The Goodwood Revival continues to be one of the largest and most ambitious classic car events in the world. Here is part 2 of our 2-part reflection on the highlights of this year’s Revival, the 25th to have run since it started in 1998.
The first race of the event, the Sussex Trophy, for World Championship Sportscars 1955-1960, took place on the Friday evening. With the cars racing into the twilight.
With red hot brakes and side exhausts flaming out.
The wet track effectively stymied the bigger more powerful machines, which allowed the remarkably quick number 1 Lotus-Climax 15 of Andy Willis and Stephan Joebstl to come through from 9th on the grid and take the win.
Of course, aerodynamicist Frank Costin designed the Lotus 15, and another of his creations, the number 88 Lister-Jaguar, Costin hung on from another Lotus 15 to take second.
Goodwood managed to shoehorn in a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Jaguar XK engine, even though it was announced in 1948, on the basis that it really went into proper production in 1949. As well as some of the cars there to race, the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust brought along the prototype D-Type, OVC 501.
As well as NUB 120 the Alpine rally winning XK120 that did so much to put Jaguar’s name on the map worldwide before their success at Le Mans cemented company’s image of sporting success in the worldwide public imagination. NUB 120 was not a works car but was privately owned and crewed by Ian Appleyard and his wife Patricia, who was also Jaguar founder William Lyons’ daughter. It missed victory in its first ever event, the 1950 Tulip Rally in Holland, by one quarter of an inch. Appleyard didn’t make the same mistake twice and went on to win the 1950 Alpine Rally and many other events in the car. NUB 120’s success was early proof the car, and the new 3.4-litre XK engine lived up to the promised performance and looks.
The Revival has become so large the marshals have their work cut out managing the movement of cars and people in the pits because so much of the attraction of Goodwood is that visitors can get up close to both the cars drivers and pit crew. Its easy to get blaze about a 250 SWB Ferrari being pushed around a Porsche 904… That’s a potential insurance form no one wants to fill out. “I was pushing a priceless antique racing car when I was distracted by pink hair m’lord”.
Goodwood’s wartime role as an airbase and military hospital is never forgotten
But this year the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, D-Day, was remembered in the most spectacular way. After a moving tribute by the Duke of Richmond and a minute of silent reflection, a parade was led by the 1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith used by Field Marshall Montgomery, which was the first civilian vehicle to disembark in Normandy after D-Day, landing on Juno Beach. Monty wanted an impressive car that implied reliability, power and leadership. The car is now owned by the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) Museum in Worthy Down, UK, and was recently restored by Richard Hammond’s Restoration company, The Smallest Cog, in time for the celebrations in Normandy. Remarkably it contained Navy veteran John Dennett and Coastal Forces veteran George Chandler.
