Historic racers thrill at Goodwood

Eleven races, hundreds of classic cars and lots of snow...

The 76th Goodwood Members' Meeting – or 76MM to its friends – served up its usual winning mix of top-tier racing and historically important cars despite the distinctly unseasonal sub-zero temperatures and tricky driving conditions.

The event, which traditionally marks the start of the historic motorsport season, was a feast for fans of fast cars, with 11 full races, 11 practice sessions and eight demonstration laps spread across the two days.

Flick through our gallery for the best of the action from every one of the races.

#Fever

Many of the racers paid tribute to late motorsport writer and brilliant interviewer Henry Hope-Frost by sporting 'HHF' and '#Fever' slogans on their helmets.

Hope-Frost, who was for many years the main announcer at Goodwood, was also honoured with a minute's noise at the event.

Formula 5000 in the snow

The worst of the weather was reserved for Saturday, with the poor old Formula 5000 drivers facing particularly tricky conditions during their demonstration session.

Ronnie Hoare Trophy

Named after famed Ferrari dealer and racer Colonel Ronnie Hoare and making its debut at the event, this was the first race proper at 76MM and catered for road-going sports and GT cars which raced between 1963 and 1966: we're talking Ferrari 275 GTBs, Alfa Romeo TZ1s and Triumph TR4s.

Ronnie Hoare Trophy winner – James Cottingham / Porsche 904

The race was won by James Cottingham on his drive with Phil Hylander’s Porsche 904 – but only after a bit of a scare.

Cottingham had taken pole position earlier in the day, but was beaten to the first corner by Vincent Gaye in a Ferrari 275 GTB/C. Fortunately for Cottingham, Gaye later spun off the track and though he managed to rejoin the race to eventually finish third, the Porsche ended a clear winner.

Gerry Marshall Trophy

The first of two races named in honour of the British saloon-car legend, the Gerry Marshall Trophy featured a crowded field of 1970s and '80s Group 1 tin-tops, with everything from big, powerful Chevrolet Camaros and a Ford Mustang Boss 302 to the diminutive-but-nippy Mini 1275GT.

Gerry Marshall Trophy – winners Mark Blundell and Kerry Michael/Ford Escort RS2000

In one of the closest races all weekend, a Ford Escort RS2000 driven by former Le Mans winner Mark Blundell and teammate Kerry Michael just pipped the Ford Capri of Mike Whitaker and Mike Jordan to victory.

Less than a second separated the two cars at the finish line, with third place going to the Rover 3500 SD1 driven by Andrew Bruce and Tim Harvey.

Hawthorn Trophy

The Hawthorn Trophy's all about classic Grand Prix racers. Named after Britain's first F1 World Champion Mike Hawthorn, it featured evocative front-engined single-seaters that competed up to 1958.

Hawthorn Trophy - winner Tony Wood / Cooper-Bristol Mk 1 T20

The race was a relatively one-sided affair, not helped by the fact that pole-sitter Geraint Owen had to retire his Kurtis-Kraft shortly before the start because its methanol fuel had frozen in the bitter cold. 

With Owen sidelined, Tony Wood took his Cooper-Bristol from third on the grid to first early on, then held off the challenge of a Maserati 250F to eventually win by some 32 seconds.

Derek Bell Cup

Staying in single-seater heaven, the Derek Bell Cup drops down from Formula One to Formula Three, but without losing any of the drama.

These lightweight, 1-litre ‘screamers’ tore around the famous old Goodwood track, with Brabhams, Marchs, Tecnos and Lotuses (Loti?) all challenging for the podium.

Derek Bell Cup - winner Jon Milicevic / Brabham-Ford

Ultimately it was a Brabham that won, with Jon Milicevic starting on pole and proving the best at mastering the slippery surface to finish 10 seconds clear of the pack.

Salvadori Cup

Sports cars from 1955 to 1960 lined up here – which means it played host to some of the most iconic racers in history.

The cars to beat were the ‘Knobbly’ Lister-Jaguars – performance sports cars based around a Jaguar D-type engine that enjoyed huge success in the late '50s – but with original D-types, Lotuses and Maseratis also on the grid, this was one of the most competitive line-ups.

Salvadori Cup (cont.)

Not that famous cars were the only draw – among the famous drivers lining up for the race was the really very famous David Coulthard, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing; he qualified 15th in what was an underpowered – and heavy – car compared to the Listers.

