The 20th anniversary of the Goodwood Revival was a roaring success, with 146,000 people attending across the three days. Some 400 cars and motorbikes competed in 15 races, travelling from five continents.
Friday evening saw the start of racing, and it was Emanuele Pirro and Niklas Halusa who won the Kinrara Trophy in the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’. It was perhaps one of the most photogenic races ever staged, with the most glorious sunset as the cars raced down the Lavant Straight.
Opening the proceedings on Saturday, Darren Turner took his first ever win at the Revival, in the Fordwater Trophy, at the wheel of the works 1950 Aston Martin DB2. Sam Tordoff took second place in his 1953 Porsche 356 despite bogging down on the line and entering the first corner at the back of the pack.
We look at the highlights and race results below.
At the event’s prize giving, the Duke of Richmond presented several awards to the best and fastest drivers and riders of the weekend. The fastest lap on two wheels was given to Troy Corser on the 1929 BMW R57 Compressor for a 1min 32.927 lap. However, the fastest lap of the weekend went to Karun Chandhok in a 1964 McLaren-Chevrolet M1A for a 1m 20.238.
The Rolex Driver of the Meeting was presented to Darren Turner for winning the Fordwater Trophy, coming second in the Whitsun Trophy and having a great drive in the TT, all without making any contact with another competitor, three very competitive races in three very different cars.
Freddie March Trophy
Martin Hunt claimed honours in the 25-minute Freddie March Memorial Trophy race, which brought the curtain down on Saturday’s on-track action. The HWM-Jaguar driver vied for the lead with four-time winner Darren McWhirter in his Lagonda V12 for the first few corners, but he had streaked into a lead of 3.9sec by the end of the opening lap. McWhirter fought back while dropping third-place man Richard Woolmer in Matthew Collings’ HWM-Cadillac, and briefly looked set to challenge for the lead on the second tour, but Hunt responded and stamped his authority. His advantage was nullified, however, following a safety car period to rescue Alain Rüede’s stricken Cunningham C4R from a gravel trap.
Once racing resumed with nine minutes left to run, Hunt picked up from where he left off and recorded a time that was eight-tenths of a second faster than his pole lap. His margin of victory after 13 storming laps was 10.359sec. McWhirter held on for second, with last year’s winner Woolmer claiming the third spot.
Jack Sears Trophy
In the inaugural Jack Sears Memorial Trophy it was the Jaguar Mk1 that proved to be the car to beat, with three of them on the podium, the winning driver, however, was John Young in a 1958 Jaguar Mk1. First A30 home was of course our very own Mike Thorne, bringing home the first A30 of the pack ahead of A30 experts and fellow team member James Colburn who succumbed to a burst oil seal, Marino Franchitti who ended his race on James’ oil and engine guru Neil Brown who got caught up in the first lap mele. Go Mike!
Goodwood Trophy
Former British GT Champion Callum Lockie claimed repeat Goodwood Trophy honours this afternoon to go with his 2016 triumph. The Scotsman guided Sean Danaher’s nimble Maserati 6CM to win the 20-minute race for Grand Prix and Voiturette cars built and raced between 1930 and ’51. Five-time winner Mark Gillies didn’t make it easy for him, however, and the ERA man led at various points, and only 0.4sec blanketed the top two as the chequered flag descended. Tom Dark had featured during the early laps in his Bugatti T73C, only to lose pace in the final few laps. Gareth Burnett avoided a late scare when lapping an errant backmarker to take the final podium spot in David Baldock’s two-litre Alta.
Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy
Australian superstar Troy Corser starred on Sunday afternoon as he and wingman Herbert Schwab won the second thrilling instalment of the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy.
Glen English dominated the early running aboard his Norton Manx, and was leading by 2.6sec at the end of the first lap. He had extended this to 5.47sec by the end of the third tour, and to an incredible 13sec by the time he pitted to hand over the ’bike to 23-time Isle of Man TT winner, John McGuinness. Second place man Schwab had already pitted, and there was no stopping Corser aboard his supercharged 1929 BMW R57. He ate into McGuinness’ lead, clawing back the deficit. He was clocked at an incredible 125mph more than once, and streaked past McGuiness with five minutes left to run. He had time to pat his friend on the back as he did so… Corser’s margin of victory was 11.628sec. English and McGuinness were second from Ian Bain and James Hillier.
Sussex Trophy
Phil Keen brought the curtain down on the 2018 Goodwood Revival Meeting with a brilliant drive to win from the pitlane. The British GT charger had qualified Jon Minshaw’s Lister-Jaguar on pole, only to have problems on the grid. The car was pushed into the pitlane, Keen being obliged to watch the entire field flash past before he could embark on the mother of all comeback drives.
