Goodwood Revival day three: Cobras star in TT thriller

| 15 Sep 2019
Classic & Sports Car – Goodwood Revival day three: Cobras star in TT thriller

It was four abreast into Fordwater for the first time as Sunday’s racing kicked off with the 500cc Formula Three cars of the Earl of March Trophy at the 22nd Goodwood Revival.

The little motorbike-engined racers were dropping like flies, early Cooper-Norton contenders George Shackleton and Chris Wilson retiring and fading respectively, Peter de la Roche able to convert pole into victory in his Cooper-Norton Mk5.

After falling to third at the start, Sam Wilson fought through to win the Richmond & Gordon Trophies in his rear-engined Lotus-Climax 18. Nick Padmore (Lotus-Climax 16) fell out of contention with mechanical issues and the hard-charging Gary Pearson gave his best in the Cooper-Climax T53, but couldn’t deny Wilson victory.

Bentley’s centenary celebration enjoyed another memorable outing in the Brooklands Trophy which all entrants with roofs had to start with them raised, before lowering them at staggered intervals with the aid of a single mechanic, in the style of the early Le Mans racers, an interesting addition to the programme. Martin Overington came from fourth on the grid to win in his 1929 4½ Litre ‘Blower’.

The meeting’s feature race was the hour-long RAC TT Celebration, where a safety car caused by the crashed Shaun Lynn/Karun Chandhok AC Cobra within the pit window proved pivotal. Racing resumed with just over half an hour remaining and with some cars having pitted before the safety car and the pit window closed during the safety-car period, it was a three-Cobra battle for the lead, Oli Bryant against sports-car aces Romain Dumas and André Lotterer who were nose-to-tail, Lotterer seizing the opportunity to pass at Fordwater and never looking back in the car he shared with Chris Wilson, the Bryant/Darren Turner later retiring, Dumas second in the Cobra started by Bill Shepherd, 12.5 secs adrift.

Lotterer described the race as “awesome” also saying, “I've definitely sweated out the alcohol from last night!”

For part two of the St Mary’s Trophy it was another little versus large contest with close racing throughout, the ever-sideways Grant Williams Mk1 Jaguar eventually heading to the flag side-by-side with Mike Jordan’s Austin A40, Williams edging it before his qualification gave Jordan victory from Charles Rainford’s Volvo PV544S. When combined with yesterday’s result, Nicolas Minassian/Jordan won, from the John Cleland/Rainford Volvo. 

Chandhok dominated the Whitsun Trophy from behind the wheel of John Bladon’s McLaren-Chevrolet M1A, despite a safety-car period when the similar car of Andrew Wareing clattered into the chicane.

Revival 2019’s final race was the Freddie March Memorial Trophy, the evocative sight of the D-types of Pearson brothers Gary and John sandwiching Lukas Halusa (Maserati 300S) on the front row of the grid. Gary Pearson never relinquished the lead, beating his sibling by 4 secs, Halusa retiring to the pits, Richard Wilson (Maserati 250S) challenging John, finishing 4.5 secs adrift when a late red flag brought an end to proceedings.

Catch up with day one’s action here and day two’s here.

And so finished another wonderful Goodwood Revival – we’re looking forward to the 2020 edition already!

Image: James Mann


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