Event of the month -- Goodwood Revival
Sunshine, racing cars and very big hats… Marcus Simmons absorbs the unique atmosphere that can only spell one place
Ever the showman, Emanuele Pirro blew kisses to the crowd on the slowdown lap after taking the ex-Red Rose Racing Lightweight Jaguar E-type to a superb victory in the RAC TT Celebration, the crowning glory of the Goodwood Revival race weekend. Pirro and co-driver Dario Franchitti, who was making his Goodwood race debut, were headed only during the pitstop cycle as they fended off the challenge of another E-type, driven by Ludovic Lindsay and Gerhard Berger.
Franchitti did a great job to defend from Lindsay — who in turn had the Ferrari 330 LMB of Bobby Rahal hard on his heels — during the first half. But Franchitti’s handover to Pirro took eight seconds less than Lindsay’s swap with Berger, while the Ferrari lost more than a lap as a rear tyre was changed before Peter Hardman resumed.
Berger was given a glimmer of hope when the safety car appeared to retrieve the Corvette Sting Ray of John Young, who had been running a spectacular fourth early on, from the grass at Lavant. There were only two backmarkers between the Jags at the restart, but Pirro was unflappable.
Up to third came the AC Cobra of Nicolas Minassian and Patrick Tambay. The younger Frenchman carved through from 12th on the grid to fifth, while veteran Tambay then lapped almost as quickly to see off another Cobra, that of Sir John Whitmore and Shaun Lynn.
Like Minassian, Desiré Wilson rose up the order and was rewarded with a fine fifth, even though co-driver Lyn St James drove the Daytona Cobra much more slowly.
Whitmore starred in the best race of the weekend, the first heat of the St Mary’s Trophy for saloon cars. He appeared to be escaping the pack in his Ford Mustang, but by half-distance had been reeled in by a marauding bunch comprising Jackie Oliver (Galaxie), Bobby Rahal (Falcon), John Fitzpatrick (Galaxie) and Vitantonio Liuzzi (Plymouth Barracuda). Whitmore then momentarily took to the gravel at Madgwick, Rahal suffered steering problems and Liuzzi stopped with a broken throttle cable, so Oliver was suddenly left alone to head home Fitzpatrick, the recovering Whitmore and the brilliant would-be giant-killing pair of Narain Karthikeyan (Lotus Cortina) and Barrie Williams (Mini).
Alan Jones had taken a steady sixth in Leo Voyazides’s Falcon, but on Sunday the car owner more than recovered the 21-second deficit to make off with the aggregate victory. A highlight was the scrap for second, won by Richard Oldworth (in the Rahal Falcon) from Shaun Lynn (sharing with Oliver).
Gary Pearson missed out on honours in the Freddie March Trophy when his C-type was narrowly beaten by the HWM-Jaguar of Michael Steele, but he more than made up for it with a blinding drive to victory in the weekend-closing Sussex Trophy in his Lister-Jag. Pearson soaked up the pressure from the drifting Aston DBR1 of Peter Hardman, while polewinner Tony Dron worked his way through to third in his slow-starting Ferrari 246S. A great battle for fourth between Tiff Needell (Lister-Jag), Stuart Graham (Lister-Chevy) and Barrie Williams (Tojeiro-Jag) got rather untidy towards the close before Graham emerged ahead.
Among the other sportscar action, historics newboy Sam Hancock put in a very composed drive to win the Whitsun Trophy in his Ford GT40. Before that, though, he had to battle with the Lola T70 of Colin Blower, while Adrian Newey snapped at their heels in his GT40 before he retired with gearbox problems.
Single-seater action was notable for some large accidents suffered by Thomas Bscher (BRM P261), Ted Rollason (Cooper T53) and Willie Green (Maserati 4CLT — see page 90). Bscher’s incident, on oil at Fordwater, appeared to leave the way clear for James King to win the Glover Trophy race, but the American’s Brabham BT7 broke a driveshaft, allowing Sid Hoole to take a surprise win in his Cooper T66. Ludovic Lindsay stayed firm to win an all-ERA battle with Mark Gillies in the twice-stopped Pre-55 group, while Michael Schryver’s Lotus 18 (featured on this month’s front cover) topped the 1954-61 event after passing Rollason.
