Lotus again on form, at 1960 Goodwood Easter Monday Meeting

The enormous crowd, estimated at between 55,000 and 60,000 people, which watched the racing at Goodwood on Easter Monday got excellent value for their ticket-money. Not only did 101 aeroplanes land there, some of which took part in a fly-past of Club and Executives’ aircraft, while a Spitfire and a Hurricane indulged in a mock dog-fight and Sqn./Ldr. Peter Latham led his “Black Arrow” Hunters in an impeccable display, but the racing was first class, with lap records falling all over the place.

The day’s racing opened with the 10-lap Chichester Cup F.J. race. From the start the rear-engined Lotus-Fords with Cosworth heads showed the superiority over the Coopers that was evident at Oulton Park. Clark and T. Taylor indulged in a duel for the lead, which Clark settled after the third lap, drawing away from his fellow Lotus driver and setting a new F.J. lap record of 92.31 m.p.h. Interest was lent by McKee’s efforts to dispose of H. C. Taylor’s Cooper and make this another Lotus grand-slam, an ambition he realised on the sixth lap. Venner-Pack had the misfortune to suffer a broken arm when his Team Speedwell Cooper-B.M.C. turned end over end and caught fire at St. Mary’s; apparently the car shed a back wheel, which caused it to go out of control. Fagg’s Deep Sanderson ended up deep in a Goodwood bank, steering failure being blamed, while Lawrence’s Deep Sanderson retired with a broken throttle cable.

After this enjoyable race the F.2 cars fought it out over 15 laps and we saw the superiority of the rear-engined Lotus over the rest of the field, its stability helping Innes Ireland to keep Moss, who was finding Walker’s Porsche a handful, just in his mirrors but no more. In fact, Ireland, the new “ace,” won by 6.4 sec., which cannot have pleased Moss, who was driving for the first time as an American. As Innes equalled the outright lap record, setting a new one of 97.3 m.p.h. for F.2 cars, no-one could fail to applaud his skill, even if he did drive the more handleable car. The rest of the race was a procession, in the order Salvadori, Bristow, Halford, McKee, all in out-distanced Coopers.

Salvadori then mounted himself in a Cooper Monaco with 2½-litre Climax engine of the John Coombes Racing Organisation and, after a bad (Le Mans) start, came up through the field, taking the lead after five of the 21 laps to secure the Unlimited Sports-Car race very comfortably; another lap record was also chalked-up. Tom Dickson drove exceedingly well in the 2-litre Lotus, catching Blumer’s 2-litre Cooper Monaco a lap from the finish only to have the car falter at Madgwick, so that the two Coopers crossed the line ahead of him. Jim Clark’s Aston Martin DBR2 led for a time, was overtaken and finally retired.

So to the big race of the day, the International 100 for the Glover Trophy over 42 laps, for G.P. cars. Now Moss really met his match, for always Ireland in the new Team Lotus car was ahead of the 1959 Walker Cooper. Moreover, Innes looked calm, expressionless, whereas Stirling was hard at work, inner front wheel lifting, tail hanging out on the corners. Half-distance came, but still Moss hadn’t passed. He began really to pile on the pressure but to no avail. He would close up on the Lotus’ tail at Lavant but Ireland, driving with notable consistency, would pull away down the straight and hold his advantage to Fordwater, his low, compact car holding the road magnificently. At the finish the Lotus had 2.8 sec. in hand, having averaged 100.39 m.p.h., a race record. Moss had lapped fractionally quicker, establishing a new lap record of 102.13 m.p.h. A great race!

In third place Bristow drove the Yeoman Credit Cooper out on his own, Schell in the sister car having come up, only to retire with a broken throttle connection. McLaren, flinging his works Cooper about with his usual abandon, took fourth place, unable to catch Bristow, and after Salvadori had abandoned Atkins’ Cooper beyond the pits with sudden transmisaion failure the “vintage” brigade took up the remaining places—Graham Hill, only other driver to lap at over 100 m.p.h., in a rear-engined B.R.M., running clean away from Bonnier in a 1959 B.R.M., while Brooks in the lightweight Vanwall was finding three-wheeled cornering a bore and dropped a lap behind the B.R.M.s when he stopped to have a plug lead replaced. There were a few oldish cars popping and banging round for a while but the only other driver who counted, Dan Gurney in a new rear-engined BB.R.M., lost it at Lavant (did the steering fail or did Salvadori scare him?) and ran into a far-distant bank, closing up the car’s nose cowl. Stacey’s first F.1 ride ended when his Team Lotus broke an oil pipe after six laps; Mike Taylor’s 1959 works Lotus was never on form and also broke an oil pipe after eight laps

Innes Ireland was loudly acclaimed as he came round in a Borgward coupé holding his trophy out of the window.

Determined to win something for the Stars and Stripes, Moss stayed well ahead in the 10-lap Fordwater Trophy Closed-Car Race, his extremely noisy Aston Martin DB4 never being challenged by the 3.8 Jaguar saloons of Salvadori and Sears. Lumsden’s Lotus Elite beat Foster’s Twin-Cam M.G., Adams’ lightweight specially-tuned Speedwell Sprite coupé beat Sprinzel’s Sprite and Blydenstein’s Borgward vanquished a Volvo in the class results. Now for the trek home!—W. B.

Chichester Cup (F.J.): J. Clark (Lotus-Ford) … 90.47 m.p.h.

Lavant Cup (F.2): I. Ireland (Lotus-Climax) … 96.41 m.p.h

Sussex Trophy (Sports Cars): R. Salvadori (Cooper Monaco) … 89.96 m.p.h

Goodwood International 100″ (F.1): I. Ireland (Lotus-Climax)… 100.39 m.p.h.

Fordwater Trophy (Closed Cars): S. Moss (Aston Martin DB4) … 83.03 m.p.h.

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Goodwood Gatherings

In the Paddock, Innes Ireland, wearing a splendid teddy-bear coat over his racing overalls, reminded us of pre-war Brooklands—the age of motor racing for gentlemen.

Another link with Brooklands is the new “Goodwood ton” award, a miniature 1-ton weight mounted on a plinth. which goes to those drivers who lap at over 100 m.p.h.—Ireland, Hill, Moss—at Brooklands, special 100-m.p.h. car badges were so awarded.

Ireland was indeed the stone which rolled over Stirling—and was able to remain free of Moss! Remernber when he won the Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy?

Going out for the big race Moss’ Cooper shed its fire-extinguisher. Was this in acknowledgement of the light weight of the Lotus that was to show it the way home?

After Venner-Pack’s accident Team Speedwell telephoned to Adams to come to Goodwood post haste, to drive the Sprite in the Closed-Car race. Which did he enjoy most, winning his class, or the drive to Goodwood?

Very neat—the Coburn Commer Diesel van with overhead scaffolding from which their Cooper can he suspended for unloading or servicing.

Saturday was more exciting than the Monday. In practice Salvadori went straight on at the chicane and stopped with the Cooper’s engine revving madly—apparently there was no ignition switch, because he had to pull the plug leads off to stop it. Jimmy Clark bounced off the bank at Madgwick and altered the contours of the Aston Martin, and so on.

George L. Smith, of the Miami State Police Department, drove the blue and white Porsche of the Camoradi U.S.A. Racing Team in the Sussex Trophy race, the only notable thing about it was its Goodyear racing tyres.

Finally, warm congratulations to the B.A.R.C. on a first-rate meeting, proficiently orffanised. Next Goodwood fixture is a Members’ Race meeting on May 7th.