Francisco Carrion
TEXT: FRANCISCO CARRIÓN / PHOTOS: UNAI ONA
One more year - and they are already 18 - the Goodwood Revival it flooded West Sussex, in the south of England, with a unique motoring environment. Although the "coming of age" of this event has taken place in this year's edition, Goodwood Revival It has been one of the main European events almost from the beginning.
As every year has been celebrated in the last days of summer, specifically between September 9 and 11, with the climatic risk that this entails ... and of course, one of the three days - Saturday - the show was lived under heavy downpour. However, this did not intimidate the pilots or the public, which continues to grow in number edition after edition.
Goodwood Revival 2016: English flavor, more if possible
Although the event always has a historical theme and it is mandatory to wear period dress, this year the main theme was "Life in 1966", thus commemorating the year in which the circuit closed its doors to racing cars until its reopening in 1998. This commemoration also included a parade on the track that alluded to the one that took place when England won the Soccer World Cup in 1966.
Hundreds of cars, buses or motorcycles filled the track, all of them packed with passengers waving the British flag, and the level of detail even reached the level of public transport vehicles wearing liveries of the most important British stadiums ... things of the English.
Another interesting parade of this edition was the tribute to Sir Jack Brabham, the famous British pilot and builder, and which included all kinds of racing cars related to his figure, whether they were "his brand" or not.
Overconfident racing?
And when it comes to competition, Goodwood continues to attract the best possible roster of cars and drivers each year. The 2,7-mile circuit has the particularity of being flat and straight for almost all of its route except for some tight corners in the corners, so the drivers usually give free rein to the accelerator and do the 7 laps in continuous skidding.
This, apart from being -we suppose- very entertaining from the "Cockpit", it is also a spectator's delight. On Saturday the water complicated things in several of the sleeves, but also on Sunday, even with the absence of rain, a large number of accidents could be seen. So much so that several races ended behind the safety car, which in this case was a nice Jaguar MK2 from the 60s. Could it be that the easy layout gives too much confidence to the runners?
In the case of jewels like a Ferrari 246 Dino car or a Jaguar Type C from the Ecurie Ecosse, the accidents were spectacular, but they seem to have a solution. It was not the case of a small Austin A30 that gave several turns of the bell and we do not know if it will be repaired ... at least with that same body.
14 categories and some news
This time the competition was divided into 14 categories, most of them the same as in previous editions. However, there was some other novelty. The "Chichester Cup", for example, this year was dedicated to small “Formula Juniors” of less than a liter of brands such as Stanguellini, Osca or Elva from the 50s and 60s. The winner here was a Lola-Ford MK2 from 1960, driven by Andrew Hiberd.
La "Lavant Cup", half race and half exhibition, it changes the theme every year, and in this edition it has been dedicated to cars that ride the famous BMW 327/8 engine from the late 30s. There were some BMWs, but mostly there were British brands that produced that fabulous drive under license, like Bristol or Frazer Nash. Not surprisingly, the test was won by Malcolm Harrison aboard a 25 Cooper-Bristol T1953.
An important novelty of this edition has been the creation of the "Kinrara Trophy", reserved for the coveted GT from the 60s. It consisted of two 60-minute races, which included an endurance-style driver changeover. The win here went to Macari / Kristensen with a coveted 250 Ferrari 1961 GT SWB / C.
Also new was the "Madgwich Trophy", dedicated to trays from the early 60s of brands such as Elva-BMW, Lotus or Brabham, or the "St Mary's Trophy", this time exclusively for tiny Austin A30s from the 50s, with no less than 30 participants, who starred in some of the most intense moments of the weekend.
An unmistakable atmosphere, auction included
Off the beaten track, all kinds of stylish rigs "Retro", the vast meadows full of visitor classics, and the already typical auction that the British house celebrates every year Bonhams. This year about 80 vehicles and as many automotive objects were offered, of which 70% was awarded, with the total profit reaching 14 million pounds.
Much of the credit for this good collection went to the Porsche Spyder 550 of 1956 that Bonhams sold for a little over 6 million euros, which means a new record for the model. And despite the fact that other interesting cars such as a 275 Ferrari 1965 GT Berlinetta or a 1936 Aston Martin Speed were on offer, the Porsche was the only one in the entire auction to break the million-pound barrier.
As you can see, “super luxury” auctions are going through a certain crisis moment, but the Goodwood Revival is much more than that; It is a true show of classics - and of the masses - that year after year surpasses itself. We'll see who's coming!