The other meeting highlight was a stunning 30-car Formula Junior field. Runaway race-winner Edwin Jowsey’s average speed in his Lotus 22 was higher than Hoole’s from the same-era F1 thrash!
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Canadian’s rocky start
If Ray Boissoneau’s Chinook was not exactly sorted when it raced at the Revival, it’s understandable: after spending 20 years in pieces in the US awaiting a rebuild, it was completed only days before Goodwood.
Built by the Fejer brothers in Toronto in the 1960s, the Chinook chassis was a copy of McLaren’s M1A. Bruce McLaren used Fejer’s workshop when in Canada and allowed the crib as a thank you. Only a handful of Chinooks were made, achieving occasional decent results: this one, called Mk 5, is George Fejer’s own development car and is probably the original chassis with all his upgrades.
Anthony Taylor, whose Autotune firm rebuilt the car and who raced it when Boissoneau couldn’t attend, says the car was broadly complete. Some parts have been a problem, but George Fejer has helped with the research. They also have most of a second car, a Mk2, ready to build up next season. The Mk5 came with a 6.2 Chevy, but in the rush for Goodwood they settled for a ready-built 5.7. Prior to the Revival the only running it had done was three laps of a local kart track. And if the nose reminds you of something else, rumour says the Mk5 body was scaled up from a model of a Chaparral 2E… — GC
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Madras man spices things up
Current Formula One drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi proved their outstanding talent in an entirely different context in Saturday’s St Mary’s Trophy saloon car race in Lotus Cortina and Plymouth Barracuda respectively.
The Indian won the battle after the Italian’s sensationally driven American V8 coasted silently to a halt, but he was no less worthy for his efforts in Ivor Miller’s machine.
From the moment qualifying began Karthikeyan, a man whose car control has never been in doubt, was thrilling the crowds with his exhibitionist driving style. And the man himself was getting just as much enjoyment behind the wheel as those he was entertaining.
“I wanted to have some fun and a bit of relaxation, he said “Tony Jardine (ITV’s F1 pundit, who was also out in a Mini) was talking to me about doing it and Ivor was kind enough to let me drive. Before the race I had just the 11 Iaps in qualifying — and I’d never raced a saloon before.
“It’s easy to opposite-lock, but because there are a lot of bumps here it’s also easy to get into a tankslapper. But I tell you, this bloody circuit must have been incredible in an F1 car!”
Karthikeyan played the Goodwood dressing-up game on Friday by donning period Indian clothing — “I wore those clothes last year at my wedding!” — while his manager Piers Hunnisett looked rather spivvy (“I’m a 1950s insurance salesman, he blurted). Hunnisett, who beat Oliver Gavin and Dario Franchitti to the 1992 Vauxhall Lotus title, would surely do a good job too. Wouldn’t it be good to see him and Karthikeyan team up in the TT Celebration next year?
