Billed as the most important new historic motorsport competition in over 15 years, the 72nd Goodwood Members Meeting was held from March 29 to 30, 2014, and what was on offer truly deserved a lot of respect.
Link with tradition
Lord March launched the Goodwood Road Racing Club back in 1998, with the Members Meeting continuing a tradition that was established in the 1950s and 1960s in the form of 71 club meetings of the British Automobile Racing Club. With the closure of the Goodwood Circuit in 1966 for safety reasons, there was a 48-year break, which has now come to an end, so to speak.
The event was only open to members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club and promised the kind of entertainment and action that one has come to expect from the much more heavily populated Goodwood Revival events.
No effort was spared for the first modern event and a field of around 400 interesting racing cars was assembled, which were put through their paces in 12 races and three demonstration runs.
A race just for Bugattis
Almost 30 Bugattis came together for a one-make cup, which was advertised as the Grover-Williams Trophy for pre-war Bugattis. 15 Bugatti 35s, three Bugatti 51s, but also a few exotics such as a 57G, a 39A and two 59s stormed off when the starting flag was lowered.
Knoll-Jones drove home the victory in a Bugatti 35B, followed by Tom Dark in a Bugatti 59/50 B III. The lap averages were well over 130 km/h, so there was no slowing down with the valuable racing cars.
And it was rare to see such a blue-dominated field of rare pre-war racing cars racing through a field of Easter bells. This alone made the trip to the south of England worthwhile.
A race for cars from the 1980s at the Goodwood Circuit for the first time
The touring car race for vehicles built up to 1983 was a "first", as there had never before been a race for such modern saloon cars at the Goodwood Circuit. Vehicles such as the Ford Capri III (with Emanuele Pirro at the wheel), the Rover 3500 SD1, the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and the Mazda RX7 were at the start. Jochen Mass competed in a BMW 2002 ti.
As is familiar from the Goodwood Revival, the competition for the Gerry Marshall Trophy was held in two races, one contested by professionals, the other by the car owner. In the first race, Chris Ward in the Rover 3500 SD1 came out on top ahead of Emanuele Pirro in the Capri, and the two and their team-mates were also ahead in the final standings.
But what counted more than the results was the reunion with many rare touring cars from recent racing history.
Le Mans legends on the move
Of course, the races thrilled the spectators, but the three demonstration fields were almost as interesting. The field of Le Mans prototypes featured over 20 racing cars from a time before top speeds were lowered with chicanes at Le Mans.
The Porsche 917 longtail with Martini livery caused quite a stir, but other cars such as the Alpine-Renault A441, the Jaguar XJR9 LM or the Porsche 956/962 also created a real endurance racing atmosphere.
The F1 turbo era
While the historic Formula 1 championships usually feature cars from the Ford-Cosworth era, for once the turbo racing cars of the late seventies and eighties were allowed onto the race track at Goodwood. When you hear the old turbo engines, you wonder why the modern V6 turbos of today's F1 sound so boring.
Among those registered for the demo run were two Alfa Romeo 183Ts, four Arrows, three Lotus-Renaults, three McLaren-TAG MP4s, a Ferrari 126 C4, two Renaults and a whole horde of Toleman-Harts. The Zakspeed 871 was also on the start list, while a Williams-Honda FW10 and a Benetton-BMW were only available for exhibition purposes.
In another demo run, around 20 rally cars from the Group B era were driven on the circuit. The background noise and the relaxed racing cars such as the MG Metro 6R4, Audi Sport Quattro, Lancia Delta S4 and Citroën BX thrilled the audience.
Almost like a Goodwood Revival
Of course, classic GT sports cars also competed on the last weekend in March, with the Moss Trophy pitting Aston Martin DB 4 against Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar E Types and AC Cobra. The winner was an Aston Martin DB 4 GT, which only managed to save its victory by half a second from the interesting Lotus 11 GT Breadvan.
The Sears Trophy pitted touring cars from the 1958 to 1963 period, pitting, as spectators love to do, David against Goliath, talking Minis against Jaguar Mk 2s. The salt in the soup was Ford Lotus Cortina, Studebaker Lark, Wolseley Hornet, Alfa Romeo Giulia as well as Fiat Abarth 1500 S, Mercedes Benz 300 SE, Vauxhall VX 4/90, Isuzu Bellet, MG 1100 and a Triumph 2000 Mk I. In the end, Nick Swift in the Morris Mini Cooper S came out on top, followed by two Ford Lotus Cortina and another Cooper S. The first Jaguar, however, only finished in 15th place. Goliath was defeated.
For monoposto drivers, the Threlfall Cup (Formula Junior), the Clark-Stewart Trophy (1.5-liter GP, 1-liter F2 and F3 single-seaters from 1961 to 1965) and the Brabham Trophy (2.5-liter GP single-seaters from 1954 to 1960) were available.
Sports car drivers could enjoy themselves in the race for the Peter Collins Trophy (racing cars up to 1955) and the John Surtees Trophy (racing cars 1960 to 1966).
In the race for the Tony Gaze Trophy, sports and GT cars battled it out until 1959, while in the Salvadori Cup, racing cars fought for top positions from 1955 to 1960.
The competition between the houses
Lord March came up with the idea of four "houses" battling it out for the Goodwood House Trophy. Anyone thinking of Harry Potter here is not entirely wrong, because at Goodwood, too, points could be won in the races and activities surrounding them for the respective house to which the driver was assigned.
The winner of this competition was Anthony Reid's Methuen House, while the houses of Darnley (Captain Jochen Mass), Torbolton (Captain Emanuele Pirro) and Aubigny (Nic Minassian) were beaten.
Obviously, all participants and visitors were more than delighted with the reinvented event, as Lord March commented at the end: "What a fantastic start to a new event! The sensational selection of cars and drivers was probably the most diverse we've ever had here on the circuit ... and it all took place in a very intimate setting where everyone could be part of it all. But now we have the challenge of how we can make the next edition, the 73rd Members' Meeting, even more impressive!"
