Tag Archives: Goodwood Members’ Meeting

I’m in with the In-Crowd

The Goodwood Members’ Meeting is one of the jewels in the crown of historic motorsport, featuring an amazing diversity of racing cars in action. So feast your eyes on the imagery of Simon Hildrew who has really captured the spirit of the event, you can almost smell the Castrol….

The late Autumn sunshine is a contrast to the customary Spring light, a change of seasons forced upon Goodwood by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impressive grid contesting the Gerry Marshall Trophy blasts away on the opening lap.

The previous generation of Touring Cars was also well represented in the Pierpoint Cup.


A V12 chorus stirs the enthusiastic crowd with the launch of no fewer than 14 Jaguar XJR-15s. This was a celebration of the car’s 30th birthday, also recalling the one-make series that culminated in the Million Dollar race at Spa, supporting the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix.

Dario Franchitti, a three-time Indy 500 winner, was entrusted to give the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 its debut on the move, more V12 goodness on display.

Memories were stirred by Bruno Senna in Uncle Ayrton’s McLaren MP4/6, another V12 siren song, this time from Honda.

Saturday’s practice sessions were a little moist, not that it dampened the spirits of this Ford Falcon Sprint.

As ever the paddock was crammed with treasure, a brace of Lotii, part of a tribute to Ayrton Senna.

Despite the challenges faced by His Grace and his team, the 78th Members’ Meeting at Goodwood was a cracking event, a fine way to close a difficult season.

Enjoy Simon’s fine work, yes we are back.

John Brooks, February 2022

The Rites of Spring

In life circumstances change constantly, sometimes to our benefit, sometimes not. The trick is to keep going and not let adversity overwhelm you. This collective has been a bit quiet in recent times, for many different reasons. However I am now resolved to kick start things once more as the height of summer approaches.

The more observant of you will have noticed that our star photographer, Simon Hildrew, has not been furnishing us with his usual top class material drawn for the historic racing scene here in the UK.

Whatever the reasons for the omission we are lucky to have him drop us a rich bundle of imagery from the Goodwood Members’ Meeting. The weather was pretty fair in sharp contrast to 2018 snow drifts.

There have also been a few issues with this site, probably due to the incompetence of the author, you can’t get the staff……………for the moment these have been resolved.

So by way of restitution for those kept waiting here is a wonderful gallery from a few months back. Goodwood at its very best.

John Brooks, July 2019

General Winter

Since its reintroduction in 2014 The Goodwood Members’ Meeting has become one of the ‘must-do’ events on the motoring calendar. It features all the good bits of its more famous sibling, The Revival, without all the crowds that spoil that occasion, at least for an old duffer like me.

As with everything in life there is a price to pay for such pleasures. Held now in March, the Members’ Meeting is subject to the capricious late winter weather in Sussex. Some years that means sunshine turning the swathes of daffodils decorating the track into a golden ribbon.

This year that delight was not on offer. Instead bitter winds and snow greeted those hardy souls who braved the elements and displayed their stiff upper lips, though whether that was a voluntary state or the work of the climate is open to question.

I declared earlier that the Members’ Meeting was a ‘must-do’ however this year even the offer of a ticket on the eve of the weekend could not tempt me from my warm office. A combination of looming deadlines on a couple of assignments and the prospect of encountering “The Beast from East” ensured that discretion was the better part of valour. No Mentioned in Dispatches from the South Downs for me.

Which is what those who took to the track in F5000 cars on Saturday surely warrant. Bonkers does not even begin to describe this situation, but the show must go on, unlike NASCAR at Martinsville this weekend just gone.

Indeed for all the praise heaped upon the competitors, the real heroes of the weekend were the marshals, track workers, those on towing duty in the car parks, indeed everyone associated with making the event not only happen but making it a one to remember.

One figure that was absent from Goodwood was Henry Hope-Frost, who was tragically killed in a motoring accident a week or so before the event.

Henry was a thoroughly good bloke, the very definition of petrol head, with ‘#fever’ as his trademark. He had been the voice of Goodwood for a number of years and was, and will be, missed by all who frequent the track.