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Race results:
Goodwood Trophy (2 laps): 1. Ludovic Lindsay (ERA R5B), 3m 11.170s (90.39mph); 2. Mark Gillies (ERA R3A); 3. Barrie Williams (Connaught-Alta A-type); 4. Greg Snape (Kieft-Climax GP). FL: Williams, 1m 33.134s (92.77mph)
Chichester Cup (12 laps): 1. Edwin Jowsey (Lotus-Ford 22), 17m 42.416s (97.58mph); 2. Gavin Pickering (Lotus-Ford 20); 3. Denis Welch (Merlyn-Ford Mk5); 4. Mike Hibberd (Lotus-Ford 27). FL: Jowsey, 1m 26.896s (99.42mph)
Whitsun Trophy (18 laps): 1. Sam Hancock (Ford GT40), 25m 49.936c (100.34mph); 2. Colin Blower (Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder); 3. Shaun Lynn (Ford GT40); 4. Nick Whale (McLaren-Chevrolet M1B). FL: Hancock 1m 23.729s (103.20mph)
Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy (2×8 laps) : 1. Duncan Fitchett (Manx Norton), 22. 40.606s (93.36mph); 2. Jamie Whitham (Manx Norton); 3. Chas Mortimer (Manx Norton); 4. Scott Smart (Manx Norton). FL: Whitham: 1m 30.128s (95.86mph)
Earl of March Trophy (8 laps): 1. David Lecoq (Petty-Norton) 14m 45.890s (78.02mph); 2. Richard Utley (JBS-Norton); 3. Rodney Delves (Kieft-Norton CK532); 4. Neil Hodges (Cooper JAP Mk8). FL: Lecoq 1m 49.080s (79.20mph)
St Mary’s Trophy (2×14 laps): Jones/Voyazides (Ford Falcon), 44m 32.516s (90.52mph); 2. Oliver/Lynn (Ford Galaxie 500); 3. Whitmore/Mann (Ford Mustang); 4. Jardine/Davis (Morris Mini-Cooper S). FL: Voyazides 1m 32,761s (93.14mph)
Brooklands Trophy (12 laps): Duncan Ricketts (Riley Dixon Spl), 20m 17.454s (85.16mph); 2. Thyomas Bscher (Alfa Romeo Tipo B); 3. Tony Smith (Alfa Romeo Tipo B); 4. Michael Gans (Bugatti Type 35B). FL: Bscher 1m 38.691s (87.54mph)
Freddie March Memorial Trophy (12 laps): 1. Michael Steele (HWM-Jaguar) 19m 24.671s (89.02mph); 2. Gary Pearson (Jaguar C-type); 3. Darren McWhirter (Lagonda V12 Le Mans); 4. Jochen Mass (Lancia D24). FL: Steele 1m 34.134s (91.78mph)
Fordwater Trophy (12 laps): 1. Chris Clarkson (Austin-Healey 3000), 19m 23.852s (89.08mph); 2. Rick Bourne (Morgan Plus 4); 3. Joe Bamford (MGB); 4. Michael Salmon (Jaguar XKSS). FL: Bourne 1m 35.552s (90.42mph)
Richmond & Gordon Trophies (15 laps): 1. Michael Schryver (Lotus-Climax 18), 22m 04.393s (97.85mph); 2. Joaquin Folch (Lotus-Climax 16); 3. Duncan Dayton (Lotus-Climax 16); 4. Barry Cannell (Cooper-Climax T53). FL: Schryver 1m 25.354s (101.22mph).
RAC TT Celebration (1 hour): 1. Dario Franchitti/Emanuel Pirro (Jaguar E-type), 38 laps in 1h 00m 53.987s (89.85mph); 2. Ludovic Lindsay/Gerhard Berger (Jaguar E-type); 3. Nicolas Minassian/Patrick Tambay (AC Cobra); 4. John Whitmore/Shaun Lynn (AC Cobra). FL: Franchitti 1m 29.592s (97.52mph)
Glover Trophy (9 laps): 1. Sid Hoole (Cooper-Climax T66) 13m 29.970s (96.00mph); 2. Phil Harris (Lotus-BRM 24); 3. John Clark (Lola-Climax Mk4); 4. Malcolm Ricketts (Lotus-Climax 32B). FL: James King (Brabham-Climax BT7) 1m 27.558s (98.67mph)
Sussex Trophy (15 laps): 1. Gary Pearson (Lister-Jaguar) 22m 10.068s (97.43mph); 2. Peter Hardman (Aston Martin DBR1); 3. Tony Dron (Ferrari 246S Dino); 4. Stuart Graham (Lister-Chevrolet). FL: Dron 1m 27.585s (98.64mph)