Goodwood 78th Members' Meeting

What a whirlwind it's been since the last Goodwood Members' Meeting in 2019.

tom-senior

Tom Senior

Director Classic Car Finance

This year's was held in October, contrary to its usual Spring setting.

With Goodwood Revival being hosted a month ago, the organisers were able to use the remaining infrastructure for the Members' Meeting. This event is one of the last of the year, in what has been a busy calendar for car enthusiasts. It marks the end of the pleasurable year we've had spending time with fellow classic car enthusiasts, seeing smiling faces, and enjoying the whole automotive community scene.

As with anything held at the famed Goodwood, it was thoroughly well organised, immensely enjoyable and just that little bit special. The atmosphere was slightly more relaxed at the Members' Meeting, meaning there was no need to be up at the crack of dawn to get there as things didn't really kick off till around 10am.

In many ways, the cars on track were similar to Revival with a slightly more modern twist, on the day there were 70-80's Touring Cars in action, such as the iconic Rover SD1, an awesome sounding 80's BMW 5 series, and even an early racing VW Golf. Alongside the usual headlines of Ferrari 250 SWBs, Aston Martin DB4s and of course Jaguar E Types.

The morning started fine and bright but it wasn't long before the rain started pouring on track, making it rather wet and challenging for the drivers in the next few races and qualification sessions, resulting in unfortunate but near inevitable crashes. There were some exceptional car handling skills on the day.

If the racing wasn't enough, we were spoilt with various parades and demonstrations, including the yet to be launched, but sure to be classic, Gordon Murray Automotive T50 with its biblical Cosworth V12 that really needs to be heard to be believed. I understand the car was wheel spinning in almost every gear given the slippery track, good thing it was driven by the talented Dario Franchitti.

There was also a fitting tribute to Ayrton Senna, where his nephew Bruno Senna drove the iconic 90's poster child of F1; the red and white colouring of the Malboro livered McLaren that was the dominant force in F1 at the time.

As the light faded, the preparations were made for the first ever rally special. Iconic rally cars from the WRC blatted around the specially created track, including the Castrol livered Toyota Celica, Colin Macrae's 555 Suburu Impreza, Carlos Sainz's Ford Focus and perhaps the daddy of them all, the Audi Quattro.

As I made my way back to the car for the long drive home, I reflected on what a fantastic day it had been and made plans for the next one. As I write this, it is with great pleasure knowing that the 79th meeting returns to its usual slot in April next year, and therefore I have little more than 5 months to wait!