Tag Archives: Goodwood Revival

A Revival, what we all need now.

DoubleDeClutch has been dormant for several months, too many paying projects, followed by the lock-down and the suspension of normal life due to the terrible virus that has wreaked such havoc on society. So, on a day that is grey and soggy, it is time to make the sun shine again, to truly believe that better days are ahead. What more fitting way to achieve this than to reflect on the recent past, courtesy of this fabulous photography from Simon Hildrew? More to follow as we get back up to speed but first a few reflections from Sussex.

Sitting in my office at lunchtime on the second Friday in June is a very unusual situation. For the past 37 years I would be running up and down the Le Mans Paddock and during the past decade I would be beginning to herd a bunch of grumpy cats, aka drivers, in the direction of Place des Jacobins for the Friday evening parade. At least I am spared that delight today.

We are living in weird times during this terrible pandemic, tomorrow there will be a virtual 24-hours of Le Mans, all very worthy I am sure, but not for me. I prefer my imagination to be rooted in the real world, even if it is the past.

So rather than a digital virtual world, let’s go analogue and where would be more appropriate than the Goodwood Revival?

Simon produced some stunning work back in September and it is high time to expose it to a wider audience, like this evocative moment in time from the Kinrara Trophy, surely automotive heaven.

I visited the Revival for the first time in several years and was greatly impressed at the high standard the event manages to maintain, even 20 years on from the first running. There is still great kudos in being invited by His Grace to compete, everyone who is anyone in the classic racing field has to be there.

It is also time to catch up with old friends and colleagues, such Peter Wyss, journalist and racer…….he has a podium at the Spa 24 to his credit.

Old friends come in many shapes and sizes, Andrew Cotton spotted an E-Type in the paddock, recognising it as the very car that his father had participated in many ’60s continental rallies, as a navigator. Big smiles were the order of the day, a common problem at the Revival.

Later in the day I was catching up with Ted Higgins, who was looking after this marvellous Vanwall, part of Bernie Ecclestone’s collection. We noticed a familiar face passing and it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Both champions in Gulf colours, James Weaver discusses style with Derek Bell.

Just count how many Le Mans victories are on parade here………..29 by my reckoning………..

There was a celebration of Sir Stirling Moss reaching his 90th birthday, with Lady Susie as guest of honour, here with His Grace in the timeless DBR1. Sadly, since this happy day the great champion has passed away.

The 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings was also celebrated with an impressive display of military hardware, including this Sherman.

The airfield played host to fabulous collection, including this Douglas DC-3, another veteran of 6th June 1944.

‘Give me Goodwood on a summer’s day and you can forget the rest’ declared Roy Salvadori back in the day. September is pretty good too, whether we will enjoy the experience this year is open to question, my thoughts are not positive. So we must make do with images from the past, beats the virtual world any day in my humble opinion, especially when it is Simon behind the lens.

Enjoy his gallery.

John Brooks, June 2020

A Last Lap at The Revival

The nights are drawing in, winter is on the way, a hard one after this year’s tropical summer say the usual prophets of doom. Well in that case we will need all the warmth of our memories to get us through to 2019 and Spring.

The Goodwood Revival is one of the signs that this part of the journey through the year is heading to the close. The 2018 edition was of the highest standard, both on and off the track, so much to see and experience.

The tribute to Rob Walker and his team, Rob Walker Racing, was a particular treat. The Goodwood Revival is an ideal platform for such expressions of respect, the audience has a strong element who will understand the significance of the cars they are seeing and will appreciate the efforts expended in assembling such a collection. Incidentally I came across this news the other day. “The Rob Walker Centenary Festival, organised by the Dorking Town Partnership, takes place on Sunday 21st October, 10am-4pm, with a parade of historic Rob Walker racing cars around the town.”  More information can be found HERE

 

Another salute at the Revival was to one of motorsport’s greats, Dan Gurney, who passed away in January. The 1967 Belgian Grand Prix winning Eagle-Westlake that Gurney drove was given an outing by Sir Jackie Stewart and Derek Bell, the former seen here chewing the fat with Jo Ramirez.

The Eagle-Westlake is surely the leading contender for the most handsome F1 car ever built, perhaps a little too advanced for its time, still stunning though.

