The cars are the stars, with stars in the cars
2015 Goodwood Revival report
Author
- Mattijs Diepraam
Date
- September 24, 2015
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Who?David Brabham, Tom Kristensen, Gordon Shedden, Frank Stippler, Andrew Jordan What?Isuzu Bellett, Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt, Lotus Cortina, Alfa Romeo 1600 GTA, Lotus Cortina Where?Goodwood When?2015 Goodwood Revival (September 12, 2015) |
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Why?
So did the Goodwood Road Racing Club manage to get hold of a copy of the contract that the Zandvoort Historic GP organisers signed with the weather gods? Whatever the legal and meteorological shenanigans may have been, the 2015 Goodwood Revival was treated to three days of fair weather, with the outburst of rain that was forecast for Sunday only following on the Monday after. Meanwhile, Tom Kristensen and Chris Ward were the stars of the show, the Dane racing from last to first in the St. Mary’s Trophy, while Ward took two wins and nearly snatched a third.
The racing is always good at the Revival, the drivers realising the value (in every aspect) of a win at Goodwood, so the top drivers will always have a serious go for top spot. This year’s edition, however, was exceptionally good. The RAC TT may be the headline race of the event, and is usually a cracker, but the two St. Mary’s Trophy contests are often even more spectacular. The touring cars delivered on that promise again this year, with the pro race turning out to have been possibly the greatest race ever in 18 years of Revival history.
Jochen Mass is now almost part of the furniture at Goodwood. (photo 8W)
In the early running, the top trio of Frank Stippler’s GTA and the two Cortinas driven by Gordon Shedden and Andy Jordan provided us with a lead battle that kept spectators glued to their seats. And Tom Kristensen wasn’t even involved yet. The Dane had to start from the back following problems in practice, but was up into fourth before half-distance and used the excess power of his bellowing Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt to motor towards the three leading cars in no time at all. Once there, he quickly dispensed with all of them, after which he ran off into the distance, leaving Stippler and his two Cortina foes to fight for the remaining podium places.
It must be said that Kristensen had an unfair advantage with the American machine once developed by Holman Moody, as it requires a fair stretch of the imagination to regard this NASCAR monster as a ‘touring car’, but Kristensen’s run from last to first was impressive nonetheless and provided a hell of a show. The next day, Henry Mann gave the car an easy second win in the owners’ race, in which Nick Swift was the usual suspect for the honour of most spectacular driver. The Mini driver harried the GTA that Alex Furiani had taken over from Stippler, and got by a couple of times, but the Alfa Romeo always got back at the Mini on the straights. The crowd still applauded ‘Swifty’ for his efforts, since there was certainly no lack of trying.
Whereas Arie Luyendijk was a first-time guest on the Revival. (photo 8W)
More pictures of the Revival Friday
The RAC TT Celebration got off to an equally exciting start when Chris Ward in a Jaguar E-type soon passed Andrew Smith’s Cobra, with the Cobras of David Hart and Michael Squire in hot pursuit. The four would hand over the wheel to Gordon Shedden, Oliver Bryant, Giedo van der Garde and Frank Stippler respectively – with the threat of rain hanging over their heads. Wet conditions never materialised, however, and it was the Ward/Shedden Jag that simply powered away from the Cobras of Smith/Bryant and Squire/Stippler.
The Hart/Van der Garde car, last year’s glorious winner, was kept in the pitlane for 8 laps with brake problems. First it was thought that a caliper got stuck, but once that wasn’t found to be the case the crew had to search for another cause. It was found in the pedal box, where a loose footrest had found a way to block the brake pedal from releasing again… This is how 50p parts can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Turner/Procter Healey 100S charging past the Lucas building in the Friday night race. (photo 8W)
On Friday evening, Chris Ward had equally starred in the opening race of the weekend, the Freddie March Memorial Trophy for light sportscars from the fifties. Along with team mate Derek Hood, Ward was in a class of his own, driving their Cooper-Jaguar T33 to a win by over a lap.