I managed to watch a fair bit of the action thanks to the comprehensive coverage provided by Goodwood on the interweb. Saturday afternoon was spent flicking between that tab on the browser and IMSA TV’s footage of the Sebring 12 Hours. Not sure which I missed the most but that is how the cards fall sometimes.

Highlights of the action…………I am always in awe of the pre-war racers………..the Bolster Cup was like watching a high wire act without the net.

As was the Caracciola Sportwagenrennen…………madness, utter madness but enthralling.

Touring Car hooliganism was on display in the Gerry Marshall Sprint, the old boy would have laughed his head off…………..and ordered another round.

Always eagerly anticipated the demonstration runs featured F5000 and Group 5 era sports cars. That would be worth the cost of the ticket alone, steep though that is.

Personal highlight was the irrepressible Rob Huff in an E-type, displaying all the car control that a World Champion should.

Despite the adverse conditions the 76th Goodwood Members’ Meeting was much enjoyed by all who witnessed it, from the hardy souls who braved the weather to the delicate flowers such as I who gazed at their screens, looking forward to 2019!

John Brooks, March 2018

Enjoy Simon’s fabulous gallery………………….

View from the Gasworks End

The 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting was a perfect example of how to run a classic car event; speed with style, even the chilly weather did not soak us, rare for March down near Chichester.

Taking encouragement from others I broke out the Canon gear and shot for fun, I hope that the results are worth it.

John Brooks, April 2017

The Members Assemble

The recent 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting was a timely reminder of the good things about our sport. Great cars driven with verve and élan in front of a knowledgeable and enthusiastic audience, even the Spring weather held up, a great way to kick off another season.

Simon Hildrew was on hand armed with cameras, here is his brilliant catch.

John Brooks, March 2017

A Meeting of Members

John Elwin crossed The English Channel bound for Goodwood and the 74th Members Meeting, though it was not all plain sailing though as his observations show………Simon Hildrew is on his usual top form with cameras in hand.

2016 JB General

To the wider world the 2016 Goodwood  74th Members Meeting will be remembered for a couple of spectacular, if freakish, accidents which received widespread coverage but for those who took the trouble to go to the track on what was a bitterly cold weekend, it will long be recalled for some thrilling racing.

2016 JB General

In particular the rarely seen Edwardians, the thundering machines warming the hearts of an appreciative crowd. Demonstrations of three disparate groups of relatively modern racers were well received, but are they really necessary?

2016 JB General

A highlight of the event was the Alan Mann Memorial race, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ford’s famous Le Mans victory with an all-GT40 grid – some of which were even original cars! With much of the initial development work having been done at Goodwood, they provided an excellent spectacle as they raced into the dusk on Saturday evening. As a result of a litany of mechanical failures and incidents hitting others Steve Soper/David Cuff emerged as worthy winners.

2016 JB General

For sheer spectacle though, the GT40’s had to give best to the amazing array of machinery that appeared for the SF Edge Trophy race for Edwardian cars. These leviathans, many of them aero-engined, are rarely seen racing and the spectators were spellbound by a fantastic three-way battle for the lead as Duncan Pittaway’s relatively small GN-Curtiss emerged victorious, ahead of 23 year-old Argentinian Mathias Sielicki’s Delage V12 and Julian Majzub’s Sunbeam Indianapolis.

2016 JB General

The Gerry Marshall Trophy Group 1 Touring Car Race was actually two races, with Chris Ward (Rover SD1) winning Saturday’s 15-minute race from John Young’s Ford Capri and Nigel Garrett’s Chevrolet Camaro. Sunday’s 45-minute two-driver race saw father and son Grahame and Oliver Bryant driver to victory with Ward, co-driven by reigning BTCC champion Gordon Shedden in second place. Young, sharing with Steve Soper was third. Soper’s good fortune ran out in the Whitmore Cup race, retiring his Lotus Cortina to leave a slightly disappointed(!) Richard Meaden as runaway victor in another Cortina. Apparently Soper was the rapid journalist’s hero and he was looking forward to a battle.

2016 JB General

The Graham Hill Trophy GT race was ended under full-course yellows after Karsten Le Blanc crashed his Cobra heavily but the race for the lead had become a battle between a pair of Cobra Daytona Coupe’s, James Cottingham beating Andrew Smith to the flag by half a second.

