When the engines roar at the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit in spring, it can only mean one thing: It's time for the Goodwood Members' Meeting again. On April 9 and 10, 2022, the "Members' Meeting" took place for the 79th time, making it the oldest of the three world-famous racing events in West Sussex. The "MM" forms the thematic center between "Revival" and "Festival of Speed": It is a real race weekend, where some of the best racing drivers compete with historic cars from all over the world, but without prescribing stylistically appropriate wardrobe for participants and spectators alike.
A reason to scream
The participating cars covered around 60 years of racing history: from Frazer Nash, Alfa Romeo and Bugatti from the 1930s to the 1990s with high-speed demo runs of the Porsche Le Mans types 962 and 956 as well as the screeching of Formula 1 cars from the V10 era.
But it wasn't just the cars that were the stars. Some really big names in motorsport also turned up at Goodwood; including Jochen Mass, who was reunited with a Porsche 962, and Bruno Senna, who did demo laps in his uncle Ayrton's 1991 McLaren MP4/6.
Incident with the pre-war cars
Frazer Nash's veterans battled it out in a class of their own. An incredible 30 vehicles crowded into the "A. F. P. Fane Trophy" on the 3.8-kilometer circuit. Patrick Blakeney-Edwards was the first to cross the finish line in his 1935 Monoposto and went on to secure victory in the "Varzi Trophy" for French and Italian racing cars built up to 1938. His winning car there was a light blue Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza from 1933.
Unfortunately, Sunday afternoon was overshadowed by a serious accident during a round of the "A. F. P. Fane Trophy". Racing was interrupted to treat the rider until he could be taken to hospital by helicopter.
Two-stroke Swedes and humpbacked Frenchmen
The "Peter Collins Trophy" and the "Sopwith Cup" represented the fifties with racing and touring cars. Among the racers, James Thorpe won in the 1955 Lister Jaguar, known as the "Flat Iron", which literally "ironed out" the competition and prevailed against a high-caliber field of Ferrari 250s, Maserati 300s and Jaguar D-Types.
In the touring car race, James Colburn came out on top in the 1956 Standard Vanguard Six. The field of 1950s saloons in racing trim was one of the most likeable of the events, with Peugeot 203, Borgward Isabella, Saab 93 and Cadillac Series 61 cars that are usually rarely seen on race tracks.
Lots of plastic toys
The field of arsonist bourgeoisie was only surpassed by the "Weslake Cup", in which everything powered by a BMC Series A engine was let loose on each other. Home-built cars based on MG Midget and Austin Healey Sprites battled against angry Minis and former BMC works racing cars. The winner of hearts was Nicholas Padmore, who briefly fought his way to the front in the Rochdale Olympic, but unfortunately dropped back to sixth place after the second restart. So the win went to Charles Rainford in the Lenham GT, an MG Midget in a GRP sleeper.
The premier class of the sixties was divided into the "Graham Hill Trophy" for sports cars such as the Jaguar E-Type, Ferrari 250 GTO and Shelby Cobra and the "Surtees Trophy" for racing prototypes such as the Ford GT 40 and Lola T 70, which made up more than half of the starting field. Graham Hill himself drove here at Goodwood in his day and would certainly have enjoyed the close bumper-to-bumper racing.
The fastest was MM regular Oliver Bryant, of course in the 1966 Lola T 70 Spyder, who also drove the fastest lap of the weekend with a time of 1:18.4 minutes. The 45-minute sports car race - one of the few with a driver change - went to Phil Keen and Jon Minshaw in the silver Jaguar E-Type with starting number 33.
The wild seventies
In the seventies, England experienced the heyday of touring car racing with Ford Capri, Ford Escorts, Rover SD1, Triumph Dolomite, Vauxhall Firenza and the like. The "Gerry Marshall Trophy" was also open to American vehicles from the 1970s. The second 45-minute race offered a great spectacle in honor of its namesake, who was to be beaten in the seventies with his "lateral and full-throttle approach".
Shortly before the driver change, Jason Minshaw overlooked John Saunders, who was turning into the pits, and crashed his Ford Escort into the rear of the slowing Rover 3500. Nobody was injured. Gerry Marshall's son James Alexander shared the cockpit of his father's Vauxhall Magnum with the German Jochen Mass. Victory went to Jack Tetley and Alex Buncombe in the number 28 Chevrolet Camaro.
A heart for small displacements
The "Derek Bell Cup" for historic Formula 3 cars was won by Andrew Hibberd in the Brabham BT18. The "Robert Brooks Trophy" for 1.5-liter sports cars up to 1960 was won by Andrew Kirkaldy in a Lotus 11. Dan Jackson won the "Hailwood Trophy for" racing motorcycles from the seventies and eighties on his 1981 Harris Yamaha TZ350.
Until the Goodwood Revival in September, things will be quiet again in West Sussex for the time being. But the impressions and sounds of last weekend will linger in our minds for a long time to come. Our photographer is sure of that.
