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Whereas the dressed up spectators “only” add to the atmosphere at the Revival the visitors are more involved
into the Members Meeting if wanted. With the introduction of the four “houses” challenging against each other
not only the race drivers on the track are in the competition but also the spectators who are able to support
their house by adding points in outdoor or pub games. This simple idea puts the attending visitors far closer to
the racing than normal race meetings without being pushy as one could also only attend without being
involved.
The four houses Methuen, Torbolton, Aubigny and Darnley are represented by Anthony Reid, Emanuele Pirro,
Andrew Jordan and Jochen Mass as team captains, Methuen won the previous two Members Meetings and
was about to get the hat-trick at the end of the weekend.
One of the key in the success of the Goodwood event is certainly the good networking of the Earl of March
with his numerous contacts to the manufacturers and major racer and collectors all over the world. Few other
events are able to get as spectacular features and special attraction one could see at the Festival of Speed,
the Revival and now the Members Meeting. This year one of the highlights was without doubt the feature on
one of the most exciting times in long distance racing, the 1969/1970 season when Porsche started their
dominance in Le Mans and Ferrari made a last attempts to win at La Sarthe. The famous 1970 race got its
monument later with the Steve McQueen movie and today the Gulf colored Porsche 917 are among the most
iconic race cars ever. Goodwood brought back the memories with a mouthwatering moving display of no less
than 8 Porsche 917K including all the famous liveries (Gulf, Martini, Porsche Salzburg) and maybe even more
impressive 6 of their counterparts from Maranello. The Ferrari 512 in different configurations (long and short
tail, S and M specification) was developed to challenge the parvenu from Zuffenhausen in the 5 Litre sports car
class but due to a very limited live time of the 5-Litre Formula the V12 was never able to catch up the
development advantage of the flat-12. With the change of power of the two iconic marques these two years
became some of the most famous in sports car racing and in Goodwood a few of the protagonists like Derek
Bell, Richard Attwood or David Piper were out in their former racers. After the Group C display last year this
was another superb display of sports car racing and not few made their way to Chichester purely for that.
But the Members Meeting also has a soft spot for Formula 1, even for those who never actively raced on the
fast track. After the turbocharged F1 cars and the high airbox of the early 1970s in the previous years this
year’s F1 theme was the era of the ground effect. After the introduction of the wings to create down force the
underfloor caught the attention of the constructors in the late 1970s giving the cars a very different shape.
After rather strange constructions including blowers at the Chaparral and the Brabham BT46B the side pods
became the key feature and the Lotus 78/79 with the flexible skirts became the car to beat. Goodwood
brought several of the iconic black JPS livered cars and the opponents, most of them powered by Cosworth.
In between was a sole Ferrari 312 T5 that struggled to keep up with the aerodynamic development of the
Lotus and after winning the championship in 1979 with the 312 T4 its successor did not win a single race
starting the years full of deprivation when Ferrari waited two decades for the next title.
Apart from the special features the Members Meeting featured no less than a dozen races ranging from bikes,
saloon and sports cars to Formula racing. Although it does share some key races with the Revival especially
the exclusive ones are the most interesting. The only race group running twice on the weekend was the Gerry
Marshall Trophy named after the famous British Touring car champion. Open for touring cars of the 1970s until
1982 this is a race for cars originally never competed at the Goodwood Road circuit but just like the St.
Mary´s trophy for the earlier cars at the Revival this is one of crowds’ favorites. With cars on a very equal level
this provides spectacular wheel-to-wheel action.
Even more equal are certainly single car races like the Alan Mann Trophy. First race of the weekend the Ford
GT40 race was held on Saturday evening running into the sunset giving a glorious sight with more than 2
dozen of the 40 inch high sports racers coming down the main straight. Intended as a two-driver race over a
full hour this was both a challenge for drivers and cars. With several changes in the lead finally Cuff and Soper
took the chequered flag in the dark. Unfortunately a lot of spectators already left into the hall and to the party
to warm up on a chilly evening so just a few of hardcore race fans saw the GT40 diving into the chicane with
red-hot discs. One of the favorites, the ex-Alan Mann Racing GT40 piloted by Kenny Bräck and Christian
Gläsel only made it over a tenth of the distance.
But race of the weekend was without doubt the S.F.Edge Cup for Edwardians up to 1923. These monsters are
rarely seen on a race track and ranging from the huge aero engined specials like the Fiat-Isotta Fraschini with
most likely the longest steering rod in the field and a driver sitting behind the back axle to the small and
nimble Bugatti Brescia with a fraction of the displacement. When the cars fired up in the assembly area the
sound was simply glorious and one has to admire the drivers sitting on the car rather than in the car blasting
around the fast circuit just above idling. Rounding to pole position in under two minutes was seasoned vintage
racer Julian Majzub in the Sunbeam Indianapolis but in the race it was finally Duncan Pittaway in the racer
small GN Curtiss taking the chequered flag. Let´s hope that this race will become a regular in the Members
Meeting as few races were cheered for as much as the racers from the dawn of motor racing. Few cars
provide as much sound and vision as the huge engines with the open valve timing.
After the practice sessions on Saturday the Members Meeting again provided a fantastic party behind the
large drinking hall. With jugglers, dancers, fireworks and merry-go-around the atmosphere was provided for a
memorable evening.
The third of the modern Members Meeting again was well worth a visit despite the low temperatures. Held in
the middle of March the weather is rather unpredictable and could range from the warm early spring to the
final days of a long winter. Unfortunately this year’s temperatures contrasted the friendly yellow flowers around
the track but there were enough activities around the track to keep one warm.
Unfortunately we were only able to attend the practice day on Saturday missing out a lot of the fun at the
races but we still brought some great memories back from Goodwood. Hopefully the galleries can transport
some of the impressions of the Members Meeting and animate you to visit the 75th MM in person. Tickets for
non-members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club will be on sale early in 2017 and usually sell out fast so
please keep informed by visiting the Goodwood website (www.Goodwood.co.uk) for future updates.
Images … Peter Singhof & Andreas Meiniger
Text ... Peter Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
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