Goodwood - A Blast from the Past

[MikeLane]

Back ToThe Future

The 2007 Goodwood Revival

By

Mike Lane

I love motor racing in general and currently my primary interest is F1, which you will know if you have read my race reports during the second half of this year at Gofastnews.

In my younger days I was a pretty handy driver and dreamt of racing at Le Mans but like so many of us, dreams are not reality and so I had to content myself with fast road cars and being a spectator.

During all the time I have been involved with cars I have never had a burning interest in vintage cars or motorcycles. Unusual then, you might think, that I would be interested in going to an historic motor racing event; but you would be wrong because the occasion which got me reaching for my cheque book is the Goodwood Revival Meeting at Lord March’s estate in Sussex, England.

This is a unique event in the world, in that it is set entirely to a period theme. Every year, spectators and competitors take a step back in time and revel in the romance of motor racing as it used to be. Goodwood has been lovingly restored to mirror its’ heyday between 1948 and 1966 when it rivalled Silverstone as the premier racing venue in England.

This is a three day event with the first day devoted to practice and then sixteen races over the next two days, as well as air displays of historic aircraft and other attractions to complete the fun.

Such is the reputation of this annual event that famous drivers of yesterday, revel in performing to the capacity crowds. Famous names such as Sir Stirling Moss, Le Mans winners such as Derek Bell, Jackie Oliver and Henri Pescarolo, as well as amateurs like comedian Rowan Atkinson of ‘Mr Bean’ fame, all love to perform at this unique gathering.

The spectators won’t be left out either, as most dress up in clothes from the 1950s and 1960s period. The whole thing unites to form a marvellously nostalgic weekend which promises to transport you back to the heyday of this circuit and a time when perhaps life was less hectic and motor racing less commercial.

Having parked my car I joined the crowds walking to the entrance of this famous circuit and was immediately struck by the large numbers of people in period dress.
Clearly this really was a great big fancy dress party and they were out to enter into the spirit and enjoy themselves.

As I entered the circuit it seemed like I was going back in time, as before eyes there appeared three policemen and I was greeted by, ‘Now behave yourself, mind lad’.

Instinctively I agreed to be good and carefully walked on into another world with military personnel (both American and British) and civilians from the 40s and 50s standing around, it was unreal.

I have been to the 24 hour race at Le Mans in France a number of times and I was immediately reminded of the same pleasure, where you are able to walk around the circuit and choose your viewing point. After a while you are quite free to wander on for a fresh viewpoint and there is plenty to focus your attention on.

Even the ‘buses’ are odd!

We will come to the racing shortly but I just want to give you a flavour of the atmosphere at this event.

As I said, a large proportion of the crowd dresses up in period clothes and this ranges from English gentry to ordinary working class, from military to ‘Teddy Boys’.

I stopped for a while beside a group of young people who were dressed in 1950s clothes and sat having a picnic. To my surprise one of the girls uncovered a case, which she opened and revealed a wind-up gramophone.

Not quite your mp3 player but nevertheless in its day, portable.
With nostalgic jazz music playing in the background I was well and truly in the mood and it was time to turn my attention to the racing.

The first race of the day was the ‘Brooklands Trophy’. This is a race for cars that raced prior to 1939. Lord March’s grandfather raced this type of cars at Brooklands and when that circuit closed, he opened the Goodwood circuit and encouraged these monsters to race again. Entries included Alpha Romeo 8C 2300 Monzas, Bentleys, Bugattis, MG ‘Q’ and ‘R’ types, Rileys, Morgans and others. These were front- engined cars ranging from 750cc to 27 litres and built between 1923 and 1936.

Prior to the race, a demonstration run was undertaken by the 24 litre aero-engined Napier-Railton of John Cobb, which held the all-time record around Brooklands Outer circuit at 143.44mph.

The 34 entrants raced with commitment considering the age and value of these great old cars and the twelve lap race was won by a 1935 MG ‘R’ type, followed by a 1935 MG ‘Q’ type. Both these cars had 750 cc engines, which were the smallest in the race.
In 3rd place was the 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, which had a 2600 cc engine.

Next up were the front-engined Grand Prix cars, which raced between 1948 and 1960.
This was the era of Stirling Moss, Fangio, Hawthorn and Collins and cars could be up to 1.5L supercharged, or up to 4.5L unsupercharged. Famous makes such, as BRM, Vanwall, Maserati, Aston Martin and Cooper were all represented in this 28 car race over 15 laps.

They made a great spectacle and a completely different noise to the modern formula 1 cars, which rev to 18000 revs/min.
It was a keenly contested race but unfortunately had to be stopped at 2/3 distance when two of the Maseratis tangled in a chicane.
First place went to a 1960 Ferrari 246 Dino driven by Richard Attwood with a BRM Type 25, driven by Gary Pearson, in 2nd. Both these cars had 2.5L engines.

