The Goodwood Revival – just where do you start? Over there Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti chatting with a pair of Revival debutants, six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson. The Scot has arranged for them to share Gregor Fiskin’s E-type in the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy. On the airfield there is an extraordinary Catalina Flying Boat amongst the Spitfires and Hurricanes.
In the marshalling area for the fabulous Ferrari parade is the ever-familiar bright green crash helmet of four-time Le Mans 24 winner Henri Pescarolo – I didn’t see his name in any publicity material. Talking Ferrari , the never seen in public 1951 Ferrari 375 Formula 1 car discreetly lent by Bernie Ecclestone. Who noticed the two mechanics looking after the car had a small Mr E embroidered on their overalls?.
Over in the next paddock area a large crowd has gathered. Is it former world champion Jenson Button signing autographs? Not so, the Hall and Hall mechanics are about to start up the ‘new’ BRM V16. In amongst a fine line-up of McLaren’s early Can-Am cars , Bruce’s own Austin 7. Leaning against the Plymouth Barracuda he is racing on Saturday, there is Mr Bean himself Rowan Atkinson – need I go on? Where do I look next? what have I missed!?
Away from the music of that V16 BRM bands are dotted around the site, everyone from the Black Kat Boopers to The Hoochie Toots. There are period hairdressers, pubs and costumiers, the fairground and even a couple of shoe-shine boys. VIPs are transported to the track in a fleet of vintage Rolls-Royces. The machine Sir Jackie Stewart described as the worst racing car he ever drove – the Rover-BRM turbine – is tucked away in a corner.
Button entertained the crowds
Goodwood
Then there are the spectators’ period costumes, I walk into a tunnel behind a lady with her stocking seams laser straight, the whole ensemble topped off with a magnificent hat. There are RAF officers, Italian priests, babies in period prams, a gaggle of nuns and group of schoolgirls – all with plaits.
One thing I couldn’t miss was the extraordinary film-set style ‘tableau’ at the front entrance. A UFO has crashed, still smoking, an alien has escaped, the police and army are on hand but there are protestors too and period press. It has nothing to do with motor racing, of course, but who cares – it is brilliant. Only at the Revival. But let’s not forget there are 15 highly competitive races over the three days on the fast and unchanged Goodwood track.
2022 Freddie March Memorial Trophy
After practice and qualifying, the racing proper kicked off on Friday evening with the one-hour, two-driver Freddie March Memorial Trophy race for sports cars in the spirit of the Goodwood ‘Nine-Hour’ races held between 1952 and 1955.
Mysterious UFO scene – typical of Goodwood entertainment
Goodwood
In period, the 9 Hours was dominated by Aston Martins with the DB3S and three were entered including Wolfgang Friedrich sharing his car as usual with Simon Hadfield. The Guy Harman and Nick Finburgh Cooper-Jaguar T53 jumped the start from pole and was also handed a penalty for a too-short driver change pitstop.
This left the road clear for American Fred Wakeman with Sam Hancock sharing a 1953 Jaguar C-type to take a well-judged 9sec victory over the similar but slightly older C-type of Nigel Webb and John Young. Nick Jarvis’s brutish Allard J2X was hustled to third place by Mike Grant-Peterkin and none other than Benoit Treluyer. The 2011, 2012 and 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour winner must have found the handling a little different to the Audi R18s he was used to.
Final chicane shenanigans in Jaguar MkII
Goodwood
The Harman/Finburgh Cooper eventually finished fourth, the 20sec penalty actually making no difference to the result, while the Friedrichs/Hadfield Aston was sixth. Almost unnoticed in ninth was another Cooper-Jaguar T33 in the hands of owner Katarina Kyvalova and the Swiss Simona de Silvestro, a five-time starter at the Indy 500.
2022 Madgwick Cup
Saturday’s race programme commenced with the 20 minute Madgwick Cup for under 2-litre sportscars raced between 1948 and 1955 – an interesting field pitting four Maserati A6GCS against a largely eclectic mix of British built machines. These were led by the German-owned but Wolverhampton-built centre-seat 1100cc Kieft-Climax, soundly placed on pole position by Hi-Tech Motorsport’s Miles Griffiths.