Briefly, Ward looked on his way to a third victory when he led the weekend-closing Sussex Trophy in his Lister-Jaguar ‘Costin’ before pole man Bobby Verdon-Roe regained the initiative in his Ferrari 246S Dino, opening up a gap to Ward of three seconds on the finish line.
Period polka dots with period Ferraris. (photo 8W)
More pictures of the Revival Saturday
Another cracker was the Earl of March Trophy for 500cc cars. In a slipstreaming contest until the very last corner, Peter de la Roche somehow managed to overtake long-time leader George Shackleton around the outside at Woodcote and made the move stick into the chicane. In a desperate attempt at taking the lead back, Shackleton then ran wide across the grass, only to end up in a vicious tail-snapper, the overcorrection of which led to a double hard knock against the barriers on the left and then the pit wall on the right. Poor Shackleton was violently thrusted against his steering wheel on both occasions but proved to be OK afterwards.
The pre-war Brooklands Trophy became a battle between the brilliantly patinated Alfa Romeo 8C-2600 driven by Neil Twyman and Gareth Burnett’s Talbot AV105. The latter had put the Talbot on pole by four seconds but Twyman had the drop on him at the start and managed keep hold of the lead until the finish.
Battered Breadvan flashing past the pit wall. (photo 8W)
Nick Padmore won the Whitsun Trophy for big-banger sportscars from the sixties, leading from pole and surviving a safety-car period after a huge crash by Tony Sinclair’s similar Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder. The race was red-flagged after another smash by Shaun Lynn’s GT40.
The combined Richmond & Gordon Trophy race was won in dominant fashion by Rod Jolley’s Cooper-Climax T45/51. He was given free rein after his rival Roger Wills saw his Lotus 16 knocked out of the competition when it clipped at the chicane by backmarker Tom Bailey.
Goodwood's glorious late-afternoon sun smiling down on the Jags and Listers in the assembly area. (photo 8W)
More pictures of the Revival Sunday
After an all-Cobra and all-D-type race, the Lavant Cup was now exclusively held for Ferrari cars. An excess amount of Testa Rossas, Monzas and Tour de Frances turned this into the race with possibly the largest price tag. There wasn’t much excitement, though: James Cottingham easily won in his 500 TRC, helped by the 10-second time penalty handed to Carlos Monteverde for a jump start in his 750 Monza. The Brazilian’s speed was such that he still took second place.
Driving the ex-Jim Clark Lotus-Climax 25, Andy Middlehurst added his umpteenth Glover Trophy win to his tally. In a class of his own after Nick Fennell’s similar 25 and Martin Stretton’s Lotus-BRM 24 retired early on, Middlehurst ran away to a yet another win in the 1961-’65 F1 and Tasman race. Mark Gillies (ERA A-type) was another logical victor in the Goodwood Trophy for Grand Prix cars and voiturettes of the thirties and forties, while the Fordwater Trophy for smaller sportscars was won by John Young’s Jaguar XK120.
Neil Twyman's stunning Alfa Romeo 8C-2600 took honours in the pre-war Brooklands Trophy. (photo 8W)
As usual, there was much more to the Goodwood Revival than just racing. The tributes to Bruce McLaren and the Land Rover were nothing short of excellent while uniting all six original Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé cars was an amazing feat. Overhead, the air displays were less of a show given the recent disaster at nearby RAF Shoreham but the sheer multitude of aircraft involved in the Battle of Britain tribute was a sight in itself – as was the overwhelming number of Spitfires on display on the ground.
Even though to the regulars a slight reshuffling of the paddock areas – mimicking the Members Meeting lay-out – was the most dramatic nouveauté, the Goodwood Revival remains worth its every wile. After so many editions perhaps it’s best that the GRRC sticks to refining their winning formula instead of trying to make the headlines with yet another spectacular addition to the programme. Why fix it if ain’t broke?
Only at Goodwood... (photo 8W)
Bonus: More pictures taken on film with a period Soviet Zenit-E camera