Front-row starter Roger Wills disappeared off up the road at the start, leading Sam Hancock’s Ferrari 246S Dino by 2.59sec at the end of the first lap, with Oliver Bryant’s Lotus 15 mere inches behind. Wills continued to eke out the advantage as Hancock and Bryant squabbled, while Keen tore through the pack. He repeatedly dipped below his qualifying times, tripping the beams on the second speed trap on the Lavant Straight at 150.4mph. With ten minutes of the 25-minute race left to run, he had worked his way onto the back of Hancock’s Ferrari who had been dropped by Bryant’s nimble Lotus. On lap 15, Keen made his way up to second place with a bold move on the outside of Madgwick and set off after Wills. He ate into the Kiwi’s lead and worked his past on the penultimate tour after Wills dropped a wheel over the kerb on the exit of Lavant and was forced to correct a wobble. He didn’t slacken his pace to the flag, his team manager shedding a tear as the Lister crossed the finish line.
Kinrara Trophy
Emanuele Pirro and Niklas Halusa claimed a convincing victory in the Kinrara Trophy race, which kicked off the racing action at the 2018 Goodwood Revival Meeting on Friday evening. The Ferrari 250GT SWB ‘Breadvan’ duo were made to work for the win, however, with Jaguar E-type pairing Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen being a threat for much of the one-hour running. It was only in the final few laps that the win was assured for veteran Pirro and his young wingman.
Halusa was slow off the blocks at the start of the race, the Austrian’s Ferrari smoking its rear tyres as it struggled to find traction. Even so, the pole-sitting ‘Breadvan’ was in the lead as the field arrived at Madgwick for the first time. Halusa belied his lack of experience by keeping the fast-starting Minshaw at bay for the first two laps, only to get jumped at Madgwick third time around. He returned the favour at the same spot a lap later, and the warring duo continued to trade places as they streaked away from the rest of the field. Just 0.47sec covered the top two at quarter-distance, and there was barely a car’s length between them when the pits opened for driver changes 23 minutes in.
Minshaw was the first to blink, with Keen emerging on track in third place behind the Franklin/Lindsay E-type and the leading ‘Breadvan’. Halusa pitted 15 laps in, with Pirro venturing onto the circuit a few seconds after Keen had assumed the lead at the chicane. The race soon returned to a Ferrari versus Jaguar battle, with five-time Le Mans winner Pirro taking the lead at half-distance. The Roman wasn’t allowed to escape, though, and Keen nosed ahead in traffic, but the ‘Breadvan’ wasn’t to be denied. In the final quarter-of-an-hour, Pirro gradually eked out an advantage after Keen lost time amid errant backmarkers.
In the closing minutes, all eyes were on the battle for third place. Nigel Greensall had seemed assured of the position aboard the E-type roadster he was sharing with the car’s owner, Chris Milner. Nevertheless, Rob Huff threw caution to the wind in the E-type coupé started by Richard Meins, the former World Touring Car Champion guided the car on its lock-stops as he chased down his rival, and was glued to his tail with only 40-seconds left to run. Huff didn’t let the small matter of an unsecured bonnet obscuring his windscreen slacken his pace, and he pushed Greensall wide at Lavant to take the place. It was a thrilling end to a race that rarely lacked for dramatic dices.
Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration
Father and son duo David and Olivier Hart claimed a convincing win in the 45-minute RAC TT Celebration thriller on Sunday afternoon. The Cobra pairing scored from pole position, but their win was far from assured. Hart Sr led during the early running, heading a train of four Cobras plus Jon Minshaw’s Jaguar E-type, only to be given a five-second penalty for glancing the chicane. He continued to lead on the road until he pitted with 30 minutes left to run, handing the car over to his teenage son to drive to the flag. Veteran racer Martin Stretton assumed the lead in the meantime aboard the Cobra he was sharing with Karsten Le Blanc, and was one of the last to pit. ‘Danger Mouse’ waited a further ten minutes before swapping seats with the car’s owner.
Once the driver changes were complete, there was no stopping Hart Jr, although Phil Keen – in for Minshaw – threatened, but ultimately had to settle for second place. Third place was only settled on the final lap, with the Mike Whittaker/Mike Jordan TVR Griffith just fending off a very determined Le Mans hero Roman Dumas in Bill Shepherd’s Cobra.
For Full race results click here
Photos by John Retter Photography
