Every September, lovers of historic motor racing meet at Goodwood near Chichester in southern England for their annual highlight, the Goodwood Revival.
Three days of spectacle
The qualifying races were held on Friday. The first day was crowned with the first race at 6:30 pm with the "Kinrara Trophy", which lasted an hour and thus literally drove into the sunset. It is the favorite race of the initiator of Goodwood, the Duke of Richmond. He said that the Kinrara Trophy shows everything that "makes up the spirit of Goodwood".
Races on Saturday and Sunday
Three Trophies will be contested in two races, with the remaining races being contested in one heat. During the races with two drivers per car, a driver change had to take place each time, which was not easy in the narrow pit lane, especially as the entry speed was 60 km/h and it was allowed to accelerate out at up to 80 km/h. Some of these races are described in more detail here.
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Fordwater Trophy
On Saturday, the "Fordwater Trophy" opened the day with sports and GT road cars from 1960 to 1966. One of the crowd favorites, Nick Swift, achieved the fastest lap with a time of 1.33.579, but was unable to beat Robert Barrie in the Lotus Elan S1 in the end and finished second by 0.503 seconds.
Nick is known for his ability to overtake on the outside and even a ride on the grass can't throw him off his stride. Usually driving a Mini Cooper, this year he drove a Mini Marcos. The adjustment was obviously easy for him, as the technology in the Mini Marcos is the same as in the Cooper. The thrilling duels were rewarded with a lot of applause from the enthusiastic audience.
Barry Sheene Trophy
The motorcycles contested a race for the "Barry Sheene Trophy", in which Dani Pedrosa competed for the first time. Pedrosa is known as the youngest 250 cc world champion, having won the title in 2004 when he was only 19 years old. Pedrosa's partner was Joaquin Folch-Rusinol Jr, who contested the first part of the race on the 1967 Hannah-Paton. Pedrosa took over the bike in 16th place and made up 10 places in a spectacular chase in just a few laps - but even he was unable to finish higher than sixth. The overall winners after the second race on Sunday were the unchallenged duo Lee/Johnston on a 1966 MV Agusta 500/3. Their lead in the overall standings was almost 10 seconds.
St Mary's Trophy
The following "St. Mary's Trophy" was contested by "saloon cars" that had already been raced between 1950 and 1959. The colorful mix consisted of small cars such as the Austin Austin A40 and voluminous V8 monsters such as a Ford Thunderbird or the Studebaker Silver Hawk, with which ex-Formula 1 star Karl Wendlinger took pole position in training. Many other prominent drivers took part in the race, such as Red Bull team boss Christian Horner in a Jowett Javelin and 1984 World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist, who drove an MG YB.
Shortly after the start of the race, the red flag was shown and the race was stopped. The reason was an accident involving the Norwegian rally professional John Haughland, who crashed his Volvo PV544, so that the track had to be cleared again.
Romain Dumas got the best of the restart in his huge-looking Ford Thunderbird, closely followed by the small but nimble Austin A40 with successful sports car driver Marino Franchitti at the wheel. The two leaders danced through the first corner like David against Goliath - with the small, cheeky Austin at the Thunderbird's tailpipe!
After the Thunderbird's retirement due to gearbox damage, Franchitti took the lead in the Austin, but was overtaken by Pirro in the more powerful Alfa Romeo Giulietta Ti and by Wendlinger in the Studebaker. The battle for the lead was now between Wendlinger and Pirro, and after a thrilling fight, the finish was Wendlinger in a Ford Thunderbird, Pirro in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Minassian in an Austin A40. After the race, Wendlinger's Studebaker was disqualified due to technical irregularities, which meant that the Swiss Marcel Fässler, multiple Le Mans winner, took third place. Subsequently, five other cars were disqualified for technical infringements, leading to plenty of questions and confusion.
The second race on Sunday was again led by the Studebaker, this time in the hands of British touring car driver Patrick Watts. He fought an entertaining and exciting battle for first place with journalist Dickie Meaden in the Alfa Romeo Gilulietta. Meaden (or the Alfa?) soon ran out of breath, however, which Grant Williams in the Jaguar MKI took advantage of, fighting his way into second place and snatching the Studebaker shortly afterwards. Mike Jordan in the Austin A40 was already stalking from behind, overtook Studebaker as well and from then on clung to the rear of the leading Jaguar. He tried to get everything out of the little Austin in the final corners, but was unable to overtake and saw the chequered flag in second place, just one car length behind.
