26th GOODWOOD REVIVAL

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For half its three-day run on 6-8 September, the high-theatre of the 2024 Goodwood Revival Meeting – the 26th dating back to 1998 – could have been sub-titled ‘Rainvival.’  Nonetheless, despite autumn’s initial bite after a mediocre British summer, the star performances were sensational, thrilling packed houses as ever.  As the audiences dispersed, some may have felt a warm glow as the Duke of Richmond & Gordon’s event boasted a green credential.  In a world first, all cars ran on sustainable fuels, a start to safeguarding historic motorsport’s future.  Marcus Pye reports…

Photo PA Courtesy Goodwood

Where F1 racers habitually spout PR speak platitudes, Americans continue to be refreshingly different when engaging with their public. Already a Goodwood fan favourite – “these are events I never want to miss” – seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson added his name to the Goodwood second era hall of fame by dominating Saturday evening’s Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy Pre-1963 GT showpiece.  The Californian shared, with Scottish Indycar hero Dario Franchitti, the Equipe Endeavour Aston Martin DB4GT in which Moss beat Roy Salvadori and Jack Sears in Jaguar Mk1s to win Easter Monday 1960’s Fordwater Trophy ‘closed car’ race here.

Ian Baxter repeated 2023’s success in the ex-Philip Jucker Alta after Mark Gillies lost oil pressure in ERA R3A in the closing laps of the Goodwood Trophy

But the best was yet to come.  Following a Sunday morning monsoon, in which the 500cc F3 race was abandoned in fear of the charismatic featherweight cars being washed off track towards Chichester Harbour, the weather turned for the afternoon’s RAC Tourist Trophy Celebration.  Starting on a damp track, the one-hour all-star feature saw British Touring Car Championship title fighters Tom Ingram and Jake Hill finish together after an awesome scrap in Mike Whitaker’s TVR Griffith 400 and Olly Bryant’s AC Cobra respectively.  Real racers, wrestling famous cars that locked horns here three decades before they were born, the duo earned a rapturous reception and Bryant the coveted Rolex Driver of the Meeting watch.  That winner Ingram shaved 0.012s from 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button’s 2022 record in Adrian Newey’s very special Jaguar E-type was a prized bonus.  Marcus Pye reports on all the races in our October 2024 issue.

Themes and Displays

Voted by the drivers we’ve spoken to as one of the “best Revivals ever,” this year the Goodwood estate offered its usual off-track attractions and activities, themed parades and displays.  Goodwood does it all with a style and panache unmatched at other race meetings.  We are also told that the Saturday night party was one of the best yet.  John Whiteman watched some of the non-race action and reports here…

John Surtees

The oft quoted claim that John Surtees is  “The only man to win World Championship titles on two wheels and four’” is still valid and arguably will become more so with the passing of time, as the increasing technical differences between the two disciplines makes the transition more and more difficult.  John Surtees also holds a special place in the pantheon of stars that have appeared at Goodwood over the years.  Along with Sir Stirling Moss the regrettably un-knighted Surtees was one of the first people the Earl of March, now the Duke of Richmond and Gordon turned to when he started on the dream of returning motor racing to the West Sussex circuit.  

To quote historian Doug Nye, Surtees was “dedicated, outspoken and totally focused upon his racing, he was a simply brilliant motorcyclist who then built a new career as one of the fastest racing drivers of his day”.  

Son of a motor-cycle racer and dealer in Kent, he rode Vincents and other machines before moving to Count Augusta’s MV in Italy, where he, as someone who took the trouble to learn the language, both during his time at MV and later at Ferrari, became extremely popular and was known as ‘Il Grande John’.  That competitiveness and single mindedness helped to contribute to his eventual falling out with Ferrari management and moving on mid-season to Cooper – with Italian Maserati power – before forming his own team in 1970.  Many examples of the ‘bikes and cars that were associated with Surtees over the years were paraded at the Revival over all three days.  An MV Augusta 500 was ridden on Saturday by Giacomo Agostini who succeeded John at MV, followed by numerous Lotus, BRM, Lola – both Formula One and Can-Am – as well as Surtees Formula One, 5000 and Formula 2 cars, one of which almost achieved the boss’ feat when multiple motor-cycle World champion Mike Hailwood won the European Formula 2 championship in 1972.  John Surtees’ widow Jane, together with their daughters, attended the event and joined the Duke for a couple of laps of the circuit in an Alfa Romeo convertible.

Jaguar XK engine

As the end of World War Two approached William, later Sir William, Lyons was well established in Coventry having relocated from early days in Blackpool as Swallow Sidecars and was beginning to think about the future of Jaguar cars.  During nighttime fire watching duties at Foleshill – Coventry was then the centre of car making in Britain and as such attracted very many bombing raids – Lyons ensured that at least one night a week his team of Bill Heynes, Walter Hassan and Claude Baily could devote some time thinking and planning a suitable engine for a range of cars post war.  They, of course, ultimately came up with the XK engine, which appeared in 1948 in the XK120 and caused a sensation at that year’s Earls Court Motor Show.  

Nigel Greensall and John Spier’s Lister Costin qualified 3rd in a very wet qualifying and finished second in the Sussex Trophy race

The straight six was used in motorsport from 1949 to 1966 and remained in production for a further 19 years, a truly magnificent achievement.  A track parade was held each day with many famous cars including XK120 rally and record breakers, C-types used at Le Mans, Goodwood and the Mille Miglia and D-types with much Goodwood and Le Mans history.  Both works and privately entered cars won, of course, many times at Le Mans and countless times all over the world.  The XK engine was available to other companies and was used successfully by Cooper, HWM, Tojeiro and Lister before seeing further use in a series of special E-types culminating in the ‘Lightweight’ as well as being dominant in Saloon racing until the advent of the Ford Galaxie, whose 7 litres eventually overcame the XK’s 3.4 then 3.8 litres.  A massive amount of research must have gone into sourcing many examples of all the these cars.  A truly an amazing engine conceived during Coventry’s and the country’s darkest hours.

‘D Day’ Landings 

Mention must be made of Sunday’s moving tribute and parade to mark 80 years since the ‘D Day’ landings in Normandy by 83,000 British and Canadian troops and 73,000 American soldiers that  commenced the liberation of Europe and ultimately the end of the Second World War.  As well as a huge parade of every type of vehicle including tanks, the tribute was attended by two veterans of the campaign both now approaching 100 years of age.  But for them, none of this would probably have taken place. 

See our October 2024 issue for the full event report…

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