Belt up and enjoy this 365-day ride as you cruise past the most momentous motoring events in history. Packed with fascinating facts about races, motorists and the history of the mighty engine, this is a must-visit web site for any car enthusiast.

On This Day

Tuesday 12th June 1956

64 years ago

Bulldozer driver Fred Hackett cut the first sod on Britain’s first motorway, the Preston bypass. It was conceived, promoted, built and initially operated by its engineer, James Drake. The by-pass was opened on 5 December 1958 by the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. It later became part of the M6 motorway The 8¼-mile motorway runs around the east side of Preston between Bamber Bridge (M6, junction 29), which is just south of Preston, and Broughton (M55, Junction 1), which is to the north of Preston. The road was originally built with two lanes in each direction, but with space in the central reservation (median) for an extra lane to be added each way at a later date. Initially, the shoulders were hardened with gravel but not paved, a fact still reflected in the British term hard shoulder. A hedge was planted along the length of the central reservation to help eliminate dazzle from the headlights of oncoming traffic at night. An extra lane was added in each direction in 1966 without any need to modify any of the existing bridges.