While the cars are the stars the drivers do not feel completely in the shade, they are part of the show too. Here we have no fewer than 15 Le Mans victories lined up in this quartet. Andre Lotterer is still attempting to add to his hat-trick of wins, while Emanuele Pirro and Derek Bell will have to settle for five apiece. Odd man out Nic Minassian managed second in 2008 when his dominant Peugeot should have won comfortably.  He was a victim of monsoon rains and the performance of a lifetime from Audi’s Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish.

The ability of the public to interact with these stars of the track is one of the enduring attractions at Goodwood. Whether they would want to so in the case of this dodgy trio comprising of Steve Soper, Martin Donnelly and Dario Franchitti remains open to question.

There were the usual thespian antics on hand at the Revival, a modern day end of the pier show, well it takes all sorts.

 

RAF Westhampnett was on the front line during the Second World War and after the end of hostilities became the Goodwood circuit. So it is absolutely appropriate that the service to Britain that the men and women gave in that perilous time is honoured.

Away from the track and paddock there are many attractions and diversions, it would take more than three days of the event to sample them all.

 

It is a cliche, but rooted in truth as many cliches are, the Goodwood Revival is a must-do celebration of post-war motoring and motorsport. Looking forward to September 2019 let’s be inspired by this fabulous gallery from Simon Hildrew. Every picture tells a story.

John Brooks, September 2018

Horse Power at The Revival

Love it or loathe it the Prancing Horse of Ferrari casts a spell over all of  us motoring speed freaks. The Goodwood Revival is no exception to this rule, featuring some of the most desirable (and expensive!) cars to have been born in the stables of Maranello.

The “Breadvan” out on a delivery as the sun sets…………for many this is automotive heaven………and who could dispute that assertion? Five-time Le Mans’ winner, Emanuele Pirro, and Niklas Halusa  drove this unique creation to victory in the Kinrara Trophy race

A personal favourite? The 330 GTO………before my time but still breath taking.

Forget the stratospheric value of such cars and just admire their beauty while appreciating their performance, soon enough they will be too valuable to race in this fashion. All things must pass………in the meantime enjoy the fabulous collection of images from Simon Hildrew.

John Brooks, September 2018

 

Tin-Tops at the Revival

The Revival is without doubt one of the highlights of the historic motoring year. The quality of the cars and stars of the event are unique.

One of the most popular forms of racing with the bulging crowds at Goodwood are the various saloon races. Tin-tops have always been close to the hearts of the British motor sport public, just look at the success of the current BTCC.

Whether it is the powerful ‘Yank Tanks’ or the plucky Brits Minis, there is something for everyone to cheer. Like their modern descendants there are thrills and spills along the way. Fortunately everyone walked away although a few cars had more than a few dents that will ‘polish out’. Simon Hildrew was on hand to record this delight. So, in the first of several posts here is the story in pictures……….pure tin-top gold.

John Brooks, September 2018

A Revived Revival

 

2016 JE General

The nineteenth running of the Goodwood Revival was effectively the start of a new era, as the circuit has now been in operation for longer than originally, when racing began in September 1948 and ended in July 1966, partially for safety reasons. Little had changed at the circuit when racing resumed with the first Revival Meeting in 1998. Consequently, racing has been restricted to cars and ‘bikes that raced in period. That notwithstanding, developments have continued and Goodwood continues to astound, public enthusiasm for the Revival showing no signs of waning.

2016 JE General

Whilst the facility might have changed little in the intervening years, development of the machinery has continued a-pace, with many cars now going much faster than in the day – and that’s often without the star drivers that were behind the wheel way back when.
That was reflected in the way that the GT cars that normally contest the RAC Tourist Trophy were split into two groups, pre-1963 cars taking part in a newly-created event, the Kinrara Trophy, a one-hour race that ran into the twilight on Friday evening. Despite being a late addition to the programme, Dane Tom Kristensen stamped his authority on proceedings when he was drafted in to share Joe Macari’s Ferrari 250GT SWB. He firmly planted it on pole despite not having sat in the car before Friday morning, but the cars’ owner left him with a lot of work to do by dropping down to eighth in the opening stint of the race. He rose to the occasion, helped a little by others’ misfortunes, storming back up the order to win, the Ferrari completing the distance some 12.8-seconds ahead of the Martin Hunt/Patrick Blakeney Edwards Jaguar E-Type.