However, as the same cars were disqualified as in the first race, the overall winners were Jordan/Minassian in an Austin A40, followed by Clealand/Rainford in a Volvo PV544S and Fässler/Manderson, also in an Austin A40.
Goodwood Trophy
Pre-war vehicles from the 1930s and early 1940s took part in the Goodwood Trophy. There were Ferraris, Maseratis, ERAs and, in keeping with the company's 100th anniversary, a Bentley Hassan Special.
In practice, Gareth Burnett put his Alta 2.0 Liter on pole position and also got off to the best start, closely followed by his rivals. He took an unchallenged start-finish victory, followed by four ERAs. Nicholas Topliss' 1935 ERA A-Type R4A was waved off in second place, while David Morris in the ERA B-Type R11B took third place on the podium.
Bentley only
The Brooklands Trophy was reserved for Bentleys this year to celebrate the brand's 100th birthday. From the 3-Litre (1922) to the 4.5 Litre (1930), everything that drove the competition at Le Mans to the ground was represented. Ettore Bugatti is said to have spoken contemptuously of the fastest trucks on the racetrack. However, his lightweight racing cars had little to oppose the British team.
One of the rules of the races almost 100 years ago was that they had to start with the top down. The top could then be opened during a pit stop in order to reduce air resistance and thus increase speed. This rule was also prescribed for the Brooklands Trophy and caused some teams unaccustomed hecticness in the pits.
Ben Collins in the 3 liter Speed Model took the lead at the start with a muffled engine stomp, but was soon overtaken by the newer and more powerful Le Mans models. Victory went to Martin Overington in the 4.5 liter Blower, followed by Oliver Llewellyn in a 4.5 liter and Ben Collins' 3 liter.
Settrington Cup
In this short race, the youngest drivers drove small cars in the largest starting field of the whole weekend: 4-10 year old boys and girls in 74 pedal cars modeled on the Austin A40.
For the start, the little drivers had to complete a sprint across the race track to their vehicles, reminiscent of previous Le Mans starts. They then pedaled with great ambition and covered the race distance of the start/finish straight. After a few overtaking maneuvers, Joe Stanley was waved off as the winner by none other than Sir Jackie Stewart with the chequered flag.
After the second race on Sunday, overall victory went to Harry Dark, followed by Lachlan Milne and Saturday's winner, Joe Stanley.
Apparently all the vehicles passed the technical inspection, as no vehicles were disqualified as in the St. Mary's Trophy.
RAC TT Celebration
The RAC TT Celebration on Sunday was undoubtedly one of the highlights at Goodwood. Most of the cars were driven by at least one driver with an illustrious name: Mass, Lotterer, Jordan, Pirro, Brundle and Pescarolo, to name but a few. During the race, a second driver had to take over and bring the car to the finish line.
The duos Shephard/Dumas and Wilson/Lotterer, both driving an AC Cobra, qualified for the first three grid positions. Drivers Hart/Minassian placed their Tojero Ford in the middle of the two. All three were equipped with the legendarily powerful Ford 427 engine, making the start and the sprint into the first corner a tight affair.
The exciting race featured tough but fair wheel-to-wheel battles. The drivers in their AC Cobras and Jaguar E-Types fought for positions with a knife between their teeth, with a Lister Jaguar and a TVR Griffith mixing it up.
The three of them entered the last corner, Woodcote Corner, side by side, knowing full well that only one car would fit through the chicane a few meters later.
Lotterer was the deserved winner in a very fast AC Cobra, followed by the Cobra with Dumas and the Lister Jaguar of Treluyer.
Lots to see
There was a lot to see at the Goodwood Revival besides the races. As is the case every year, most of the spectators dressed in contemporary attire. This means that the ladies wore a skirt, dress or petty coat and the men liked to wear a tweed suit. Hats were very popular and the ladies' hairstyles were often elaborately styled.
Anyone who was able to purchase a membership as a Goodwood Member was also allowed to visit the paddocks. Here, the dress code was not only desired, but mandatory: men in suits and ties, the ladies "smart and elegant", as it said on the tickets.
There is no doubt that the Goodwood Revival was once again a spectacle away from the race track. In addition to the beautiful crowd, there were also countless stores and stands that were lovingly trimmed to look "old". From tin signs and books to suits, everything a car enthusiast could wish for could be bought there.
Those who still had time to spare despite the packed program could even visit a Bonhams auction . The journey to and from Chichester station was also carried out in style in vintage buses. From start to finish, the Goodwood Revival was an unparalleled work of art.
