The History of the RAC

The RAC (or Royal Automobile Club as it was known then) was founded in 1897 by car enthusiasts Charles Harrington Moore, and Richard Simms. When founded, the RAC were known as 'The Automobile Club of Great Britain". When setting out the clubs regulations, the pair followed the constitution laid out by the Automobile Club de France.
Within 4 years the RAC had started employing their first uniformed patrolmen in the UK. In 1907 they gain royal approval and adopted their current name - the RAC.
In 1926, the RAC began the British Grand Prix, which was held at Brooklands, and within 6 years they had sponsored their first ever Rally. Their first rally covered a geographic distance of more than 1,000 miles. In a unique race, unlike modern day rally's, all drivers started from different locations, and all headed to the same finish line in Torquay, on the south coast of England. 367 drivers from accross the world started the race, while 259 drivers completed the 1,000 miles, with an average speed of less than 25 mph.
In 1960, Blackpool became the starting point of the RAC Rally. The race ended at Brands Hatch and covered more than 2,000 miles. The following year the forestry stages were added to the RAC rally which allowed for greater speeds.
In 1978 the group was incorporated with the name RAC Motoring Services Ltd.
In 1999 the company was sold to Lex Services plc, who sold it on to Aviva in 2005. In 2006 the RAC joined West Surrey Racing to create Team RAC, which competed in the British Touring Car Championships.
Today the RAC has over 2,000 UK patrols, they respond to 2.8 million breakdowns, from a customer base of over 7 million, this is made up of approximately 4.5 million corporate clients and 2.5 million individuals. The RAC operates from several car breakdown call centres which operate 24 hours, 7 days per week. The RAC have won the distinguished  JD Power award for three consecutive years for offering the UK's best roadside patrols.
In an ever increasingly competitive market where the customers needs are complex, the RAC has branched out into various products and services not related to car breakdown cover, some of them don't even relate to cars. The main services which they offer are;
RAC Breakdown - This is the main service that we all know and love the RAC for, attending, then repairing or towing our broken down car from the roadside. Visit a car breakdown cover comparison site such as WhyBreakdown.co.uk to compare the latest deals.
RAC Europe - provides breakdown cover for RAC customers on the continent, which includes 47 countries. They are headquartered in Villeurbanne, France where English speaking staff are available to assist motorists who have broken down 24 hours per day.
RAC Direct Insurance - offers UK consumers a car, can, motorbike, travel, and home insurance service.
RAC Legal Services - provides advice and assistance to members who are involved in a personal injury claim.
RAC Vehicle Checks - checks vehicles to determine if the car has been either written off, stolen, has previous plates, or outstanding finance agreements. This service is primarily used by people looking to buy a car and check that the car is legal. The serice is ran by HBI who also authenticate the car's documents.
RAC Examinations - conduct physical checks on vehicles to ensure the car is sound.
The RAC also provide a variety of smaller services.

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