Tag: vintage

Members Meeting

The fertile soil of the Sussex Downs has been warmed by the spring sunshine, and crops have begun to appear to mark another year. The land around Goodwood, the home of the Duke of Richmond, is particularly fertile.

As the sun appeared over the horizon last weekend, a new crop appeared in just a few hours. Fields full of automobiles appeared, marking the return of racing at Goodwood. A Pistonclick team of two went along to experience the 82nd Members Meeting.

Goodwood history 

The first race meetings at Goodwood were held back in 1948 by the 9th Duke of Richmond. There were 71 British Automobile Racing Club meetings run before the circuit closed in 1966. Racing was reintroduced to the estate by the 11th Duke of Richmond in 1993 with the Festival of Speed. This was followed in 1998 by the Revival Meeting.

The Festival and Revival are two very different events. The FoS is a hill climb and car culture celebration held in front of the 11th Duke of Richmond’s stately home. The Revival meeting is held on the Goodwood circuit for automobiles that originally raced on the track up to 1996 when the track closed.

In 2014, the Members’ Meeting was launched as an exclusive event for the Goodwood Road Racing Club (GRRC) members. This event fills the gap between the loud and brash FoS and the nostalgic Revival meetings.

82nd Members Meeting

The Members Meeting is a ticket-only event, so you can’t just turn up on the day. Entrance is only granted to Fellowship and full GRRC members who are allowed to purchase a small number of tickets for their guests. This keeps the number of visitors lower than at the other Goodwood events, so it’s more of an intimate experience.

There are no access restrictions on where you can go, so the paddocks are open to all. This allows the GRRC racing enthusiasts to chat to the teams and drivers and check out the vehicles. At the 82nd Members Meeting, vintage, classic, and modern cars share these paddocks. The types are grouped together: classic Bentleys, GT, vintage, and motorcycles, to name a few.

This is not just for the spectators; the paddocks are a home from home for the competitors. As you can imagine, keeping some of the vehicles in running order can be a challenge. Some of the cars have been in the same family ownership for generations, so teams will help each other out if they can. Therefore, being grouped together can be helpful when you need a replacement part for your vintage car if it fails on the day.

82nd Members Meeting Racing 

The racing at the Members Meeting is held over two days. The final race positions are determined on an aggregate of the two races held for each race. To complicate matters even more, different drivers can be racing on different days. Therefore, if you want to see your favourite driver out on track in a specific class of car, you will need to study the timetable if you are attending for only one day.

The Gordon Spice Trophy is a prime example. This race held for group one touring cars saw the professional drivers take to the circuit on Saturday with the car owners driving on Sunday. The driver list is like a who’s who of touring cars. The pace setter during practice was three-time World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx in the 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

Hot on his heels was current British Touring Car Champion Jake Hill in a 1980 Ford Capri III 3.0S. The rest of the field was tin top racing royalty: Tom Ingram, Rob Huff, Matt Neal, and Romain Dumas, to name a few.

In a thrilling first race, Jake Hill battled the much more powerful Chevrolet Camaro of Priaulx for the first few laps. Priaulx then fell away, with Rob Huff taking up the challenge, but it was Hill who would take the checkered flag. 

It wouldn’t be the Members Meeting without motorcycle racing.

Dan Jackson #55 on the 1981 Harris Yamaha TZ 350 won the Hailwood. Michael Russell #68 on the RPS Triumph Trident T150 won the Sheene Trophy. Both cups are competed for in the same race. Its was great to watch the nimble two-stroke 350cc machines up against the thundering 750cc bikes.

82nd Members Meeting Houses

To fully include the spectators, the teams are competing for the Goodwood House Shield, which the spectators can help them win. The drivers are placed in four houses, with points given for pole, fast laps, and winning. The spectators are also randomly placed into one of the houses. I have been in Torbolton House since I joined; its emblem is an Irish harp on a red and white background. These emblems are displayed on the vehicles so you can cheer your house to victory.

