First televised motor race

The first motor race to be broadcast on live television was the Imperial Trophy Race, held at the Crystal Palace Circuit in Sydenham, London, on 9 October 1937. The race was shot by a team from the BBC, and beamed to the main transmitter in Alexandra Palace using the BBC's new outside broadcast equipment. The signal from Alexandra Palace was reportedly picked up by viewers as far away as Manchester.

The outside broadcast equipment used to capture the race was made for the BBC earlier that year, originally for the coronation of King George VI on 12 May. It consisted of three large trucks, one carrying generators, one with the signal amplifiers and transmitters, and a "scanner" or mobile control room. The various cameras around the track were connected to the scanner by thick cables, where a director would cut between feeds to follow the race in real time, and also add in the audio commentary (provided on that day by a Mr FJ Findon, editor of Light Car magazine).

The race was won by "B. Bira" (THA; aka Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh) driving an ERA (English Racing Automobiles) R2B he called "Romulus". Prince Bira drove for a team called White Mouse Racing, which was owned and operated by his cousin Prince Chula Chakrabongse.

Between his debut in 1935 and the oubreak of war in 1939, Bira and White Mouse Racing were a competitive privateer team, winning seven international races, including two Grands Prix, and achieving top-five finishes in several others. Bira returned to racing after the war, but was not able to recreate his earlier success. He continued racing until 1954, having taken part in the first four seasons of the F1 World Championship.