but I was never involved with cars, only motorbike racing,” says Phil.
“I was thirty-five when I applied for the role of Pembrey Circuit Manager, having already been organising the national ‘Prince of Pembrey’ events at the circuit between 1985 and 1989, and I only really applied so I could meet the people who owned the venue! I never expected to get the job, so I was very surprised when I did – and all these years later, I’m still here now!”
From small beginnings to McLaren
Davies started on 4 January 1990, and his first race meeting was the BARC Saloon Car Championship that Easter. Since then, he has welcomed an incredible roster of motorsport names to the circuit, attracted by the privacy and the challenge of what is widely acknowledged as an extremely challenging layout.
“We used to have Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost down here a lot with McLaren in the early days, and Ayrton said that Pembrey was his favourite test venue. He still holds the Pembrey Circuit lap record,” says Davies proudly.
“It is a damn good circuit – probably the best mile-and-a-half circuit in the UK, even if I do say so myself! It puts a lot of pressure on the car and the driver, and you really do have to have a good car and be a good driver to perform well here, because it’s very fast in certain areas but very technical in others.”
In the days when F1 was allowed open testing, Pembrey Circuit became a popular destination due to its variety of fast sweeping corners and tight hairpins – as well as the ability to rent it at a relatively low cost and run privately, away from prying eyes. As well as McLaren, Davies also welcomed Arrows, Benetton, Jordan and Williams to the track during that era.
“We’ve had so many great drivers here and met so many great people – and a lot of the time most people would never have known they were here,” he smiles.
“We still do a lot of work with McLaren and the historic side, and the Senna cars of that era are quite often back down here, which is just wonderful to see.
“Virtually every F1 champion has been here either before or during their career. John Surtees was a lovely man. He was always quite frugal. He used to book the circuit and hire the car himself, to make sure nobody was taking a cut! He won his first race in ‘bikes at Aberdare Park in the 1950s when my dad was on the grid so that was interesting to talk about.
“We did a lot with Nigel Mansell for a couple of years when he went into GP Legends, and he also came here when his sons were getting into racing. Michael Schumacher has been here testing with Benetton and when Kimi Raikkonen jumped from Formula Renault into F1 he was down with us two days a week every other week.
“Lando Norris was here with his brother when he was still karting and his brother was testing a Ginetta, but by the end of the day he was driving me mad because he had a golf buggy and he was bored out of his mind flying around the paddock! He eventually jumped in the car and you could see even back then that he was very talented.”
A True Family Affair
Davies admits he has “one or two” rather impressive visitors books full of autographs, but it hasn’t all been celebrity adventures. Much of his 35 years have involved hard graft and commitment and he is so entwined with track that over the years it has turned into a family business, with around 90% of the staff being related.
Davies’ son Daniel is the Operations Manager, running the rescue, medical and recovery teams and also putting in a lot of the new infrastructure. Davies’ stepson Andrew looks after the ground works, his wife Tina worked in the office for 30 years, his daughters Emma and Tammy were involved in between their education and now his granddaughter is there with him, working on the site whenever she can amidst her studies.
The workforce is not the only thing that has grown and evolved since over time. The original circuit was very different to what it is now.
From Field to Race Circuit
“When I started, there was nothing here at all,” recalls Davies.
“It was just a field with an old fence going around, so the first year we put in a scrutineering bay, then we put the tower up and then the restaurant.
“I only had a little room – you didn’t need offices, you didn’t have computers, you just had a little typewriter – and the first few years were very, very tight financially. The BARC also owns Thruxton, and for the first five years I owed them quite a bit of money, but I changed quite a few things we were doing and it became more stable.
“We basically decided to do as much as we could ourselves rather than using contractors because when you’re hiring in, it’s more expensive and you also don’t know who you’re having every other week. We still do that to this day. We brought ambulances and recovery services in house and we have dozen or so people we call on for marshalling.”
The Circuit now operates with a 50-50 split between private events and race meetings. Alongside the popular ‘Convoy Cymru’ British Truck Racing Championship meeting, the venue hosts a full spectrum of motorsports, from cars to ‘bikes, including rallies, rallycross, drifting, sprints, Supermoto, Motocross and even a new tractor pulling track.
The Welsh Motorsport and Supercar Festival
The team also runs track days for cars, ‘bikes and rallying and launched the Welsh Motorsport and Supercar Festival last year, attracting a huge collection of rare and 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’d gone all-out to put on something like that and I couldn’t believe how many people came to the Welsh Motorsport and Supercar Festival,” says Davies.
“They just kept coming and coming! We had an Ayrton Senna’s McLaren down here last year and this year the Festival is going to be even bigger and better, and we’ve got a few special surprises up our sleeves as well.
“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’re sacked! The customer comes first and you’ve got to be hard lined sometimes.
“It’s a difficult game to be in these days. It’s a lot harder now because people’s expectations are far higher. We’re 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.”
Building a First Class Facility
There has, however, been significant investment made to Pembrey Circuit in recent years. Following on from the construction of 12 double pit garages, the circuit now boasts an FIA lights system and a new Race Control room – to which all the marshals posts are connected by underground fibre-optics.
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 Car Championship and the Shell Oils Supercup and we were awarded ‘Most Improved Circuit in the UK’ then too, so that was a proud moment.
Pembrey’s Proud Legacy
“We’re a bit out of the way and it’s sometimes difficult to pull some of the biggest events over here, but we’re proud to have the British Truck Racing Championship and the British Rallycross Championship and both of those events 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.”
Thickets for the Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival at Pembrey Circuit on Sunday 21 September are £22 in advance (children are FREE) and are available from the circuit website.
Discover more from Carmarthenshire News Online
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
