Colwyn Bay's seafront racetrack brought to life with QR code

Decades before Formula 1 was ever conceived, the pinnacle of British motorsport was the seafront promenade of a north Wales town. Between 1910 and 1928, crowds of up to 10,000 amateur motorbike and car enthusiasts would gather in Colwyn Bay to watch drivers and riders try to achieve their highest possible speed over the seafront's 2km (1.2 mile) stretch of tarmac. Now, visitors to the prom can relive their daring exploits thanks to a QR code on the erstwhile finish line. Non-profit organisation HistoryPoints has installed the plaque, which can be scanned with a mobile or tablet, linking to a cine movie film of the July 1914 trials, shot just a month before the outbreak of World War One. Speeds in those day ranged from 60mph (100 km/h)for the least powerful 10 horsepower vehicles, to over 90mph (145 km/h) for the beefiest 50+ horsepower category. Entrants were further divided into "flying" or "standing" starts, depending on whether they chose a 350m run-up, or preferred to launch directly from the start line. The events were organised by the Mersey Motor Club, now the Liverpool Motor Club, who arranged similar spectacles across north Wales and north-west England, with prizes of up t