Several letters in your edition of January 2 were written in support of the Brighton Speed Trials. I wish to add my voice.

I cannot comprehend the fact that Brighton and Hove City Council is contemplating scrapping this internationally famous, annual racing event in Madeira Drive.

Isn’t the council aware that this is a historical event which has been on our sporting calendar for more than 100 years?

It is accepted that all forms of motorsport involve an element of danger but competitors are well aware of this when they enter so it is no reason to cancel the event.

There have been some fatalities over the years but these are very few compared with the number of drownings in the sea. I do not hear cries to ban entry to those areas.

The Speed Trials are a lot safer now than in the past.

Disruption to traders and the beach is minimal, being just a few hours for one day of the year.

Perhaps the real worry on councillors’ minds is the loss of revenue from parking meters.

AC Dart, Washington Road, Storrington

So now the Greens running the council want to wave goodbye to the Brighton Speed Trials.

They say the road is not suitable. Why not?

They have made £16 million out of us motorists. It would not be unreasonable to expect the main seafront promenade to be kept up to standard.

Has anyone considered how much the town will lose by not staging the event? Thousands of people come to watch.

As for the safety aspect, the organisers take every precaution to ensure the event complies with health and safety regulations.

Racing accidents are generally caused by mechanical failure or driver error. That is a fact of life.

It seems the council wishes to cancel all forms of outside entertainment but think again – remember who you are here to serve: us, not yourselves.

Chris Harvey-Jones, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton

I have had the honour of competing in these speed trials.

I say honour because the trials are a piece of motorsport history and to compete in the same event as such greats as Malcolm Campbell, John Cobb and Sir Stirling Moss is humbling.

As a participant, it is the highlight of the sprinting season for those who come from all over the UK and Europe for less than 50 seconds on the track.

The council argues that it maintains the road for 30mph traffic but not the speeds we race at. We are not traffic. There is only ever one vehicle on the road and we are free of the hindrance of pedestrians, dogs and cyclists.

As it is, the council just allows the usage of this road. My understanding is that the actual licensing of this event is carried out by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) and the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU), which govern the sport. The event is organised through the Brighton and Hove Motor Club and the Vintage Motorcycle Club. If Madeira Drive was unfit for racing the MSA and ACU would not grant permits and we would support them in this.

The speed trials on Madeira Drive have run since 1905. They are part of our history and must continue.

Andrew Taylor, Small Heath, Birmingham

Judging by the quality of the debate on its webcast, it appears the council is treating this as if it were merely a “little local difficulty”. Thus, the issue has become one in which two highly polarised political groups are slugging it out while Labour holds the ring.

Unless there are substitutions or tactical absences at a meeting on January 23, I gather Labour councillors will decide the outcome.

The numbers dictate that Labour will have to vote with the “opposition” in order to avoid a tied vote being decided by the chair.

The Labour group must face its dilemma squarely: whether to sink its traditional differences with the Conservatives in order to preserve a much greater tradition in the face of a doctrinaire attack by the Greens, or whether to put these upstarts firmly in their place.

Roger Mathew, Tavistock, Devon