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| The UK
online magazine for Classic Car enthusiasts |
The first
Festival of Speed of the new millennium had possibly the finest line-up of cars
and drivers yet - but it was a bittersweet weekend following a fatal accident on
the hill
Champions and Challengers
With a theme of Champions and Challengers, Lord March and his team sought to
bring together cars and drivers which competed at the highest level in many
different codes of motorsport, and to recall their epic battles on the track.
The le Mans cars offered a perfect example of this, with Richard Attwood aboard
the Porsche 917K (this is the actual car used in the Steve McQueen movie Le
Mans) and Jackie Ickx in the Ferrari 312PB flat-12 which won every race it
entered back in 1972
Legends of the Lakes
New to the Festival this year were the stunning Legends of the Lakes cars -
radically chopped and streamlined Hot Rods from the dry lake speed contests of
the 40s and 50s. In the immediate post-war period these cars were built and
raced at Muroc and Bonneville. The Ray Brown High-Boy and the Pierson Brothers
Ford Coupe, which ran 153 mph in 1953, were part of a "need for speed"
that continues to this day on the Utah Salt Flats
Scene Setters
This year we also celebrate 50 years of Formula One. Amongst the Scene Setters
was the "new" Lancia D50 entered by Robin Lodge. The D50 was
campaigned successfully by Ascari in 1954 and 55 and is particularly striking
with its side-mounted fuel tanks. No original cars exist and this car is a
painstaking re-creation built using original engine parts. Another Italian
classic was the 1959 Technica Meccanica - the last iteration of the glorious
Maserati 250F. In the hands of Barrie Baxter it managed a time of 61.03 seconds
with 102 mph through the speed trap
The Pinnacle Formulae
Four F1 teams brought cars to Goodwood. Jaguar, the featured marque, had test
driver Luciano Burti and team driver Johnny Herbert demonstrating the R1 on the
hill. Williams brought an FW22 which was driven by Jenson Button when he wasn't
busy signing autographs. Mike Gascoyne, Jordan team designer, demonstrated a
1999 Jordan F1 car but ended the weekend with a start-line spin into the hay
bales on Sunday afternoon - clearly these cars are as twitchy as they say they
are! Current hill record-holders McLaren-Mercedes were back with the MP4/14 but
no serious attempts were made on Nick Heidfeld's hill record of 41.6 seconds set
last year. From America, legendary driver AJ Foyt brought the 1999 Indy
500-winning 3.5 litre Indy Racing League Dallara-Oldsmobile for demo runs in the
hands of Max Angelelli
Featured Marque - Jaguar
The Jaguar F1 car was the latest part of the celebration of Jaguar's racing
heritage. Suspended in front of Goodwood House was a stunning display of cars
spanning 50 years of Jaguar racing, with a 1953 Mille Miglia C-Type, a 1956
D-Type, 1961 E-Type, 1984 XJR-5 le Mans car, 1987 XJR-8, 1951 ex-Ecurie Ecosse
XK120 Roadster, the 2000 F-Type concept car and a Jaguar F1 car - all floating
in mid-air, suspended in a complex array of supports and cables designed by
Gerry Judah.
The rarely-seen XJ13 prototype was doing demonstration runs driven by original
test driver Norman Dewis. This car was virtually destroyed in a testing accident
with Dewis at the wheel, but later rebuilt, and the wonderfully aggressive shape
is striking even now. Stirling Moss was reunited with the alloy-bodied XK120 in
which he won his first major race, the RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod, and Win
Percy was again at the wheel of the XJS-TWR he campaigned in the 1980s. Other
ex-Jaguar drivers seen over the weekend included Martin Brundle, Jan Lammers and
Bob Tullius. Johnny Dumfries, tempted out of driving retirement by Lord March
for a previous Goodwood, was at the wheel of the XJR-9 in which he won le Mans
in 1988 with co-drivers Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace.
Johnny Herbert
Johnny Herbert celebrated his 36th birthday with doughnuts for everyone on
Sunday. At the wheel of his Jaguar R1, the popular F1 driver laid yards of
rubber at the startline on his runs up the hill, and late on Sunday afternoon he
stopped outside Goodwood House to perform his party trick. With a handful of
left lock and a bootful of throttle the Jaguar performed balletic doughnuts
before the cheering crowd and left huge tyremarks on Lord March's driveway. His
place in the Jaguar F1 team may be under threat but his popularity with British
fans is in no doubt - especially after this exuberant display
| John
Dawson-Damer |
| John
Dawson-Damer was killed at the wheel of his Lotus 63. He was a leading
collector of Lotus racing cars and had competed at Goodwood in previous
years. He leaves a wife and two children |
| Andrew
Carpenter |
Andrew
Carpenter was killed, and Steve Tarrant seriously injured, in the accident
at the finish line on Saturday afternoon. Both were BMRMC marshals - part
of the unpaid team of trained marshals that assist at all UK motorsport
events.
An appeal is raising money for the families of the marshals. To
contribute, contact Trevor Jackson at BARC, Thruxton, Andover, Hampshire |
| Comment |
Many
of us struggled to come to terms with this tragic accident, and for some
observers it was an unhappy reminder of fatalities from years gone by. At
the closing ceremony on Sunday evening, Canon Lionel Webber spoke movingly
of how drivers accepted the risks involved, and said that "In the
midst of this beautiful sport there is always the capacity for something
to go wrong".
But also killed on Saturday was a marshal. This sport owes it's very
existence to these unpaid volunteers who risk their lives to make the
sport safer for others. On Saturday they paid a high price for our
entertainment, and we dedicate this year's Festival of Speed report to
these brave men and women |
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