Salvadori Cup - winner Martin Stretton / Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly'

To nobody's great surprise, the race was won by one of the three Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' cars, with regular Goodwood winner Martin Stretton finishing a little more than a second ahead of a pair of Lotus Climax 15s. 

Caracciola Sportwagenrennen

If 76MM had featured a prize for Best Named Race, the Caracciola Sportwagenrennen would have been a shoe-in. For those of you not familiar with its origins, it's named after Rudolf Caracciola, who in 1931 became the first non-Italian to triumph on the famous Mille Miglia.

The race itself featured continental sportscars that raced between 1925 and 1935 – among them various Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, Bentleys and Delahayes.

Caracciola Sportwagenrennen - winner Patrick Blakeney-Edwards / Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 Monza

The on-track action had everything: start-line stalls, mid-race spins and plenty of wheel-to-wheel action. 

Stephen Gentry had qualified second in his Bugatti Type 51 but skidded off the course and into the tyre barriers early on, leaving Patrick Blakeney-Edwards' Alfa battling Duncan Pittaway's Bugatti Type 35 for the lead. The sublime Alfa ultimately won by some 28 seconds.

Moss Trophy

We'll give you three guesses who this one's named after. Actually, no we won't – we'll give you one guess. And you'd better get it right.

What we will tell you is that it's aimed at closed-cockpit GT cars that raced up to 1963, and is one of the few events here to feature two drivers in each car, with the pit window open after 15 of the 45-minute duration.

Moss Trophy

The field was dominated by Jaguar E-types, but pole was pinched in the closing seconds by Goodwood regular Simon Hadfield in Wolfgang Friedrich’s Aston Martin DB4GT.

The real star, though, was the one-off Ferrari 250 GT 'Breadvan' (pictured here), driven by five-time Le Mans-winner Emanuele Pirro. Despite only qualifying in eighth, Pirro sliced through the field to at one point challenge for the lead.

Moss Trophy - winner Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen / Jaguar E-type

The Breadvan dropped back a little after Martin Halusa took the wheel after the driver changeovers, though, and the race was ultimately won by the E-type of Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen who led from the off.

Gerry Marshall Sprint

The second of the Gerry Marshall-honouring races saw Saturday's field line up in reverse order for a 15-minute romp around the Goodwood course, sadly curtailed to a six-minute dash after a lengthy Safety Car session.

Gerry Marshall Sprint - winner Pantelis Christoforou / Ford Escort RS2000

As with the first of these races, the victor was a Ford Escort RS2000, Pantelis Christoforou adding to Blundell and Michael's earlier triumph.

Bolster Cup

A new entry for 2018, the Bolster Cup was also one of our favourite races at 76MM. 

One look at the cars taking part should be reason enough for that: these pre- and post-war vintage beauties were like nothing else on show – spanning Morgan three-wheels to aero-engined specials.

Bolster Cup - winner Tim Llewellyn / Bentley 3/8 Special

Tim Llewellyn took top honours in his recently restored Bentley 3/8 Special, despite the plume of smoke billowing behind him throughout. Incredibly, the car has been in his family for some 60 years.

Gurney Cup

This race was named in honour of the late Dan Gurney, the F1/Le Mans/IndyCar ace who passed away in January.

And fittingly, the cars on show included thunderous Ford GT40s of the kind Gurney drove to Le Mans glory alongside Porsches and Lotuses.

Gurney Cup - winner David Hart / Ford GT40

It was probably destiny that a GT40 would win the Gurney Cup, and one duly did – with David Hart piloting his 1968 model to victory three seconds ahead of a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.

The victory was all the more impressive given that Hart only bought the ex-Willy Mairesse three months ago. And, in a particularly good day for the Hart family, David's son Olivier brought his similar Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe home in third.

Sears Trophy

The final action of the day was in the Sears Trophy: a race for production saloons from 1959 to '63, in honour of the late, great ‘Gentleman’ Jack.

In one of the most diverse fields of the day, Lotus Cortinas lined up against everything from Jaguar Mk2s to Mini Cooper ‘S’s. Although admittedly they mostly lined up against themselves, with eight Cortinas on the 29-strong grid.

Sears Trophy - winner Andrew Jordan / Ford Lotus Cortina Mk 1

Statistics-aside, the Cortinas were the class act on the track anyway, taking the top four places in the weekend's final race as the snow returned. 

In a fitting climax, just 1.1 seconds separated all four as the chequered flag was waved, with 2013 British Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan's 1963 model just holding on at the last.