Good cause for a celebration
Motor Sport is proud to sponsor this year’s Goodwood Revival, especially as it pays tribute to a special octogenarian…
By Ed Foster
Only a few weeks ago we were writing the Festival of Speed review, and here we are previewing the Revival. The gap between the two events is so short, and yet once again the team at Goodwood have come up trumps. The 12th Revival, on September 18-20, promises to be yet another cracker.
As usual anniversaries abound with 50 years having passed since one of the circuit’s most famous races – the 1959 Tourist Trophy in which Aston Martin won the World Sportscar Championship. The Revival will also celebrate 50 years of the Mini by filling the entire grid of the St Mary’s Trophy race with ‘saloon cars from the Mini family of a type that raced prior to 1966’. Watch out for some serious sideways action and some very close racing. It won’t be a surprise if this is one of the races of the weekend, considering that Rauno Aaltonen, Sir John Whitmore, Alec Poole, Richard Longman, Barrie Williams, Derek Bell, Jackie Oliver, Bobby Rahal and Brian Redman are all driving examples of Alec Issigonis’s creation.
There is a pair of ‘celebrity’ two-driver races – the Lavant Cup and the infamous TT – which will be dusted with stars including some of the above as well as Sir Stirling Moss, Jochen Mass, Emanuele Pirro, Gerhard Berger, Eddie Cheever, Christian Horner and Desiré Wilson.
No doubt many of you will have visited the Revival before, but do watch out for the action away from the track, not to mention the period fashions – rumours abound in the Motor Sport office of a strict dress code for its staff…
To tie in with the period theme, more than 70 members of the Goodwood Actors Guild will be getting into character around the circuit, and live bands will play rock ’n roll, jump blues, swing and other music from the 1940-60s.
Some £12 million worth of Spitfires, Hurricanes and other historic aircraft will be ‘dog-fighting’ in the Sussex sky, the BGC Earls Court Motor Show will be displaying ‘futuristic’ cars from the post-1966 era, Bonhams will hold its annual auction on the Friday evening (for details see p111) and, as usual, the car parks will be full with up to 1000 classic cars. These come courtesy of the general public – and the RAC/AA in some cases for getting them there…
A major highlight will be the celebrations for Sir Stirling Moss’s 80th birthday. Motor Sport’s guest editor this month will begin his ninth decade on September 17 and the weekend will feature ‘the finest collection of ex-Moss cars ever’. The Goodwood team has gathered 80 of the 96 cars that Stirling raced in his professional career, including the Mille Miglia-winning Mercedes-Benz 300SLR and his mother’s Morgan Aero. We doubt many drivers have such an eclectic array of past cars, or could look forward to 120,000 people dressed largely in period costume singing Happy Birthday to them.
All of us at Motor Sport HQ are looking forward to the Goodwood Revival, and we hope to see you all at our stand in the Revival market or in the GRRC members’ enclosure.
Goodwood Revival races
Lavant Cup (60 minutes, two drivers)
For World Championship sports cars in the spirit of the Goodwood TT races, 1958-59
Cars: Aston Martin DBR1, Ferrari Testa Rossa, Porsche RSK, Jaguar D-type, Lister-Jaguars, Tojeiros, Elvas, Lolas and Lotuses
Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration (60 minutes, two drivers)
For closed-cockpit GT cars in the spirit of the RAC TT races, 1960-64
Cars: Jaguar Lightweight E-type, Ferrari 250 SWB, GTO, 330 LMB, Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato and Project car, AC Cobra and original Shelby American Cobra Daytona
Brooklands Trophy
For sports cars in the spirit of Brooklands endurance races prior to 1939
Cars: Bentley 4 ½-litre, Mercedes-Benz SSKL, Alfa Romeo 8C, BMW 328, Talbot AV105, Bugattis, Invictas, Lagondas, Delahayes, Frazer Nashes, Aston Martins, MGs and Rileys
Madgwick Cup
For sports-racing cars under 2 litres of a type that raced between 1948-54
Cars: Coopers, Dargues, Kiefts, Lesters and Lotuses powered by both MG and Ford, Oscas and Maseratis
Fordwater Trophy
For production-based sports and GT cars in the spirit of the Goodwood Members’ Meetings, between 1960-66
Cars: Lotus Elite, MGB, Alfa Romeo Giulia SZ, Elva Courier, Ginetta G4, Triumph TR4, TVR Grantura
St Mary’s Trophy
For saloon cars from the Mini family of a type that raced prior to 1966
Cars: Mini Coopers, and lots of them. There will also be variants such as the Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet
Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy
Two races for 350-500cc motorcycles of a type that raced between 1962-66
Bikes: MV Agustas, Ducatis, Moto Guzzi, Aermacchis, AJSs, Nortons and Matchlesses
Freddie March Memorial Trophy
For cars in the spirit of the Goodwood Nine-Hour races between 1952-55
Cars: Jaguar C-type, Aston Martin DB3 and DB3S, Austin-Healey 1005, Ferrari 750, Allards and HWMs
Whitsun Trophy
For sports-racing prototypes of a type that raced between 1963-66
Cars: Ford GT40 (including a rare pre-64 model), Lotus 30, Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder, McLaren-Chevrolet M1 and Ferrari prototypes
Richmond Trophy
For front-engined Grand Prix cars of a type that raced between 1950-60
Cars: Maserati 250F, Ferrari 500 and 246 Dino, Aston Martin DBR4, BRM Type 25, Vanwalls, Cooper-Bristols Connaughts, HWMs and the four-wheel-drive Ferguson P99
Goodwood Trophy
For Grand Prix and Voiturette cars of a type that raced between 1930-50.
Cars: ERAs (in celebration of the marque’s 75th anniversary), Alfa Romeo 308C, Maserati 4CM, 6CM AND 8CM, Bugatti Type 54, Altas, Talbot Lagos and a collection of super-rare Alfa Romeo Tipo B monopostos
Glover Trophy
For 1.5-litre Formula 1 and Tasman cars of a type that raced between 1961-65
Cars: Lotus 21, 24, 25, 33, BRM 261, Ferrari Sharknose recreation, Scirocco-BRM, Coopers
Chichester Cup
For front-engined Formula Juniors that raced between 1958-60
Cars: Elvas, Lolas, Geminis, Stanguellinis, and many other Formula Junior one-offs