2016 JB General

The Brooks Trophy race was fittingly won by Barry Cannell’s Cooper-Climax T51, an ex Brooks car! The race was marred by the potentially nasty accident that befell Stephen Bond. His Lotus 18 clipped a spinning Cooper exiting the chicane and was launched into the air, clearing the fencing and ending up hanging over the spectator tunnel, which fortunately was empty at the time, Bond suffering injuries to his shoulder.

2016 JB General

The Derek Bell Cup went to Andrew Hibberd (Brabham BT8) who was a comfortable winner once last years’ victor James King was forced into retirement. The Bruce McLaren Trophy was red-flagged after just two laps and not re-started following a serious accident. A body panel flew off Marc Devis’s Lola T70, hitting Michiel Smits, causing him to heavily crash his T70. There were serious concerns for his safety and he was eventually taken to hospital where he was found to have damaged vertabrae. Thankfully he is well on the road to recovery back home in Holland and has vowed to return next year. The brief race was awarded to Nick Padmore in yet another T70.

2016 JB General

Lengthy repairs were required to the tyre wall, with the result that the remaining races were reduced to just ten minutes in duration. Will Nuthall (Cooper-Bristol T23) won the Parnell Cup whilst Sam Hancock simply stormed off into the distance in the replica Cunningham C4R to claim the Peter Collins Trophy some 26 seconds clear of Steve Boultbee Brooks’ Aston Martin DB3S – and that after just ten minutes of racing!

2016 JB General

As has become de rigeur at Goodwood, three high speed demonstrations entertained the crowds between races. The first was for Super Touring cars, the class celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. A colourful array of machinery including Alfa Romeo, Audi, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Vauxhall and Volvo took to the track, all in original liveries. What’s more some were re-united with their original drivers, including former champions John Cleland, Andy Rouse and James Thompson, whilst the ever-enthusiastic Emanuele Pirro was back behind the wheel of the Audi A4 with which he began his long career with the manufacturer driving in Germany’s STW series in 1997. He was proud of the fact he was wearing his original overalls too!

2016 JB General

A Group 5 Sports car demonstration saw a mind-blowing array of Porsche 917’s, Ferrari 512’s and Lola T70 Mk3B’s blasting their way round the circuit. Adding to the occasion, former Le Mans winners Richard Attwood and Derek Bell took part in Porsche Salzburg and Gulf-liveried 917’s respectively.

2016 JB General

The F1 period being celebrated was the ground effect era; since this was also the Cosworth DFV era there was no shortage of cars. Since Lotus was effectively responsible for bringing both into F1so it was perhaps fitting that the marque dominated the display, Classic Team Lotus alone bringing six cars, including examples of Types 78 and 79. Clive Chapman himself got behind the wheel of the 88B, whilst Indianapolis 500 winner and avowed Lotus fan Dario Franchitti got his first taste of DFV power by driving the twin-chassis 88. He loved it!

2016 JB General

Inevitably questions have been raised once again about the safety of Goodwood in the modern era, but neither accident on the day could be attributed to the circuit. Good fortune played a part in Bond’s accident however. Had it happened at the much busier Revival Meeting the odds of spectators being in the Tunnel would have been higher, leading to a greater chance of injuries or worse. The accident involving the Lola T70’s raises different questions not entirely related to that particular incident.

2016 JB General

The reason the circuit was closed in 1966 was that cars of this type were simply becoming too fast for the venue. Fifty years on, the circuit remains much as it was in 1966, but these ‘historic’ cars have received continuous development, and at the same time whilst the current drivers are mostly competent they are not on a par with the likes of John Surtees or Graham Hill who raced them in period. Perhaps it is the competitors that should be under scrutiny rather than the circuit?

John Elwin, May 2016

The Right Crowd

73rd_Goodwood_Members_Meeting_2015-0048

The 73rd Members’ Meeting held at Goodwood a few weeks back was a resounding success according to all who attended. Less desperately crowded than the Festival of Speed and less theatrical than the Revival, the MM is focussed squarely on celebrating great racing cars.

73rd_Goodwood_Members_Meeting_2015-0029

Fortunately here at DDC we have the services of ace snapper Simon Hildrew who has really captured the spirit of the event. So enjoy this vision of great cars in a grand setting.

John Brooks, April 2015