Goodwood is back! After being closed for events due to the coronavirus restrictions, Goodwood Motor Circuit reopened for the first time since the pandemic to host the Spring Sprint on Easter Monday for the GRRC (Goodwood Road Racing Club), where around a hundred members took their cars for a spin around the historical track.
The iconic motor circuit - which is the only classic circuit in the world to remain entirely in it's original form - was first opened to the public to host Britain's first post-war motor race in September 1948, by the current Duke of Richmond's grandfather, Freddie Richmond, which was warmly welcomed after everyone had been deprived of the excitement of motor racing during World War 2.
The Spring Sprint welcomed many different cars to their circuit, separated into eight classes, for example: road legal cars, non road legal cars, built before 1980, built after 1979 and so on. Despite the event being 'just for fun', the excitement that hung in the air as the cars sped around the track with hardly a second between some of them was incredibly intense.
The day was structured around one practise session and three sprints, with the aim of achieving the fastest lap, if not overall, then in your class. The cars that participated ranged from an Abarth 1000 TC, to Jaguar E-types, to Caterham 620R's, and even the occasional Ferrari Pista.
Graham Hill, racing a Caterham 620R, says, "Being at Goodwood in spring is always special, but to be back there with my family after an extended lockdown, to be amongst fellow racers and also to have been competitive, made for the perfect days motorsport".
As the day came to an end, the Duke of Richmond made an appearance to award the prizes and make a speech, and, despite not being able to shake hands or give people the proper congratulations they deserved, it was still fantastic to see the drivers going up to collect their traditional wreaths and champagne. The winners were: Rod Maton from Class A in the MG MGB with 112.5 seconds; Roberto Giordanelli from Class B in the Jaguar E-Type with 96.9 seconds; Peter Ratcliffe from Class C in the Caterham R400 with 92.4 seconds; Gary Metcalfe from Class D in the Nissan GTR with 86 seconds, Peter Mullineux from Class E in the Crossle 20F with 94.4 seconds; Glenn Mason from Class F in the GT40 with 98.1 seconds; Hugh Coulter from Class G in the Caterham C400 with 89.8 seconds and James Britton from Class H in the BMW M3 with 90.9 seconds.
It was promising to see that there was a category for the fastest female driver, which was Tasmin Hebdith with a time of 100.7 seconds, and the fastest time of the day went to Paul Kenney in the Nissan GTR with an incredible time of 85.3 seconds.
The day as a whole was lively and fast-paced, and, as I'm sure everyone at the circuit would agree, a great day back at the world of racing at Goodwood.