2016 JE General

The RAC Tourist Trophy Celebration occupied its traditional slot on Sunday afternoon, and catering purely for 1963-64 cars saw a healthy grid of predominantly AC Cobra and Jaguar E-Type machinery. The simple statistics will say that the Chris Ward/Gordon Shedden E-Type started from pole position and led away to eventually win from a trio of Cobra’s, the Michael Squire/Frank Stippler car heading Andrew Smith/Oliver Bryant and David Hart/Giedo van der Garde, but there was plenty of action along the way. Many considered that Shedden was lucky not to incur the wrath of the stewards when he lapsed into a bit of BTCC-style driving; a lively dice for the lead with van der Garde seeing the Cobra tapped into a spin by Shedden as they lapped backmarkers, effectively putting the Dutchmen out of contention.

2016 JE General

Saturday was wet, when a forecast that promised rain from 10am until 4pm proved to be rather accurate. The Goodwood Trohy race for pre ’51 grand prix cars opened proceedings and Calum Lockie ended up a jubilant winner in the slippery conditions his Maserati 6CM taking over at the front after five-times Goodwood winner Mark Gillies was forced to pit his ERA R3A for a plug change, rejoining to finish ninth. The podium was completed by Matt Grist’s Alfa Romeo P3 and Tom Dark’s Bugatti T73C.

2016 JE General

The Madgwick Cup for sub 3-litre sports prototypes from the 1960-66 era was something of a Lotus 23 benefit, with Andy Newall’s 23B getting the better of a scrap with Andrew Hibberd’s similar car. Joe Twyman would have made it an all-Lotus podium but a time penalty for an incident dropped him to fifth, elevating Max Bartell’s Elva-BMW Mk7S to third place.

2016 JE General

The St Mary’s Trophy race represented a departure for Goodwood but could be described as a retrospective look at the future, for it was a one-make race, something almost unheard-of in 1966 but now commonplace. The car in question was the diminutive Austin A35, a tiny unlikely-looking racer but with its readily tunable BMC A-Series engine it did indeed race in the day, largely thanks to the efforts of Graham Hill and John Sprinzel’s Speedwell concern. Anyway, celebrating its 60th birthday, a fleet of identically-prepared cars contested the two-part race, with the star drivers getting a baptism of water, on Saturday. Karun Chandhok remarked that he’s never driven anything with so little grip, whilst Goodwood debutant David Coulthard said he’d been told the car had about 90 horsepower, but he reckoned most of them were hiding in another paddock! Whatever, the touring car experts Andrew Jordan, Gordon Shedden and Steve Soper filled the podium on Saturday, whilst James Dorlin, Charles Knill-Jones and Mike Jordan did likewise on Sunday, overall victory going to the Jordan’s, despite getting through three engines during the weekend.

2016 JE General

The Lavant Cup, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the BMW 328, saw Martin Hunt’s Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica lead all the way except when it mattered – the last lap! He lost speed with a moment at Lavant allowing Malcolm Harrison’s Cooper-Bristol to snatch victory with pole-sitter Patrick Blakeney-Edwards (FN Targa Florio) finishing third. The rain was at its worst for the Whitsun Trophy, hardly ideal for the ‘big banger’ sportscars so it was perhaps fitting that race winner Rob Huff was awarded th Rolex Driver of the Weekend for his efforts in the Lotus-Oldsmobile-19. He had a mighty scrap with Mike Whitaker who had recovered from spinning his Lola T70 Spyder on the warm-up lap, only to have one or two grassy moments in the race. It was a somewhat heroic (or brave!) first-time outing at Goodwood. Third place went to Tiff Needell on board Paul Whight’s Lotus 30. With the weather starting to improve, Saturday’s racing ended with Richard Woolmer (HWM-Cadillac) winning the Freddie March Trophy, narrowly beating Rob Hall’s Aston Martin DB2 and Steve Boultbee-Brooks (Aston Martin DB3S).

2016 JE General

Sunday could not have been more different, with the sun shining down on Goodwood once more. The action started with the Chichester Cup for front-engined Formula Junior cars. Andrew Hibberd (Lola-Ford Mk2) inherited the lead, and victory, on the penultimate lap after misfortune befell others. Joe Colasacco’s Stanguellini-Fiat was a close second and Chrsis Drake’s Terrier third. Despite losing the nose from his Scarab after contact with Tony Wood’s Tec-Mec Maserati, Julian Bronson clung on to win the Richmand Trophy. A pair of Ferrari 246 Dino’s completed the podium, Andy Willis heading Rob Hall.

