Formula 1 test driver Giedo van der Garde and David Hart cross the finish line in the latter’s AC Cobra during the RAC TT Celebration race at the 2014 Goodwood Revival.
Sauber Formula 1 test driver Giedo van der Garde and David Hart provided the highlight of the September 14 final day of the 2014 Goodwood Revival, as they took victory in a riveting RAC TT Celebration race in Hart’s monstrous AC Cobra.
The pair, who fought off competition from more than $269-million worth of rivals, were just one of a number of winners on the final day of the three-day event.
The pair battled a field that included Jaguar E-types, Aston Martin Project cars and even a Bizzarini.
The world’s largest celebration of historic motor racing and vintage lifestyle also featured a poignant tribute to the heroes of the Second World War and, in particular, the D-Day landings.
Arguably, the most exciting of the 14 races held over the three days—September 12-14, 2014—was the second part of the St Mary’s Trophy, a giant-killing action in which the little Austin A40 of British Touring Car team boss Mike Jordan eventually saw off a pair of mighty Jaguar Mk1s. For virtually the entire 16-lap race the three could have been covered by the proverbial handkerchief.
As ever, at the Revival, it was just one of the races to enthrall the sell-out crowd.
Other highlights included a 30-car Jaguar D-Type parade to mark the 60th anniversary of the Le Mans-winning British sportscar.
Sir Jackie Stewart’s extraordinary career, which was catapulted into life at Goodwood in 1964 thanks to a maiden single-seater test, was marked with a 24-car parade that featured fellow motor racing legends John Surtees, Richard Attwood, Mark Webber and Arturo Merzario.
The racing cars were not the only ones to take to the track with more than 100 military vehicles from the 1939-1945 conflict lapping the circuit on the final day as part of a tribute headed by Lord March. It is now 75 years since the ninth Duke of Richmond aided the war effort by making what is now the Goodwood Motor Circuit available for the nation’s use. The result was RAF Westhampnett, a Spitfire base that made a massive contribution to the eventual victory.
It is not surprising that evocative Spitfire and Hurricane displays are a regular part of any Goodwood Revival’s entertainment and it is usual for them to be joined by the Battle of Britain’s Memorial Flight’s Lancaster. This year, with the only other airworthy example of this great, four Merlin-engined bomber currently visiting the U.K. from Canada, the crowds were treated to the sight of both aircraft on all three days.
As Lord March pointed out, it was to such as these aircraft and the 23 D-Day veterans present, that the countries who formed part of the Allied Forces owed its current freedoms.
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Whitsun Trophy race start—Ford GT40’s plus Lola and McLaren Can-am cars.