Close encounters bookend glorious Goodwood’s 83rd Members’ Meeting

With its technical double apex Woodcote corner and tight chicane compressing magnificent motorised combat to end each high speed 2.4-mile lap, Goodwood has a knack of providing close finishes. Less than a second decided seven of the 11 car races at the 83rd Members’ Meeting, the 12th of the modern GRRC era. Saturday’s terrific Win Percy Trophy event-opener’s 0.201-second margin was the tightest until Sunday’s Peter Collins Trophy sportscar curtain closer in which Gary Pearson snatched victory from Martin Stretton by 0.160s in a drag race to TSL’s timing line.  

Group 1 saloons were split at 2800cc, the smaller capacity set shuffled into the Percy contest. And what a race the first leg was. In the 50th anniversary of Volkswagen’s iconic Golf GTI, P2 qualifier Tom Kristensen had it won in the ex-John Morris flyer when its engine died on the penultimate lap, leaving the Dane to limp forlornly to the pits.

The Morris Vulcan machine’s demise left a frenetic five-car scrap for the lead embroiling poleman Alex Buncombe – product of a mega tow in Nick Swift’s Mini 1275GT in the morning – and the Ford Escort RS2000s of Romain Dumas, Phil Keen, Guy Smith and Rob Huff. Keen, who straight-lined the chicane rather than hit it when Buncombe ambushed him into the funnel on lap two of 14, jostled back to hound Dumas last time round.

Keen lunged past the Frenchman into Woodcote, but as his orange car slewed over the exit kerb, Dumas seized his opportunity to retaliate into the chicane. Abreast into the right-left deviation, Romain flung his steed larily at the apex, which he’d already snagged, incurring a 10s penalty, unbeknown to rivals. As Keen braked to avoid its pendulous tail, both ran out of road. Dancing down the greensward on the exit they were powerless to stop Smith and Huff’s flat-fronted Escort from passing, with the impudent Buncombe right behind. Keen salvaged fourth from Johnny Mowlem (RS2000), Alex Brundle in “Senior’s” County Challenge BMW 323i and the displaced Dumas. First Triumph Dolomite Sprint was circuit instructor Jack Layton’s, eighth.

With the Golf out, owner Jim Morris stood down from the second string Scirocco that former British Touring Car ace Mat Jackson put on pole for Sunday’s decider with a brilliant 1m29.694s charge. Plucky privateer Dave Devine (owner of the Aussie-liveried Escort Huff shared) outdragged Jackson from the start, but once ahead Mat looked calmly in control.

After Swift’s Mini and Matt Green’s Toyota Corolla fell, Mowlem’s protege Bonamy Grimes homed in to challenge Jackson. Mat had a grassy moment on the last lap rounding former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt’s Toyota and held on to win, but Grimes claimed fastest lap as a souvenir. Third home, Devine was delighted to seal aggregate gold with Huff.

Sixty-five years to the weekend since Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori drove Jaguar E-types to victory and third on the model’s competition debut at Oulton Park, a full grid of the feline GT cars formed the first mini-enduro grid. Jaguar service dealer Flight Lieutenant Elmer Richard ‘Dick’ Protheroe, to whom the feature was dedicated, raced XK120, C and E-types here from 1953 to 1964. He finished sixth in the 1962 and 1963 Tourist Trophy enduros driving Es prepared at his County Motors workshops at Husbands Bosworth, near Rugby. Protheroe died 60 years ago this month when his Ferrari 330 P flipped during practice for the 1966 TT at Oulton Park.

It was serendipitous that Huff qualified Richard Meins’ ex-Protheroe fixed head coupe – “the real thing, still wearing the CUT 7 plate,” said Meins – on pole for Saturday evening’s 45-minute race, the only driver inside 1m30s. Simon Watts in Bob Neville’s FHC and Slovakian Katarina Kyvalova’s hooded roadster sat alongside, courtesy of Alex Buncombe and Emanuele Pirro respectively.

At the Union flag’s fall Jon Minshaw made a blinding start from fifth, rounding Kyvalova’s white car then the two darker coupes to snatch the advantage as the field accelerated through Madgwick then down the incline towards Fordwater into bright sunshine. But row mate Steve Soper howled past the Demon Tweeks man before the lap was out and plumped an ever-increasing advantage. Gregor Fisken, inspired by fellow Scot Dario Franchitti waiting in the pits, was flying too and asserted his roadster at the head of the chase on lap two.

Fisken did well to stay within 6.4s of Soper when he and Minshaw relayed Franchitti and Phil Keen after 10 laps. Soper stayed out for another five before putting BMW dealer buddy Toby Partridge into bat. As Partridge slipped back into the pack, surviving an outside line spin running two wide into St Mary’s, Franchitti and Keen were immediately up to speed and Huff surged the pale blue-nosed Protheroe coupe forward after Meins’ excellent stint. Although Rob alone broke 90 seconds, 20s proved too great a deficit as the top three carved through constant traffic.

