Not so well publicised as the Festival of Speed or the Revival Meeting, but a much purer race meeting with less commercial underpinnings. I got a late invite to the Members Meeting at the weekend as I had race engineered the featured Jaguar XJR-15 one make race series 30 years ago. Goodwood put on a demonstration of over a dozen of the thirty something Jaguars which had supported F1 races in 1991. The cars are changing hands now for over £1m
1991 was a busy year for me. In addition to XJR-15 races, my day job was leading the development of the XJ220. I also took a week out to race engineer the XJR-12 which finished 2nd at Le Mans in June. Three Jaguars came home in 2nd, 3rdand 4th places but were beaten by a screaming Mazda rotary car driven (out of his skin!) by Johnny Herbert.
Mazda had managed to negotiate a break in the regulations which allowed the ****el car to run almost 200kgs lighter than the Jaguars….to the same fuel limit.
The best Mercedes that year was in 5th place driven by one Michael Schumacher.
There were a number of Bentleys running at Goodwood, but I can’t say I was Thunderstruck by them as these ‘Blower Bentleys’ never actually won at Le Mans. A non ‘atmo’ car would have to wait over 70 years before Johnny Herbert was among the drivers who finished 1st and 2nd in 2003 for Team Bentley when I was Project Manager.
Mercedes Benz were represented by just one and a half cars that I saw at the meeting.
This wonderfully experienced 300SL Gullwing looked like it had raced every year since new!
The other ‘half’ was this glorious Benz from back in the days when men were men and cars were chain driven.
This one looks as though it has spent a good deal of its life in a French field. Probably worth telephone numbers, but might be described by the motor trade as ‘as seen’
I’m old enough to have met and talked to boyhood hero Jim Clark when he was driving a little Lotus 23 at Oulton Park when I was a school kid.
It amused me that this Lotus 23 and race number 23 was raced at the weekend by a guy I had run when he was just a schoolkid, Alex Brundle.
I would go on to run him in Sportscars and F2 and has just signed for another 2 years as a top WEC driver.
But it was his father Martin who I had most success with over three decades. Alex said he was at home this weekend preparing for his first transatlantic trip for a couple of years to cover the US F1 GP. Lurking in a far paddock I found this Toyota salon car which tells the story of what Martin was doing even before I got to run him for the first time in F3 in 1983.
I spotted the rims were just 13”, but I know that by the end of the ‘80s almost all sports and touring cars were on 18”. It’s taken F1 30 years to become ‘on trend’ on wheel sizes!
I saw a few things which were just wrong at Goodwood, like this metal flake pink Cobra.
I’m sure it commands a huge Price, but looks like it was painted for Katie Price…..
Then there’s a lilac Lotus, words fail me.
But then I suppose I spent six years running cars painted in Papal Purple and white…..
I only had a few days’ notice of this visit so accommodation was hard to come. I ended up with a sea view in Bognor Regis at the (appropriately given where I had travelled from) The Royal Norfolk Hotel. I found it had been decorated with this plaque. Who Knew?
It did seem that the main Hotel was probably last re-decorated around the same time!
No matter, a good time was had catching up with many old faces and cars and a great trip down memory lane.
1991 was a busy year for me. In addition to XJR-15 races, my day job was leading the development of the XJ220. I also took a week out to race engineer the XJR-12 which finished 2nd at Le Mans in June. Three Jaguars came home in 2nd, 3rdand 4th places but were beaten by a screaming Mazda rotary car driven (out of his skin!) by Johnny Herbert.
Mazda had managed to negotiate a break in the regulations which allowed the ****el car to run almost 200kgs lighter than the Jaguars….to the same fuel limit.
The best Mercedes that year was in 5th place driven by one Michael Schumacher.
There were a number of Bentleys running at Goodwood, but I can’t say I was Thunderstruck by them as these ‘Blower Bentleys’ never actually won at Le Mans. A non ‘atmo’ car would have to wait over 70 years before Johnny Herbert was among the drivers who finished 1st and 2nd in 2003 for Team Bentley when I was Project Manager.
Mercedes Benz were represented by just one and a half cars that I saw at the meeting.
This wonderfully experienced 300SL Gullwing looked like it had raced every year since new!
The other ‘half’ was this glorious Benz from back in the days when men were men and cars were chain driven.
This one looks as though it has spent a good deal of its life in a French field. Probably worth telephone numbers, but might be described by the motor trade as ‘as seen’
I’m old enough to have met and talked to boyhood hero Jim Clark when he was driving a little Lotus 23 at Oulton Park when I was a school kid.
It amused me that this Lotus 23 and race number 23 was raced at the weekend by a guy I had run when he was just a schoolkid, Alex Brundle.
I would go on to run him in Sportscars and F2 and has just signed for another 2 years as a top WEC driver.
But it was his father Martin who I had most success with over three decades. Alex said he was at home this weekend preparing for his first transatlantic trip for a couple of years to cover the US F1 GP. Lurking in a far paddock I found this Toyota salon car which tells the story of what Martin was doing even before I got to run him for the first time in F3 in 1983.
I spotted the rims were just 13”, but I know that by the end of the ‘80s almost all sports and touring cars were on 18”. It’s taken F1 30 years to become ‘on trend’ on wheel sizes!
I saw a few things which were just wrong at Goodwood, like this metal flake pink Cobra.
I’m sure it commands a huge Price, but looks like it was painted for Katie Price…..
Then there’s a lilac Lotus, words fail me.
But then I suppose I spent six years running cars painted in Papal Purple and white…..
I only had a few days’ notice of this visit so accommodation was hard to come. I ended up with a sea view in Bognor Regis at the (appropriately given where I had travelled from) The Royal Norfolk Hotel. I found it had been decorated with this plaque. Who Knew?
It did seem that the main Hotel was probably last re-decorated around the same time!
No matter, a good time was had catching up with many old faces and cars and a great trip down memory lane.
