Between Sunshine and Loss of Control, or: There's Always a Red Cooper
Music is still echoing from somewhere. We’re standing at a shooting gallery, trying to aim corks at Terry’s Chocolate and other sweets. But Terry’s Chocolate was a mistake—the cork bounced right off.
The crowd is thinning out; on the fairgrounds, the first vendors are packing up their displays. I had to have a souvenir—any memento of this day. Or even just a beer. Everyone deserves one—because Robin Dönni has had his track baptism. Literally.
This year, for the first time, the Sussex Trophy is a two-driver race: 45 minutes, with the driver change window somewhere in the middle. For a rookie, this is a rewarding stage—provided he can even get his feet on the pedals.
The Little Green One Against the Overwhelming Odds
It was clear from the start that trophies weren’t at stake. The two-liter Maserati in the Lister puts out around 200 PS. On the other side of the pit lane stands a Lister-Costin with a Chevrolet V8—we’re talking about around 400 PS. This isn’t a question of engine power anymore; it’s a different sport altogether. Just like in Friday’s practice: top results were out of the question. Robin later remarked that it felt like driving a car against spaceships.
Fred Martin-Dye, our lead driver, started from the back of the field. Two laps later, the car is in the grass. Yellow flag. Back in the pit lane, we’re dismayed—and one of us is really shaking. Because if the Lister were to give up the ghost now, our Goodwood rookie would be deprived of his racing debut. Drama, emotion, a few strong words. We’ve all been there.
Then the all-clear. The fuel pump switch had literally “fallen off.” One quick fix, and the Lister was back in action. Sometimes motorsports are shockingly mundane.
Lap after lap, and a red Cooper
The moment has arrived. Robin climbs into the cockpit; the crew cheers as if someone had won. The car rolls out—the little green car is in the race.
We spread out: one at the pit wall, one up in the grandstand, and I’m behind the pit lane by the track. And things are looking good. The Lister zooms past, lap after lap, cleanly, without a hint of nervousness. Only a red Cooper causes a few scares—first it leaves marks on our bodywork, then the mid-engine car even spins around in the middle of the track—the red Cooper has us seeing red.
Beware the red Cooper!
In the end, Bonamy Grimes and Johnny Mowlem won in the Lotus 15, with an 18-second lead. Behind them was a Lister-Jaguar Knobbly, and in third place, of all things, a Lister-Chevrolet Costin—exactly the kind of car our two-liter had no chance against—or the Lotus 15.
Lister on the final lap
Our own result? We don’t know it. Who even wants to know that when the driver and car roll back safely into the pit lane after the Goodwood premiere? Perfect happiness is sometimes something other than a winner’s wreath and a cigar.