On a gloriously warm evening that boasted an extraordinarily vivid tropical island sunset over Chichester’s skyline, Franchitti, Keen and Huff finished equidistant, with 7.3s integers. Memories of Dario’s TT Celebration win with Pirro at the 2005 Revival in the fabled lightweight E-type 4 WPD came flooding back for many as the chequer fell. Jack Tetley placed Nick Maton’s roadster expertly to deny Jenson Button fourth, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion finishing William Paul’s red coupe. Buncombe clawed past Ben Mitchell in James Thorpe’s roadster for sixth two laps from home.

Archie Bullett’s ballistic start from pole in Saturday’s SF Edge Trophy Edwardian era race proved in vain for the beautifully proportioned Sturtevant aero-engined Piccard-Pictet Special was gobbled up by Ben Collings’ mighty 120hp Mercedes and Julian Majzub’s Sunbeam Indianapolis – best under braking for Woocote – then Christopher Mann’s sublime Alfa Romeo RL and Neil Gough’s lofty K-R-I-T. Bullett fought back, grabbing second in the dash to the line, leaving Majzub carrying a 1.898s lead into Sunday’s deciding five-lapper.

Its lead chopped and changed as Bullett, Collings and Majzub played to their cars’ strengths. With seven jostling juggernauts bearing down on a backmarker into Woodcote on the final lap – a Vintage Sports-Car Club handicap dream finish – Bullett held sway. But Majzub finished 0.992s behind for aggregate victory, with Formula Fordster Lewis Fox on his tail in Ivan Dutton’s 1913 Peugeot Indianapolis.

“On the straights it really is a good thing,” said Goodwood debutant Bullett of the nine-litre Pic-Pic. “It’s so fantastic to see so many big bangery things in one race,” smiled repeat winner Majzub. Collings completed the overall podium.

Julian Majzub, SF Edge Trophy

Photo by: Jeff Bloxham

Bugattis and Alfa Romeos went head-to-head as the Varzi Trophy two-seater Grand Prix car race rejoined the programme. Polesitter Jonathan Bailey led initially in his yellow T35B – pioneer Czech racer Elisabeth Junek’s period mount – but oil smoke presaged retirement. Matt Walton (T51) took up the cudgels, pursued by Patrick Blakeney-Edwards in Peter Neumark’s ex-Philippe Etancelin Alfa 8C 2300 Monza.

Unable to brim his Bug beforehand, Walton backed off to conserve fuel, only for his engine to stutter on the final lap. PB-E charged past to victory. Walton kept second ahead of Chris Mann’s two-tone blue Monza. “I’m absolutely thrilled to see two Alfas on the podium,” said the veteran.

Lola T70 mounted Phil Keen (subbing for Olly Bryant) and Stuart Hall – on pole with a sub-outright record 1m17.902s first time out in Grant Reid’s latest example – scarpered at the start of the Bruce McLaren Trophy for pre-1966 Can-Am and Group 7 sportscars. A scrape between John Spiers (McLaren M1B) and Chris Ward (T70), who crashed at the chicane while quickest in Saturday’s preliminaries, sent outside liner Ward wide into Woodcote on lap three. Moments later, Katsu Kubota (Lotus 30) gyrated out of the chicane, sending pursuer Adam Sykes autocrossing in Andrew Wareing’s Nickey Chevrolet McLaren M1A.

Oliver Birkett also rotated his Elva-BMW Mk8 there harmlessly, but contact between Dane Jakob Viggo Holstein’s Lotus-Ferrari 19 and Andy Yool’s ex-Tim Stock Chevron B8 into Woodcote fired Yool backwards into the barrier with big impacts. Both climbed out – Yool with a fractured vertebra – but red flags were inevitable.

The race was restarted over 10 minutes, with Ward going from the pitlane. As pursuer Hall managed “a bit of a brake issue”, Keen crowned a devastating sequence of five laps spanning 0.242s with a new outright record of 1m18.141s (109.64mph).

Spiers was chuffed to land a lonely third, in front of Ward, who circumnavigated Andy Newall (in Steve Seaman’s T70) into Madgwick and pulled 168.1mph on the Lavant chute. Sam Mitchell set the B8 standard, sixth in dad Westie’s splendidly original ex-Nikolaus Killenberg left-hooker.

Varzi Trophy

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

Viewed from head-on, the Phil Hill Cup GT race was a five-wide dream grid with American Fred Wakeman’s Ford GT40, Mike Whitaker’s similarly engined TVR Griffith and Jenson Button’s Protheroe Jaguar E-type CUT 8 on the front row, with Dutchman Yelmer Buurman (in Alexander van der Lof’s Ferrari 250 LM replica) and Bill Shepherd’s AC Cobra peeking between them.