The Ferrari 246 Dino is particularly significant because it was the last front-engined Grand Prix car to win a World Championship race when it won at Monza, Italy in 1960.

I said at the beginning that I am not a fan of vintage cars in general but to see these old race cars thrashing around a circuit is something else, particularly the Grand Prix contenders because in their era they were the cutting edge of vehicle technology.

Now I’ve always been a car man but have had nothing but admiration for motorcycle racers. Personally, I don’t have the balance, nor am I that mad, but to watch the experts is a great spectacle. The Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy is a two race aggregate over 16 laps for 350cc and 500cc motorcycles from the 1962-66 era.

Riders included two times 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner and three times British Superbike Champion Niall Mackenzie, as well as British Superbike star Michael Rutter and Barry Sheene contemporary, Stan Woods.

Twenty-nine entrants thrilled the crowd with their cut and thrust racing which concealed the fact that these motorcycles are over 40 years old and having very different technology to the modern superbikes.

None of this seemed to matter as Wayne Gardner (Matchless G50) showed his class with a thrilling win, but not without a fight from Duncan Fitchett (Manx Norton), Michael Rutter (Manx Norton) and Tim Jackson (Matchless G50).

After a brief interval we moved onto the era of my youth, the 60s, and production sedan (saloon) cars, which raced between 1960 and 1966.
These were the days when we witnessed the David and Goliath struggles between the European entrants (Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, BMW, Ford Lotus Cortina, Mini Cooper S) and the big American sedans (saloons), (Ford Galaxie, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvair Corsa, Dodge Dart, Plymouth Barracuda).

1293cc versus 7000cc made a fantastic spectacle and you might be surprised how well David did against Goliath!

Just like the modern versions of this category of racing, the action on the track was fast and furious with cars in very close proximity.

Like the motorcycle race, this event was held in two parts over two days with the first on Saturday. This is the day the star drivers have their turn with the likes of Sir Stirling Moss, Jackie Oliver, Derek Bell, Henri Pescarolo and British Touring car legends like Andy Rouse, Sir John Whitmore and others.
For the second race on the Sunday, we saw the entrants/owners driving and the win was taken by the best aggregate over the two races.

After a frantic battle reminiscent of the scenes from the 1960s, the American giants prevailed with 1st place taken by John Young and John Whitmore in a Mustang, followed in 2nd place by a Plymouth Barracuda and in 3rd place a Mercury Comet Cyclone.

The next two races featured, first, closed cockpit GT cars, including AC Cobras, Jaguar E Types, Ferrari 250 GTs Chevrolet Corvettes, and Aston Martins; and second, World Championship sports cars and production sports-racing cars of a type that raced between 1955 and 1960. These included Aston Martin DBR1s and BDR2s, Jaguar D Types, Maseratis, Tojeiro-Jaguars, Lister Jaguars, Allard-Farrellacs, Chaparral-Chevrolets and Devin Chevrolets.

Both races saw star drivers showing their talent and ensuring thrilling races ensued.

For the final race of the day a sixteen lap event took place for 1.5 litre Grand Prix cars of the type that raced between 1961 and 1965. This was the era that saw the beginning of rear-engined designs and smaller cars, thereby heralding the modern F1 race car.

This was a 30 car field featuring Brabham-Climax, BRM s, Lola-Climax, Lotus-Climax, Lotus-BRMs etc.

Again, we were privileged to watch many of these cars do battle on the track despite their value, and offering a glimpse of their former glory.
After a keenly fought race, first place was taken by Barrie 'Wizzo' Williams in a BRM P261, closely followed by a Lotus-Climax 24 and then a Lotus-BRM 24.

What a fitting end to a marvellous days racing but it wasn’t over yet as we were treated to an air display by some historic fighter aircraft including two Spitfires, a Mustang, a Bearcat, a Wildcat, a Hurricane and a Hellcat.






As they swooped and climbed over the Sussex countryside it would have brought back memories of the second World War for those old enough to remember first hand and even for me I’m not ashamed to admit to a lump in my throat.

My advice to anyone, given the chance, is to book your ticket for this unique event. You won’t see cars like this racing in such numbers and on a circuit from the correct era. This takes you back to a time when perhaps racing was fun, arguably more dangerous without the modern safety measures, and definitely less commercial.
This is an event where spectators take part by dressing up appropriately and creating a unique atmosphere, but the racing is serious and it is not unusual for average lap speeds to exceed 100mph.

So why did I, as a fan of modern F1, reach for my cheque-book and go to Goodwood?
The cars and motorcycles showcased by this event were at the cutting edge of technology when they were racing in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, just like their modern counterparts I enjoy so much now. They were the future for motoring engineering.

Goodwood is the best place to go to see these marvels racing now and so I was happy to ‘go back to the future’

GFN World Formula 1 Corespondent
Mike Lane