It is about re-living, indeed wallowing in the glories of a bygone era.
It celebrates the heroism of the men and women who fought Hitler's war machine to a standstill, many of them flying from this very field and sacrificing their lives for our good.
It celebrates the fifty years of first class competitive motor racing born here on the airfield; the brilliance and daring of the drivers and the fabulous machines the teams developed to race faster and faster every year.
It celebrates the style of those classic decades, the elegance and grace long lost from today's designer ugliness.
It is indeed the biggest fancy dress ball on the planet with tens of thousands of men and women dressed up to the nines in smart suits and fabulous frocks.
All the food is local and organic (and totally glorious).
All the toilets are sparkling clean (with napkins in the ladies') and of more than sufficient quantity.
Every straight and corner has it's own theme; from a 1950s fairground and rock'n'roll bar, through a wartime NAAFI to a Noel Coward era champagne and oysters soirée and all points between.
It is above all a bloody marvellous weekend.
And today we are here to race!Gentlemen, start your engines!
How sexy is this? A luscious brace of Ferraris from old Enzo's heyday.
And here a pair from the late sixties, the end of the era of style and sophistication that saw the last of the "gentleman racers" before corporate money took over and the romance was lost from racing.Unlike a lot of so-called "vintage motorsport" this isn't just a spectacular but somewhat toothless eye-candy parade of beautiful historic vehicles, the drivers and teams actually come here to Goodwood to race. To REALLY race!
Priceless historic cars are trashed only to be rebuilt for the next year; world famous names from the history of motor racing get helicoptered off with yet more broken limbs to add to their tally, only to return again to fight for victory. This is down and dirty, good hard racing.
And it is fucking glorious!
Here … having enjoyed his seventy-ninth birthday last week, and this weekend celebrating sixty years as a first class competitive racing driver, is the greatest hero of them all, the incomparable Sir Stirling Moss, driving car number 25 (a 1955 C-Type Jaguar) like a demon and overtaking an Aston Martin DB3 (one of his own old winning cars) on the outside of Lavant corner; a suicidal move for a lesser mortal.Much more of Stirling later in the series.
Our very own Lotus cars (from Phil's Magical Kingdom) have a long and celebrated history in Grand Prix racing. Here's a gorgeous Lotus Formula One car from the early sixties.
And here are a bunch more.
Yet more Lotus racers from the late fifties.
A priceless and beautiful Ferrari 250 GTO doing what is is supposed to do, not sitting in some collection gathering dust, but blasting around a Grand Prix circuit with pedal to the metal, drifting sideways around the corners with squealing tyres trailing smoke in its wake.
Here's a gorgeous Cobra being chased down by CUT 7, my very favourite E-Type Jaguar. This car wins just about every race it enters and has been doing so since the mid sixties. The NOISE it makes is phenomenal! It slams your ears together in the middle of your skull. Woohoo!
Another Cobra, this time with a Ferrari. Sweet!
A fabulous Aston Martin DB5, one of Goodwood's Course Cars, leading the Healeys, Aston Martin DB3's and C-Type Jaguars round on their green flag lap.
Taking the Lavant double apex corner two abreast at full throttle is pretty insane, as witnessed by all the tyre tracks in the grass behind these two from cars spinning off earlier. Cars tend to drift sideways around here, squeezing one another off into the gravel trap.Fun!
My favourite Yank (at least my favourite male Yank) is here again this year. The Cobrameister Carroll Shelby.Here's one of his classic mid-1960s Cobras (the blue and white monster, a 1964, 4.7 litre Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé … the best Cobra EVER) screaming down the inside of a 1965 Chevy Corvette Stingray with Carlos Monteverde's 1963 E-Type fastback in hot pursuit.
Groovy!
Here's the Cobra on the previous lap. That's the CUT 7 E-Type up ahead, about to rip the pants off the 'Vette and leave it standing when they tear up the long straight after Lavant.These cars are so damned beautiful I'm welling up just looking at 'em.
As an extra special treat, here's a little vidette from Phil's camera of this self same Cobra about to lap the 'Vette a little later in the race.
Check out the drift on the earlier Cobra. Phreeeeow!
God, I love vintage motor racing!
Much more to come!
17 comments:
Very male!!!!!!!but they are gorgeous...
Male?
A man called Carroll?
And that's Desirée Wilson chasing after Sir Stirling Moss (she got past him, too, only to trash her engine later in the race).
I love vintage cars, and riding in them and driving them. But this is just too much testosterone for me!
Testosterone?
All those lovely frocks?
Hee hee.
Hi Dive - gosh I should bring the ol' Laser over for a burn - I could show those testosterone-packed women.... and men a thing or two!!!!
Hee hee, Jules! There are actually many more female racing drivers than most people think, and bloody good they are, too!
I find myself sitting here making little car racing sounds!
Well that thought has cheered my dull afternoon no end!
Thank you, Shazza. Hee hee.
wow i could feel the energy here, dive. I favor the 65 Corvette of course.
Slow and wallowy the 'Vette might have been but it looks FANTASTIC and boy does it drift well around the curves.
Great choice, Rich, but ever since I first watched Carroll Shelby himself race one of his Daytona Cobras they've been my favourite American car.
And what a great noise they make! Woohoo!
I didn't realize how fancy it all gets. Napkins in the ladies loo? I do declare.
I never expected those old cars to sound like tiny little mosquitos either. The video made them seem so cute and like little car babies. I also like how they slide on the curves like monopoly pieces on a board game. :D
you know me....mmmmm Goodwood.... oh there were cars?
Shan, it does indeed get pretty fancy.
And the cars in real life are so loud they drill your ears right through your head. Fantastic!
Lynn: Your Goodwood is up the hill; we were down toward the coast on the old airfield. Pretty close, though.
Oh, I love the looks of those cobras. They actually look like cobras...
I'd so love to zoom around in that number 17 red Jaguar! Glad to here there are some women drivers. I' m such an idiot for picking a desk job. This event sounds likes great time; I especially like that everyone dresses up!
Looks like a really good time Dive. Vintage cars are like good vintage wine. Lots of well oiled cylinders under those bonnets. Could a fan procure a pint or a proper G&T at this magnificant event? Great post Dive, if we dont remember, save, and cherish the great creations of the past, then we really have no future. I truely believe that you and I have much more in common than we have differences. I would consider it an honor to share a pint (or a proper G&T) with you. Be well.
Maria: they are way cuter than real cobras. And way noisier, too!
Katie: There are lots of women racing drivers. I like the fact that the average age of competitive racing drivers in this country is 45. A lot of folk take it up in retirement so there's hope for me yet!
And the whole atmosphere is wonderful, with everyone in costume grinning at one another. It is a fantastic, feelgood event.
Mark: It is indeed a good time; a real high point of my calendar year.
And yes, every corner has a different themed bar, so you could sip a G&T or a Pimms on the lawn outside the Oyster and Champagne bar, down American beers and "soda" in the fifties Rock and Roll biker bar, sup local organic real ale in any number of nice 1940s and 50s style "pubs" around the place or visit chic wine bars. Whatever you want.
And you are right of course, although it's our differences that make this so much more interesting.
The first round is on me. Cheers!
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