Goodwood Revival 2010

I've wanted to visit the Goodwood Revival for a number of years and finally in 2010 I made the decision to go, prompted in part by the fact that I was able to borrow my father's 1969 Marcos 3 litre (see here) and was therefore able to participate in the Revival Car Show. The day necessitated a very early start in order to get to Goodwood in time for the first event at 8.45am and so it was with some trepidation that I fired up the Marcos at a very anti-social 5.55, immediately shattering the early morning peace with the un-silenced and gloriously brutal sound of the V6. In an attempt to maintain good neighbourly relations I had warned them about the trip in advance and I did my best to creep quietly down the road; however in my efforts to minimise the noise I almost stalled the still cold engine and ended up producing a raucous bark as I struggled to keep the revs up. Simon, who lives two doors down from me and is building a V8 Dax Rush found this rather comical but I'm not sure that others shared his mirth - that said, he'll no doubt be waking me up (and the rest of the road) with the Dax next summer once it's finished. Five minutes down the road and I picked up my navigator for the drive down to West Sussex, a natty looking Martin dressed for the event in cords, brown brogues and a tweed jacket. Given my near OCD tidiness I was always going to be going as a Mod - drainpipes, winkle pickers and a three button jacket, which seemed appropriate given the late 60s vintage of the Marcos. The Who were on the stereo, although this was saved for our arrival at Goodwood as little could be heard over the roar of the engine on the way down. The weather forecast had been good and the day was beautifully sunny and warm, ideal for a day at the races... Once at Goodwood we were directed to the Car Show car park, which required a brief and very bumpy jaunt across a field, something that the car, with its slightly raised suspension thankfully dealt with surprisingly easily. We were parked next to a series II Land Rover and it was wonderful to be sitting amongst such a vast and eclectic array of historic machinery. What amazed me, right from the off, was the number of people dressed in period costume - at least 90 percent of the crowd were dressed up, with some having gone to incredible lengths to look the part.

There was so much period costume on sale that it would have been possible to have arrived in contemporary clothing and bought an entire outfit on the spot. Not only were the clothes from the 1940s, 50s and 60s (see here for tips), as were all of the vehicles within the revival ground, but there were a number of recreations of iconic and/or familiar buildings from the era too. There was a recreation of the Earls Court Motor show and a reminder of what Tesco used to look like before they dominated the entire globe!



The first race of the day - this was the Saturday - was the Goodwood Trophy, featuring Grand Prix and Voiturette cars from the 1930s and 1940s and including four 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B GP cars, Maseratis spanning 1935 to 1949 including the iconic 8CM and my personal favourites the ultimate British GP car of the 1930s, the ERA. This particular car has a special significance for me as my father used to part-own one and as a boy I used to sit in it in the garage at home, dreaming of winning grand prix. Seeing them race and in the paddock brought these memories flooding back. The car shared space with Austin Sevens - two chummies, an Ulster (that now sits in my garage), and two single seat specials - as well as a 1924 BSA motorcycle and a 1924 30-98 Vauxhall. Nestled amongst all these vehicles, with spare parts hanging from the rafters and screw-top jars nailed by their lids to the beams, the ERA was half covered with dust cloths but it remained an impressive and brooding presence. The steering wheel is very distinctive and has no doubt stuck in my mind because it was so big when compared with my small hands and arms...



The Goodwood Trophy was fiercely contested and despite the combined value of the cars on the grid all of the drivers were clearly competing fully. The winner was Mark Gillies driving Mary Smith's superb 1934 ERA A-Type R3A (the green car flashing by in the short clip below).

The next race that I watched was the first part of the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy (the second happens on the Sunday) in which Duncan Fitchett and Jeremy McWilliams (injured with a cracked pelvis and a number of broken ribs) riding a 1952 500cc Manx Norton swapped the lead repeatedly with Ian Bain and Steve Brogan on their 1947 500cc Manx Norton. The overall victory after part two went to Bain and Brogan, although the fastest lap went to Fitchett and McWilliams.



Following on from the bikes was part one of the St Mary's Trohpy, a celebrity packed race for production-based saloon cars that were originally raced between 1950 and 1959. Drivers included Martin Brundle in an Austin A35 (1957), Desire Wilson, the only female Formula 1 Grand Prix driver, racing in an Austin A40 and eight times Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen. Also racing were Jochen Mass, Tony Jardine, Jackie Oliver, Derek Bell, Tony Dron, Andy Rouse, Brian Redman and Barry 'Whizzo' Williams, all renowned drivers in their various disciplines. Driving a huge mark VII Jaguar was ex-formula 1 driver and TV personality Tiff Needell, who came an incredible third, a real achievement considering the car he was piloting. Overall the race was won convincingly by Tom Kristensen but it wasn't really about the victory but about seeing these cars - a Ford Prefect, a Morris Minor and the incredible V8 Tatra - being pushed to the limit.



Although there were a number of exciting races during the afternoon, including the Whitsun Trophy, Madgwick Cup, which featured Stirling Moss in his original 1956 Maserati Osca (now fully recovered from his fall down a lift shaft earlier this year) and the Gordon Trophy, I was keen to wander around the Revival site to take in the atmosphere and to see the huge array of cars in the paddock. There were some truly amazing cars on display and on track. So, as if seeing one Ford GT40 wasn't exciting enough there were six racing in the Whitsun Trophy (four are visible in the photo below).



