Recession, what recession? So goes the cliché but, from the moment the gates were opened at Goodwood the numbers of people flowing into the Revival made it clear that this is the most popular and successful historic race event anywhere in the world. Champagne flowed, girls displayed some wonderful clothes and, lest I forget, there was almost non-stop action on the track. Fifteen races and their practice sessions are squeezed into three days along with track demonstrations and parades.
This year is the 80th birthday of Sir Stirling Moss and for all three days he and his wife Susie joined in what became a huge birthday party, at the end of which the whole circuit rang to the sound of three cheers from everyone there. Spectacular air displays were provided by World War 2 fighter and bomber machines, whilst a fifties Vulcan V-bomber totally drowned out the sound of the cars competing in the TT Celebration race on Sunday. As always this was the flagship event of the weekend and started with the E-Type of Grand Prix car designer Adrian Newey glued firmly to the bootlid of the 1964 Ferrari GTO entered by Anthony Bamford for Peter Hardman/Jean Marc Gounon. Never more than one or two car-lengths apart, these two thrilled the crowd playing cat-and-mouse together absolutely flat-out around the dauntingly fast undulating circuit. The sound of the GTO howling through Woodcote and changing down twice for the chicane each lap while on the limit was worth the entry fee to the meeting alone! Sadly, after losing the lead to Newey and then regaining it during the pit-stops, the GTO succumbed to engine problems leaving the F1 Man to an easy win.
Utterly nail-biting, right down to the last 200 metres, was the Fordwater Trophy for early sixties sportscars. Erstwhile leader Karsten le Blanc, in the ex-works Austin Healey 3000 DD 300 had headed the TVR Grantura of Ian Bankhurst for most of the race, using its power to keep ahead on the straights but, just when it seemed the race-leader had done all that was needed to win, it slid wide at the very last corner allowing the second-place man to slip through and take the prize to thunderous applause from the spectators. Down the field and, as usual, enjoying every minute of it, was Marco Cajani in his Scuderia del Portello Alfa Giulietta SS dicing with the Morgan of Knut Hallan, while Sandra McNeil howled her raucous Alfa SZ round slightly further up the same group.
Sir Stirling was out in his own Osca FS372, complete with its now-unique desmodronic valve-gear, in the Lavant Cup. At the front, this was another confrontation between Ferrari and Jaguar as the 246 S Dino of Leventis/Verdon Roe fought a battle with the Lister Jag of Monteverde/Pearson, while Juan Barazi and Stuart Mosely gave sonorous chase in the Ferrari 196 Dino. This time Maranello came out on top. Sadly the Moss Osca was forced to retire with mechanical problems.
Eighty cars turned out for the Moss 80th birthday parade, with an example of virtually everything he has driven in motorsport from his Monaco-winning Lotus 18 to the Humber Super Snipe in which he tackled fifteen countries in four days in 1952. Amongst other features for the weekend were a replica of the Earls Court Motor Show, a recreation of one of the 1950s UK car shows with Maserati and the Grist Alfa TZ2 to the fore, while close by was a Gulf showroom and petrol-station. Lord March and his team seem to have an inexhaustible supply of ideas for sideshows so that the public have plenty to get involved with when they want to take a break from being trackside. Also recreated was the Tourist Trophy Garage of the late Mike Hawthorn complete with his favourite Lancias outside.
Fifty years of the Mini meant that the traditional St Marys Trophy tin-top races were given over to Issigonis’ little devices. As usual the celebs had the first event, with the owners running on Sunday. The latter was the better event of the two with fierce dicing down the field. The only woman to have won a Formula One race, Desire Wilson, was entered and admitted that she had never driven a front-wheel drive car in anger before. “I just decided to be as smooth as possible” and it worked, as she held pole for a while during qualifying. Lukas Huni’s Maserati A6GCS was extremely quick in the Madgwick Cup, showing a clean pair of heels to its competition and Frank Stippler surprised many by his pace in Von Schenk’s Maserati 250F managing to hold off Richard Attwood’s Ferrari 246 Dino for many laps in the Richmond Trophy. For lovers of the obscure, it would take a lot to beat the resurrection of Michael Waller’s PM Poggi Fiat Formula Junior, but star of the show was the amazing recreation of one of the mythical and legendary Sharknose Ferrari 156 Grand Prix cars of 1961.
Back then, Enzo Ferrari famously used to scrap his unwanted Grand Prix cars at the end of each season and this has meant that none of the glorious nostril-nosed championship-winning F1 cars have survived. Total enthusiast Jan Biekens had other ideas though and arranged for specialist Jim Stokes to build a new one from scratch using original drawings. This meant, not only producing a chassis, but engines as well. Stokes has much experience in this field with the Lancia D50s and fielding Vogele’s Alfetta 159 and the final result of his team’s work was driven by an ‘over-the-moon’ Biekens for the first time only days before the event. “I am thrilled just to be able to drive it and here it is an even greater pleasure.”
Saturday qualifying revealed a vibration problem with a distributor so the car was rushed back to Stokes’ workshop overnight for repairs. The result was the sight and sound of something not seen in anger for over forty-five years. The sound of the car accelerating towards St Marys was spine-tingling.
These classic racing cars were Carlo Chiti’s last work for Ferrari before the famous ‘walk-out’ of late 1961 and it was ironic that the new car was sharing track and paddock space with the ATS, driven by Jason Wright, that Chiti designed after leaving Maranello and therefore could have been the Sharknose’s successor at Ferrari if the designer had stayed.
As always, everyone came away wondering how the show could be topped but, rest assured, Lord March’s team are probably working on it already.
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