Button made a fabulous start, sweeping from the outside into the lead before Madgwick, with Shepherd growling after him. Matt Holme bustled his Cobra into second at Lavant, and German Nikolaus Ditting – from 10th – passed Wakeman audaciously down the outside before Woodcote for fourth, which soon became third.

Reds flew after Shepherd had a monster shunt at the end of the Lavant Straight, the gunmetal Cobra clobbering the outside belting, then gyrating like a top back into the track. Whitaker went off in avoidance, passing the wreck backwards on the grass, then returning to the asphalt, engine stalled. Shepherd was taken to hospital with a concussion.

From the restart, Button withstood relentless pressure from Ditting’s GT40, then Buurman who ousted the GT40 into Lavant on the penultimate lap. Less than a second blanketed the top three at the chequer.

Wakeman, Whitaker and Spaniard Joaquin Folch in the GT40 in which 1950s GP driver ‘Paco’ Godia and Australian Brian Muir won the 1968 Barcelona Six Hours, completed the top six.

Cacophonous V8 saloons formed the sharp end of the Gordon Spice Trophy grid, a Ford Boss Mustang, Chevrolet Camaros and Rover SD1s ensuring inter-marque battles. Mustang tamer Fred Shepherd – relieved dad Bill was OK – and GM gang leader James Thorpe set the pace until Thorpe missed the chicane, leaving Andrew Smith and Jack Tetley fighting the bow-tie corner.

Gordon Spice Trophy

Photo by: Jeff Bloxham

Post-stops, Dumas couldn’t hold Tetley’s partner Alex Buncombe, but when the Chevy arrived at Woodcote without brakes he retired and Romain was safe.

A gripping battle between Mike Whitaker Jr’s tail-happy Rover and Smith presaged Button and Kristensen’s slugfest in which Jenson snared second in David Clark’s Bastos monster.

“It’s completely different to the other cars I’ve driven this weekend, understeer central, but still great fun,” said Button. Fourth-placed Matt Holme/Andrew Jordan upheld Spice’s honour in their shrill Capri, clear of Nic Minassian/Jon Davison’s Rover and the Capris of Mike Whitaker/Darren Turner, Skid Scarborough/John Cleland and Mark Fowler/Emanuele Pirro.

The Derek Bell Trophy 1000cc F3 race was a superb advert for the screamers of 1964-70. Andrew Hibberd (ex-Chris Irwin Brabham BT18) and Peter de la Roche (ex-Ken Sedgley Alexis Mk17) dropped out with transmission and engine dramas, but polesitter Dan Eagling’s ex-Picko Troberg/Reine Wisell BT18 unable to pick up its fuel two laps from home threw the race wide open.

Enrico Spaggiari (ex-John Miles Lotus 41X) and Jeremy Timms (ex-Wisell Chevron B15) traded the lead but the Italian needed all his guile to prevail by half a second. Charlie Martin was a distant third in Paul Waine’s de Sanctis, ahead of the ex-Patrick Champin Merlyn Mk14A of resurgent Lavant spinner Ross Drybrough.  

Once young buck Theo Hunt pulled his polesitting Frazer Nash Le Mans off, the Peter Collins Trophy 1950s’ sportscar finale’s complexion changed. Old hands Martin Stretton in Philip Champion’s gorgeous Frazer Nash Mille Miglia and Gary Pearson, a late sub in the Mistral-bodied Jaguar XK120 entered for Yukinori Suzuki, duked it out thereafter.

Just when it seemed traffic favoured the lithe Nash, Stretton was bottled up into the chicane and Pearson overpowered him in the final dash. Josh Ward’s XK120 was third from Michel Grosfiller’s Allard J2X.  

Goodwood 83rd Members’ Meeting winners

Win Percy Trophy for Gp1 Saloons: Rob Huff/Dave Devine (Ford Escort RS2000)

R1: Guy Smith (Ford Escort RS2000)

R2: Mat Jackson (VW Scirocco)

Protheroe Cup Pre-’63 Jaguar E-types: Gregor Fisken/Dario Franchitti

SF Edge Trophy: Julian Majzub (Sunbeam Indianapolis)

R1: Majzub

R2: Archie Bullett (Pic-Pic Aero Special)

Varzi Trophy: Patrick Blakeney-Edwards (Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Monza)

Bruce McLaren Trophy: Phil Keen (Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder)

Phil Hill Cup: Jenson Button (Jaguar E-type)

Gordon Spice Trophy: Fred Shepherd/Romain Dumas (Ford Boss Mustang)

Derek Bell Trophy: Enrico Spaggiari (Lotus 41X)

Peter Collins Trophy: Gary Peason (Jaguar XK120 Mistral)

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