80th Members' Meeting: Goodwood magic returns racing history to life

Who would have thought there are some 30 racing Lotus Cortinas? Not only do they exist, but they converged on Goodwood last weekend for an action-packed commemorative race at the Members’ Meeting, marking the 60th anniversary of the model taking to race tracks in the hands of Jim Clark, Sir John Whitmore et al.

These days they seem to have gained another 50-odd bhp.

Frequently sideways, the cars fought wheel-to-wheel throughout the pack. After a tough scrap for the lead, Sunday’s Jim Clark Trophy and race was won by 2013 BTCC champion Andrew Jordan and owner, Ireland’s David Dickenson: the two-driver 45-minute race pairing a gentleman owner with a pro-driver.

However particularly impressive was the front row starting position for former Japanese Touring Car Champ and Ford and BMW factory driver Steve Soper. “What’s wrong with these kids? I’m 71,” he joked. In the race, Soper’s co-driver dropped a lot of time so he finished 13th.

On its 80th running, the Goodwood Members’ Meeting once again delivered memorable racing, evocative machinery, and plenty of character in a reminder of why this revived format has been one of the historic racing calendar’s flagship events for the past nine years.

In a way the meeting is the baby brother of September’s Revival. There is less of the razzmatazz, the theatre, the dressing up, the manufacturer hospitality, the planes and aerial displays and the big name drivers. But there is more for the enthusiasts, less hassle, better access. Not that that there weren’t big names – Dario Franchitti and Tom Kristensen were both racing along with many of Britain’s leading touring car aces. Ron Dennis could be seen in the crowd. “I don’t do cars any more,” he said before heading for the assembly area.

As well as the racing there were some stunning displays: the Duke of Richmond picks up the phone and cars and people are prised out of the woodwork. Even Bernie Ecclestone lends him cars – more on that later. Then there are the daffodils everywhere, at the chicane, at the entrance, and along the banking. The mid-April date meant some were jaded, but a mighty splash of natural floral colour no less.

Indeed this was very much a Gordon Goodwood because the other stand-out display was of not one, but two, 1983 Brabham BT52s, the BMW-turbo powered dart-like machine Prof Gordon had to design in a rush after the late regulation change to flat-bottoms. Chassis 1 was provided by BMW Motorsport and David Brabham would happily demonstrate the machine. But so too was chassis 2, the car that Riccardo Patrese drove to victory in the season-closing South African GP. On Saturday Patrese was there too, greyer than 40 years ago but still looking fit and svelte. This and sister car 3 is owned by Ecclestone. The SA GP-winner had rested at Biggin Hill for 17 years until the Duke persuaded Bernie to allow it to run. It needed some work by Mr E’s personal ex-F1 mechanics Ted Higgins, Ray Boulter and Bruce McIntosh to get it in a fit state to compete the two five-lap demos.

But there was drama on Saturday afternoon when it died minutes before it was supposed to run. Gordon Murray looked on, Patrese – only there for the Saturday (Karun Chandhok would drive it on Sunday) — looked concerned. But a fresh battery cured the problem and the pair of cars then powered their way onto the track. David Brabham returned with the broadest grin ever, Patrese likewise, telling the Duke that it felt and fitted exactly as it had some 40 years ago.

Earlier there was a fine turn-out of Members’ Meeting regulars, the front-engined Formula Juniors built in 1958, 1959 and 1960. There were 18 different makes and co-ordinator Sarah Rabagliati reckoned their biggest ever turn-out of Fiat engined cars – indeed the four Stanguelinis lined up together looked magnificent. Sunday morning’s race was won by the Alexis Mk 2 of Stuart Roach, the Birmingham-built car was recently restored to the orange favoured by constructor Alex Francis. Perhaps his 36sec margin over Ray Mallock in the U2-Ford was helped by the fact that his father Major Arthur raced in period.