Spectators and drivers can also take part in off-track sporting activities, like tug of war or duck herding. These points are added to the scores from the race track during the day. Running totals are displayed all around the track to let you know how your team is doing. Of course it’s not mandatory to participate.

82nd Members Meeting racing demonstrations 

Every Members Meeting I’ve been to, there is a headline car or race series putting on demonstration laps. This year it was the turn of the GT3 in a Shoot-Out format. This would be run in a similar fashion to last year’s sidecar shoot-out. One car at a time took to the track and was given a flying lap to determine the start order for Sunday. The cars would then try and set the fastest time round the 2.367-mile circuit.

Jota V-SeriesR

A first for Goodwood and the UK was a demo lap of a full-power Hypercar. The Cadillac Hertz Team Jota V-Series R. This is a sight to behold, and the sound of the 5.5-litre V8 engine is amazing. Let’s forget about the electric motor getting it off the line before the roar of the V8 kicks in for a second.

Five meters long and two meters wide, it is an absolute beast of a race car. Driven by Jota driver Alex Lynn, he completed three laps around the Goodwood circuit, which wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to see and hear more of this Hypercar; it will be difficult to top this demo next year.

XP2 Niki Lauda

Gordon Murray Automotive were also, doing demonstration laps of their T50 and T.50s XP2 Niki Lauda track car. The T.50s is named after the F1 world champion and Gordon Murray’s former Brabham teammate, Niki Lauda.

It incorporates a down force fan in an homage to the 1978 Brabham BT46 “fan car” which Lauda and John Watson took to third place in the 1978 F1 constructors championship. This car sounds amazing being powered by a Cosworth desgined 3.9 litre V12 with a 12,100 rpm limit!

Lotus 97T

The main headline demo run was a tribute to Ayrton Senna. Looking magnificent in the April sunshine, his first Grand Prix-winning Lotus 97T took to the track. Driven by his nephew Bruno Senna, it only did a few laps before pulling in. This legendary car is now on its way to Estoril for the F1 Portuguese Championship round. A celebration commemorating the 40th anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s first win in an epic drive in the rain.

The final demo was something quite different. This summer, the movie F1 will be released starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris. The movie company took two cars out on track to demonstrate how the action sequences were captured. Damson Idris was in the race car to add to the event. The stunt drivers in both cars showed great control as they progressed round the track in close formation. 

82nd Members Meeting Overview

You can probably tell that the Goodwood members’ meeting is something special in the world of motorsport. There is nothing quite like it anywhere on the planet. It is a meeting that stands on its own. Trophies are up for grabs, but it’s more about being there, for the racers and the fans. It’s a place to meet up, chat about old races, and get out on the track to relive those old rivalries.

The list of drivers is like a who’s who of racing. Everywhere you turn, there is a race star, some past, some present. Also, there is the odd celebrity racer, and those stars of the large and small screen who have petrol flowing through their veins. Some are very good drivers in their own right.

They all come to Goodwood for the Members Meeting. It’s been quoted as an automotive art gallery moving past you at speed. I can confirm this; there are some absolutely amazing cars out on track. Although there are classic to modern race cars, they are not being driven in a sedate manner; plenty of them were driven on the limit, some beyond. 

Photographic Post Script 

The two of us that went to this event used the same camera equipment: Nikon D500 DSLR and a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. I had a 1.4 teleconverter in my pocket when I needed a bit more reach. My shooting buddy uses an x2 teleconverter; when I need more reach, I will use the Nikon 300mm f4 PF. This is a light set of lenses that gives you plenty of reach for the majority of the Goodwood track.

Around the paddock, we both use the cheap and cheerful 18-140mm kit lens. As you can see from the images, this is a super sharp lens and weighs next to nothing. 

The opportunity to get a great set of images for your portfolio makes, for me, the Members Meeting a must-do event. Not only is the subject matter interesting, the whole experience is one that I would recommend you participate in once in your life.

You will probably go back the following year; we will be back at Goodwood for the FoS and next year’s Members Meeting.