fbpx
Select Page

Goodwood 75th Members Meeting

Photos: John Retter Photography  & Goodwood press office.  (JohnRetterPhotography)

The 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting kicked-off in true Goodwood style on Friday night when, to the delight of Lord March’s guests at the Members’ Meeting Governor’s Ball, a dozen incredibly noisy 2-stroke 250 and 350cc Grand Prix motorcycles tore through Goodwood House.

Spectators and guests were treated to twelve superb races over the weekend featuring a spectacular array of machinery, not to mention the celebrity drivers, a wide range food and entertainment off track and of course the Bonhams auction.

The 75th Members’ Meeting witnessed more than its fair share of on-track action, with Chris Ward’s bravery in both instalments of the Gerry Marshall Trophy being a standout. While his race ended prematurely, teen ace Richard Woolmer oversteered his little Sprite on its bumpstops in Friday’s wet qualifying session for the Weslake Trophy and annexed pole position by almost two seconds. His rivals were speechless. By the same token, nobody who watched this year’s S.F. Edge race for Edwardian leviathans is likely to forget it, the Delage versus GN battle for outright honours being memorable for all the right reasons.

The many High-Speed Demonstrations also had racegoers enraptured, not least those for 1990s GT cars and the even more dramatic three-litre sports-prototypes from two decades earlier. Add in visits from Grand Prix star David Coulthard and baking queen Mary Berry and the Members’ Meeting was bursting with star quality. For many, though, watching Le Mans winner Richard Attwood taking John Surtees’ first racing car, a Lola Formula Junior, for a spin was particularly poignant. ‘Il Grande John’, who was a great supporter of Goodwood, died earlier in March but memories of this giant of the sport remain immortal.

Highlights of the races include:

Surtees Trophy

A convincing win for Simon Hadfield during a spectacular Surtees Trophy encounter. The fastest race of the weekend for sports-prototypes that ran from 1962-66 saw the veteran driver blast his Lola T70 into an immediate lead as soon as the flag descended. He was never headed despite a safety car period after Laurie Bennett went off at St. Mary’s following a robust challenge, with other cars colliding after he regained the track. Once the race restarted, Hadfield scampered away, with Lola T70 man Tony Sinclair leading home Ford GT40 driver Sam Hancock after fighting for the podium positions.

Weslake Cup

James Colburn claimed honours in an incident-filled Weslake Cup which kicked off Sunday’s on-track action. Teenage sensation Richard Woolmer, who starred in Saturday’s wet qualifying aboard his Sebring Sprite, was slow off the line, James Colburn blasting into the lead from the outside of the front row in his Lenham Sprite GT as the flag descended. They proceeded to streak into the distance, swapping the lead repeatedly only for a safety car period to bunch up the field and obliterate their advantage. The race was restarted shortly before half-distance, only for Woolmer and James Dean in Stephen Skipworth’s Ecosse Sprite to connect almost immediately. Both cars were eliminated on the spot, fortunately without injury to either driver. The race was red-flagged, but Colburn was never headed once racing resumed although battles raged down the order right until the end.

“That was a great scrap with Richard,” the winner said later. “It certainly woke me up on a Sunday morning. It’s such a pleasure to be here and what a great race. It was fantastic.”

Gerry Marshall Trophy

Rover SD1 duo Gordon Shedden and Chris Ward pulled off a convincing victory in the Gerry Marshall Trophy race for 1970-82 saloon cars which brought Saturday’s on-track action to a close. Former Le Mans winner Mark Blundell was first to leave the line, albeit after jumping the start for which he received a 10sec penalty, but it was Stuart Graham who starred in the early laps aboard Nigel Garrett’s Camaro Z/28. However, Shedden and Ward soon asserted their dominance following the driver changes 20min in as the Camaro of Graeme and Oliver Bryant moved into second place with Garrett circulating in third. The safety car was deployed at two-third distance after Mike Wilds connected with the tyre wall in a Mazda RX-7, which erased the leaders’ 45sec lead at a stroke. Nevertheless, they clung on once racing resumed until the chequered flag descended after 52mins of fabulous racing.

Touring car star Shedden said later: “It was a fantastic win, and the Rover was much more fun to drive in the dry than this morning in the wet. It was huge fun, but the lights were at best average!”

In Sundays Gerry Marshall Trophy race…

Chris Ward picked up from where he left off to win Sunday’s instalment of the Gerry Marshall Trophy. The reverse-grid race worked brilliantly, with the fastest cars from Saturday’s race starting from the back of the field before working their way to the front. There was no stopping the blisteringly quick Rover SD1 of Ward, the veteran charger tearing up the order to take the lead three-quarters of the way into the 20min encounter. The star of the race for many, however, was Jim Morris in his Volkswagen Golf GTi who valiantly led for much of the distance, only to be bundled down to fourth with only a few minutes left to run.

An elated Ward said: ‘What a fantastic race. I loved it. What a great format, too. The driving standards out there were fantastic which made all the difference.”

Group A Demos

Touring car racing has long been a central theme at Goodwood, both in period and since the circuit reopened in 1998. This year, the Members’ Meeting is honouring the much-missed Group A category that blossomed during the 1980s. A wide variety of cars that competed in period have been taking to the track over the course of the weekend, ranging from the sublime (Jaguar XJ-S) to the faintly ridiculous (the ultra-rapid Volvo 240 Turbo ‘Flying Brick) via Rover SD1 Vitesse, BMW M3 and Sierra RS500. Not only that, ’80s tin-top heroes such as Steve Soper and Roberto Ravaglia have been steering them.

Derek Bell Cup

Andrew Hibberd was in a class of one as he claimed honours in the Derek Bell Cup at the 75th Members’ Meeting. The race for one-litre Formula Three ‘Screamers’ saw plenty of action up and down the order, with pole-sitter Hibberd surviving a grassy moment on the first lap to establish an unshakable lead. He simply disappeared into the distance during the 20-minute rate, steering the ex-Chequered Flag Brabham BT18 which won at Goodwood in period. Hibberd’s victory margin was an astonishing 39sec.

The jubilant victor said later: “It’s such a great track which really suits this type of car. I love this circuit and the Members’ Meeting is a great event.”

Scott Brown Trophy

Phil Keen picked up the win for the inaugural Scott Brown Trophy race, driving Jon Minshaw’s Lister Jaguar-Knobbly. Chris Ward put a great fight to challenge the lead, in the JD Classics Lister Costin-Jaguar but over cooked his tyres early on in the race. Martin Stretton was driving a wide Lister Jaguar Knobbly to keep Sam Hancock at bay for the early part of the race, but  Sam finally found a way through to pick up third, with a hard chasing Gary Pearson hot on his tail. It was thrilling action  from lights to flag, Steve Boultbee Brooks went for a couple of spins but otherwise it was incident free.

Pierpoint Cup

The Alan Mann Racing team must have been holding their breath watching Craig Davies and Steve Soper going wheel to wheel in the two Alan Mann liveried Ford Mustangs. Craig Davies won the race but it was a close run thing with both cars having a minor coming together and going for grassy excursions in the latter part of the race. Rob Hall kept them honest in the bright blue Ford Falcon Sprint, to come third, with Oliver Hart in 4th and Michael Squire rounding up the top 5.

For full results of the event please click here 

AUTO ADDICTS
VOLUME TWELVE

Stay in touch
To receive the latest news as it breaks

Stay in touch
To receive the latest news as it breaks