The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
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The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
The team of Lord March set up another sell out event ... Goodwood 74th Members Meeting 2016
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Chichester, 19th - 20th of March, 2016

For the third time the legendary members meeting of the 1960s was revived on the historic race course on the Goodwood grounds. Recreating the spirit of the club races of the past the team of Lord March set up another sell out event and early season highlight within just three years showing that the Goodwood events are synonymous for high quality racing. The goal was to achieve an own atmosphere to differ from the September Revival but still sharing enough to be attractive for the spectators. When looking at the success of the Revival it is clear that involving the spectators into the event is a key point and this was taken over to the Members Meeting although in a more active way.

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Whereas the dressed up spectators “only” add to the atmosphere at the Revival the visitors are more involved into the Members Meeting if wanted. With the introduction of the four “houses” challenging against each other not only the race drivers on the track are in the competition but also the spectators who are able to support their house by adding points in outdoor or pub games. This simple idea puts the attending visitors far closer to the racing than normal race meetings without being pushy as one could also only attend without being involved.

The four houses Methuen, Torbolton, Aubigny and Darnley are represented by Anthony Reid, Emanuele Pirro, Andrew Jordan and Jochen Mass as team captains, Methuen won the previous two Members Meetings and was about to get the hat-trick at the end of the weekend.

One of the key in the success of the Goodwood event is certainly the good networking of the Earl of March with his numerous contacts to the manufacturers and major racer and collectors all over the world. Few other events are able to get as spectacular features and special attraction one could see at the Festival of Speed, the Revival and now the Members Meeting. This year one of the highlights was without doubt the feature on one of the most exciting times in long distance racing, the 1969/1970 season when Porsche started their dominance in Le Mans and Ferrari made a last attempts to win at La Sarthe. The famous 1970 race got its monument later with the Steve McQueen movie and today the Gulf colored Porsche 917 are among the most iconic race cars ever. Goodwood brought back the memories with a mouthwatering moving display of no less than 8 Porsche 917K including all the famous liveries (Gulf, Martini, Porsche Salzburg) and maybe even more impressive 6 of their counterparts from Maranello. The Ferrari 512 in different configurations (long and short tail, S and M specification) was developed to challenge the parvenu from Zuffenhausen in the 5 Litre sports car class but due to a very limited live time of the 5-Litre Formula the V12 was never able to catch up the development advantage of the flat-12. With the change of power of the two iconic marques these two years became some of the most famous in sports car racing and in Goodwood a few of the protagonists like Derek Bell, Richard Attwood or David Piper were out in their former racers. After the Group C display last year this was another superb display of sports car racing and not few made their way to Chichester purely for that.

But the Members Meeting also has a soft spot for Formula 1, even for those who never actively raced on the fast track. After the turbocharged F1 cars and the high airbox of the early 1970s in the previous years this year’s F1 theme was the era of the ground effect. After the introduction of the wings to create down force the underfloor caught the attention of the constructors in the late 1970s giving the cars a very different shape. After rather strange constructions including blowers at the Chaparral and the Brabham BT46B the side pods became the key feature and the Lotus 78/79 with the flexible skirts became the car to beat. Goodwood brought several of the iconic black JPS livered cars and the opponents, most of them powered by Cosworth. In between was a sole Ferrari 312 T5 that struggled to keep up with the aerodynamic development of the Lotus and after winning the championship in 1979 with the 312 T4 its successor did not win a single race starting the years full of deprivation when Ferrari waited two decades for the next title.

Apart from the special features the Members Meeting featured no less than a dozen races ranging from bikes, saloon and sports cars to Formula racing. Although it does share some key races with the Revival especially the exclusive ones are the most interesting. The only race group running twice on the weekend was the Gerry Marshall Trophy named after the famous British Touring car champion. Open for touring cars of the 1970s until 1982 this is a race for cars originally never competed at the Goodwood Road circuit but just like the St. Mary´s trophy for the earlier cars at the Revival this is one of crowds’ favorites. With cars on a very equal level this provides spectacular wheel-to-wheel action.

Even more equal are certainly single car races like the Alan Mann Trophy. First race of the weekend the Ford GT40 race was held on Saturday evening running into the sunset giving a glorious sight with more than 2 dozen of the 40 inch high sports racers coming down the main straight. Intended as a two-driver race over a full hour this was both a challenge for drivers and cars. With several changes in the lead finally Cuff and Soper took the chequered flag in the dark. Unfortunately a lot of spectators already left into the hall and to the party to warm up on a chilly evening so just a few of hardcore race fans saw the GT40 diving into the chicane with red-hot discs. One of the favorites, the ex-Alan Mann Racing GT40 piloted by Kenny Bräck and Christian Gläsel only made it over a tenth of the distance.

But race of the weekend was without doubt the S.F.Edge Cup for Edwardians up to 1923. These monsters are rarely seen on a race track and ranging from the huge aero engined specials like the Fiat-Isotta Fraschini with most likely the longest steering rod in the field and a driver sitting behind the back axle to the small and nimble Bugatti Brescia with a fraction of the displacement. When the cars fired up in the assembly area the sound was simply glorious and one has to admire the drivers sitting on the car rather than in the car blasting around the fast circuit just above idling. Rounding to pole position in under two minutes was seasoned vintage racer Julian Majzub in the Sunbeam Indianapolis but in the race it was finally Duncan Pittaway in the racer small GN Curtiss taking the chequered flag. Let´s hope that this race will become a regular in the Members Meeting as few races were cheered for as much as the racers from the dawn of motor racing. Few cars provide as much sound and vision as the huge engines with the open valve timing.

After the practice sessions on Saturday the Members Meeting again provided a fantastic party behind the large drinking hall. With jugglers, dancers, fireworks and merry-go-around the atmosphere was provided for a memorable evening.

The third of the modern Members Meeting again was well worth a visit despite the low temperatures. Held in the middle of March the weather is rather unpredictable and could range from the warm early spring to the final days of a long winter. Unfortunately this year’s temperatures contrasted the friendly yellow flowers around the track but there were enough activities around the track to keep one warm.

Unfortunately we were only able to attend the practice day on Saturday missing out a lot of the fun at the races but we still brought some great memories back from Goodwood. Hopefully the galleries can transport some of the impressions of the Members Meeting and animate you to visit the 75th MM in person. Tickets for non-members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club will be on sale early in 2017 and usually sell out fast so please keep informed by visiting the Goodwood website (www.Goodwood.co.uk) for future updates.



Images … Peter Singhof & Andreas Meiniger
Text ... Peter Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de