Goodwood Revival Meeting 2008
19/20/21 September

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This was the 10th Anniversary of the Goodwood Revival and the 60th since Goodwood Circuit held it’s first race meeting.  So we were all looking for an extra special something this year. Taking into consideration that 2008 has been a particularly grey and wet summer it was amazing that Lord March managed to pick a weekend when the UK was experiencing an Indian summer of epic proportions!  Blue skies, ideal for the aerial entertainment, together with warm sunshine plus a majority of visitors in period dress lent a surreal atmosphere to the proceedings.  The annual Thursday afternoon cricket match was contested keenly as usual whilst the spectators caught up on gossip and supped Pimms. 

This year FJ was contesting the Chichester Cup; a twenty minute race for rear-engine Formula Junior cars using disc-brakes that raced between 1960 and 1963. The Goodwood selection process was somewhat different this year as they wanted a fast competitive race.  To try and ensure this there was an entry consisting of fifteen Lotuses’s, six Brabhams, plus an assortment of other marques.  This would be either the most exciting FJ race of modern times at Goodwood or could herald carnage as the cavalry charge to Madgwick is unleashed. The only car not to race after Friday’s qualification was the Lola of James Claridge, with a broken clutch.  A degree of fettling was to be seen as one strolled around the paddock as drivers and mechanics attempted to find a little more time.  Come early evening it was time to put on the glad rags and trot off to the cocktail party at the house.

Race day dawned bright and sunny with temperatures soaring into the seventy’s by the time the entrants made it to assembly.  The cars were well turned out and together with the period clothing you could have thought yourself in a time warp.

From the practice times it looked as though Edwin Jowsey had the race in his pocket, with a safety cushion of over one and a half seconds between his Lotus 22 and second place Joaquin Folch-Rusinol’s Lotus 27.  Strange things happen in racing and misfortune struck on the green flag lap when Jowsey’s gear box casing exploded.  Folch-Rusinol sped into the lead from the flag hotly pursued by Martin Walford’s Lotus 22 and Michael Hibberd in his Lotus 27.  Hibberd first eased past Walford and then took the lead at St. Mary’s, Emanuele Benedini slipped his Brabham BT6 into second place at Lavant and he Walford and Folch-Rusinol thrilled the crowd with some entertaining passing, as did Mark Woodhouse in the silver Lotus 20/22 and the Merlyn Mk 5/7 of Dennis Welch; also in the mix was Simon Diffey’s Lotus 20 and the Lotus 22 of Christoph Burkhardt.  Meanwhile Hibberd stretched his lead as the squabble between a train of seven cars continues for second position.  By the end of lap six young Michael Lyons driving John Monson’s Lotus 20 had scythed his way from 15th on the grid and was chasing the train’s tail in 9th.  Then disaster struck towards the end of lap eight when Benedini had two wheels on the grass and spun at Woodcote collecting an unfortunate Mark Woodhouse in the Lotus 20/22.  With oil and water dropped through the chicane the safety car was finally deployed, after an unfortunate David Zurlinden (BT2) who had already spun early on, caught the oil and demolished the polystyrene chicane. Hibberd took the win under these conditions from Walford in second and Folch-Rusinol in third.  The fastest lap was set by Martin Walford 1:26.967.

With the race completed there was just time for drivers and guests to titillate themselves for the Ball.  This year the theme was Eastern and everyone was encouraged to dress the part.

Sunday was a rest day for FJ as their part in the show was over, giving time to look at all the other attractions the Revival offered.  Maybe fossicking through the retailers at the market to find items to wear next year or looking at the amazing array of aeroplanes in the Freddie March Spirit of Aviation.  Wandering through a recreation of the Earl’s Court Motor Show or just watching the racing from the grandstand and then relaxing in the driver’s club.  As always, far too much to see in too short a time, an enjoyable weekend of historic racing ended for another year, with the traditional prizegiving conducted by our host, the Earl of March.

Jill Carter