Really exciting for me were the two 1930 Brooklands 500 Austin 7 Ulsters. These two endurance racing Ulsters, painted a fetching and none too subtle orange, were interesting because of their history but also for the modifications over the standard Ulster. The fuel filler and oil cap can be seen poking through the bonnet for easy and speedy access and the pump for pressurising the fuel tank can also be seen on the driver's side of the car, clearly revealing the racing pedigree of these very special Austins.



There were so many amazing vehicles that it was impossible to see them all and it is just as impossible to mention them all here but the event is one that I would certainly recommend - of all of the large scale motoring events in the calendar, this, I think, has to be the best. (Others clearly agree, see here and here for example). Eventually, the very early start began to take its toll and by 6.00pm I was ready to leave. The drive back was very pleasant and the Marcos coped admirably with the lengthy but well managed queue that formed as the large crowd began to exit Goodwood. Although the headlights on the car aren't the most powerful it was easier to drive at night that I had imagined. To round off an excellent day, Martin and I enjoyed a couple of pints of London Pride at our local pub as our respective families hadn't returned from their own days out and so we were granted an evening pass to complement the day down on Lord March's estate...

47th National Austin Seven Rally

Sunday 28th June 2009, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

After spending Saturday preparing my father’s Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ for the two hundred and sixty mile round trip to Beaulieu, I set off early Sunday morning with fellow car enthusiast and friend, Martin Williams. After a number of inadvertent diversions from the carefully mapped out route provided by the North Herts Centre of the 750 Motor Club, it was decided that I should cede my position at the head of our two vehicle convoy and that Martin should take over the role of navigator in his ‘modern’ (this clearly in the interests of maintaing our friendship!). This worked well, primarily because Martin has a far more developed sense of direction but also because it allowed me to concentrate on driving the ‘Ulster’ rather than worrying about where we were going. This upped our pace considerably and I really enjoyed the drive down to Beaulieu, much of which took us along the B4009. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and the scenery was stunning; the villages and towns that we passed through were gloriously picturesque and the road itself suited the little Austin perfectly, allowing me to get the best from it. It really is perfectly suited to country 'B' roads where outright speed is not the issue. Somewhat embarrassingly, despite the apparently rapid progress, it still took Martin and I the best part of five hours to arrive at the National Motor Museum and take our place among the array of Austins on display. We were delayed for some time just outside Lyndhurst where traffic jams are notorious and regular but even so...

Once at Beaulieu I had a chance to inspect the one hundred and eighty Austins that had driven from all over the United Kingdom to attend the national rally in this the 70th anniversary year of the famous Seven Fifty Motor Club. There were some stunning cars, including a number of special guest vehicles. Notable among these were a stunning 1957 Works Lotus Eleven Coventry Climax and a beautiful 1923 Duzmo Motorcycle built by Harold Biggs. Colin Chapman’s Lotus Elevens were raced with great success, winning all of the three classes they entered at Le Mans in 1957. The late Frank Costin, one half of Marcos, designed the car’s bodywork; the other half of the famous partnership, Jem Marsh, was spotted amongst the Austins, clearly enjoying the sunshine and the fabulous cars on display.

For many Austin Seven owners the pleasures of ownership are in the driving and this was certainly abundantly in evidence as a number of drivers put their cars through their paces in the driving tests. Once or twice it even looked as if exuberance and enthusiasm might end in cars rolling but thankfully everyone remained upright… As usual there was a decent autojumble for those looking for parts, bargains or just the chance to discuss Austin restoration. During the latter half of the morning and the early afternoon the various categories of car were inspected and judged with Lord Montagu himself awarding the prizes that marked the end of the meeting.

Martin and I, having taken the scenic route on the way down to Beaulieu were forced to return to Hertfordshire via the rather less interesting A34 and A41 if we were to stand any chance of arriving back before nightfall. After a tiring and loud four-hour drive, peppered with rain showers, I arrived home, tired, stiff and aching but happy to have supported the annual rally of this wonderful marque and the anniversary of a truly historic car club…

Classics in the Walled Garden, Luton Hoo

Wednesday 1st July 2009

On what has been possibly the hottest day of the year so far, approximately 400 classic, vintage and veteran cars assembled at Luton Hoo for the first ever ‘Classics in the Walled Garden’. Organised by Peter Madden, who stood down recently from the hugely successful ‘Classics on the Common’ in Harpenden (Hertfordshire), the event was a great success. Cars began to arrive at 4.00pm, some inevitably struggling in the heat as the queue to enter the walled garden began to grow; however, the excellent marshalling meant that there were no actual problems. Attending in John Sutton’s 1930 Austin 7 ‘Ulster’ I had to really rev the car to negotiate the rather long grass of the ‘garden’ but eventually parked up perfectly courtesy of the marshals. What makes an event of this type so pleasurable is the array of cars on display, from over one hundred years of motoring; even more pleasing is the fact that they had all arrived under their own steam. Alongside a 1900 Daimler one could see an Enzo Ferrari, an immaculate Morris Minor Traveller, a C Type Jaguar, various Vauxhalls including a 30-98 and a 20-63 as well as a very interesting T Type Hurlingham with a beautiful upturned boat tail, MGs from the 1930s to the 1970s and any number of more modern ‘classics’. The event organisers had provided a good-sized beer tent with a good selection of well-priced local beers – an absolute godsend given the heat. Food was also available, although many, like me, brought their own picnics. A band played suitably vintage music, which added to what was an already perfectly period atmosphere. Hats off to Peter and his team for such an excellent event; I’m already looking forward to next year…