Another Members’ Meeting regular event is the S.F. Edge Trophy for Edwardian Racing cars and Aero-Engined Specials from the 20th Century. There was the usual turn-out of amazing machines ranging for the 1903 Mercedes 60hp from the Auto and Tecnik Museum to a 1923 Alfa Romeo Targa Florio. These cars with engines as big as 23 litres enjoyed two five-lap races. Saturday’s win went to Mark Walker whose 1905 Darracq who just held off the challenge of Julian Majzub in the Sunbeam Indianapolis which finished fourth at the Brickyard 107 years ago. Ben Collings was third in the 21-litre “Blitzen” Benz which set the land-speed record at 141.7mph at Daytona Beach in 1911. Sunday’s race saw a repeat result.

Saturday’s racing started with the Hailwood Trophy for pre-1983 motorbikes, followed by a 45-min two-driver race for sports-prototypes that raced between 1960 and 1966. The rules had been tweaked from previous years as the Lola T70s were excluded and in their place smaller capacity Lotus 23s and Chevron B8s were allowed to compete.

This proved to be an inspired move as Sandy Watson’s Chevron was brilliantly driven first by Garage 59 team boss Andrew Kirkcaldy and then Rofgo’s Stuart Hall. The two seasoned pros/team bosses got in amongst the quick GT40s, even led for a while and eventually finished second, despite a 10 sec penalty for a pit stop infringement. Victory went to none other than Dario Franchitti who took over from swift-starting owner Shaun Lynn. Previous Goodwood winners Miles Griffiths and Gordon Shedden lost their chance of victory when ‘Flash’ had an uncustomary spin. Also of note was a spirited race from Richard Bradley, driving a Lotus 30 for the first time. Despite a spin, the former Le Mans 24 Hours class winner took over from Japanese owner Katsuaki Kubota and got the wayward yellow machine up to seventh.

Sunday’s Tazio Nuvolari 20min race for sports cars raced up to 1939 saw Richard Bradley able to switch with ease from the Lotus 30 to a 1936 Aston Martin Speed Model Red Dragon and lead from start to finish ahead of the Gareth Burnett’s Alta.

The Tony Gaze Trophy race for road-going sports and GT cars that raced between 1948 to 1954 was expected to be dominated by the prototype HWM-Jaguar of Bobby Verdon-Roe but he immediately hit mechanical problems and so the win went to Jonathan Abecassis in an Austin Healey 100. Ironically his grandfather George was the co-founder of HWM.

The Salvadori Cup, the 20min race for sports-racing cars of the type that competed between 1955 to 1960, included Lister-Jaguars, Jaguar D-types and Lotus 15s. Off the pole Martin ‘Mighty Mouse’ Stretton screeched away from pole in Swiss Stefan Ziegler’s Lister-Jaguar. Stretton came under attack from first Michael Gans’ Lotus 15 and then David Hart’s Maserati. Despite brake problems Stretton hung on ahead of Hart. But the drive of the race came from former truck racer Shane Brereton in the ex-Moss Cooper Monaco. Brereton was put to the back of the grid after thinking the warm-up lap was the start. When the flag did drop, the rear-engine Cooper carved right through the field and in the closing stages traded places with Gans for third and lost out by inches after some grass-mowing moments.

The penultimate race was the Moss Trophy, another twenty minute dash for the closed GT cars that raced in the TT between 1958 and 1962, principally Jaguar E types and Cobras. It was James Cottingham who smoked the white Cobra into the lead from third place. But poleman Alex Buncombe found a way past in Bob Neville’s Jaguar E-type and the pair raced wheel to wheel, passing and re-passing until the flag. Finally Cottingham made it stick and the Ferrari dealer and British GT racer took the flag. Three-times Le Mans winner Benoît Treluyer started at the back and came through to sixth.

Once again the Members’ Meeting delivered in style with wonderful racing and jaw-dropping demonstrations: a fitting celebration of the circuit and the history made on its tarmac in this, its 75th year (the first Members’ meeting wasn’t, of course, 80 years ago, the BARC sometime ran a couple of such meetings a year).

Roll on the Revival.