2016 JE General

Even though regular winner Andy Middlehurst did not take part in the Glover Trophy race, a Lotus 25 nevertheless still came out on top as Nick Fennell’s similarly Classic Team Lotus-prepared car got the better of a scrap with Martin Stretton’s Lotus-BRM 24. With Miles Griffith’s similar car in third place and Richard Attwood’s BRM P261 coming home fourth, that remarkably meant BRM engines in three of the first four cars. The final race of the weekend, the Sussex Trophy, fell to Chris Ward’s Lister-Jaguar Costin, from Gary Pearson’s Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ and James Cottingham’s Tojeiro-Jaguar, so bringing to a close a superb weekend’s racing with few major incidents and seemingly much improved diving standards.

2016 JE General

The Goodwood Revival is about so much more than just the racing and amongst many of the attractions there were tributes to Jack Brabham, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his third World Championship, uniquely driving a car bearing his own name. Sons David and Geoff, together with other family members and friends were on hand to mark the occasion and witness parades of the many varied cars from his career.

2016 JE General

That 1966 championship was the first of the 3-litre era, the new more powerful cars playing a part in the cessation of racing at Goodwood in 1966, but nevertheless here was a retrospective look to the future with demonstration laps of 3-litre F1 cars, including examples of Brabham, Cooper and McLaren that would have tested at Goodwood in the day, as well as three examples of the Lotus 49, the car that introduced the all-conquering Cosworth DFV to motor racing.

2016 JE General

Away from the track there was plenty to keep visitors occupied. The Earl’s Court Motor Show this year majored on Lamborghini, with everything from a tractor to the latest model. Dotted around the paddock a variety of period transporters could be seen, from the prosaic Morris Commercial-based transporter used to transport works BMC MGA’s, to the flamboyant Fiat originally supplied to the Scarab F1 team but subsequently owned by Shelby, who had to beef it up with an extra rear axle in order to bear the weight of the Cobra’s as they travelled around Europe. Even more unusual was a single-car transporter built by Dennis in nearby Guildford, better known for their fire engines and dustcarts.

2016 JE General

The air displays were somewhat muted this year in the wake of the tragedy in Shoreham a year ago. However, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight made its customary fly-past, whilst there were frequent displays during the weekend by the sole airworthy Bristol Blenheim, accompanied by Spitfire and Mustang.

2016 JE General

Back on the ground, we were reminded that it was 1966 by crowds of enthusiastic football supporters celebrating England’s success in the World Cup – looks like they might have to make that one last a bit longer yet!

2016 JE General

What will Goodwood have in store for the 20th Revival Meeting in 2017? A look back at 1998, perhaps?

John Elwin October 2016

Past Pleasures

2016 SH General

Summer starts to take its leave for another year and September arrives bringing in its wake a flurry of motoring extravaganzas to keep our spirits warm during the long dark times ahead. One of the highlights of these autumnal automotive celebrations is the Goodwood Revival. A report will be forthcoming in due course but our old friend Simon Hildrew was prowling the premises and has come up with this fantastic set of images for our enjoyment.

John Brooks, September 2015

Pictures at an Exhibition

The Goodwood Revival always is a riot of colour and excitement, captured here by ace snapper, Simon Hildrew, with a bit of support from the editor.

Autumn Colours

Goodwood Revival 2014 Picture by: Simon Hildrew www.simonhildrew.com

The 2014 Goodwood Revival has come and gone. The great and the good came to salute times past and more specifically, Sir Jackie Stewart.

Goodwood Revival 2014 Picture by: Simon Hildrew www.simonhildrew.com

Other national treasures such as John Surtees and Sir Stirling Moss were also present and in great demand.

Goodwood Revival 2014 Picture by: Simon Hildrew www.simonhildrew.com

Younger stars were also seen down in Sussex, like this cheeky chappie, recently graduated to the Werks Porsche team.

Goodwood Revival 2014 Picture by: Simon Hildrew www.simonhildrew.com

The three days on the South Coast are packed with great racing and many memories both past and present……….we are really fortunate to have this captured so eloquently by our old friend Simon Hildrew……pour a cup of coffee and take in the work of a real photographer.

John Brooks, October 2014