The Goodwood Weekender
Discussion
Bit of indulgent Goodwood-themed nonsense from me...
I must confess at this stage to a little un-journalistic bias. I love Goodwood. There’s something in the air on that grand old estate which seems to contain a sprinkling of magic. Somehow everything they touch just works. I’ll try not to be too gushing.
We arrived at the Goodwood Hotel on Friday afternoon as privileged guests – rather out of our depth in such salubrious surroundings. The hotel is lovely; thoughtfully designed and with every whim neatly catered for. They even have the Sky Sports F1 channel so we could keep abreast of the F1 testing from Barcelona without resorting to Twitter. They even serve burgers at the bar and have a huge Jaguar E-Type evocation painted on one of the outside walls. It’s personal too; with Lord March’s own arboreal photographs decorating the corridor walls.
We had decided to take advantage of a classic car break, jointly offered by Goodwood and local hire company Vanilla Classics. This affords the opportunity to enjoy a luxurious stay in the Goodwood hotel and rent a classic car. I’d rather rashly promised Mrs Motorcardiaries a day with Vanilla Classics’ AC Cobra replica to indulge her love for muscle cars. If anything is likely to sate an appetite for V8 American muscle, a 5.1l 350bhp Chevy V8 shoehorned into a tiny fibreglass bodyshell is it.
Vanilla Classics is about fifteen minutes to the south east of Goodwood and offers a wide range of classics for hire. For the enthusiast, their Cobra rep and glorious V12 E-Type shout the loudest. The Cobra is a BRA replica produced in 1972, and therefore by some considerable distance, the oldest car either of us had ever driven. A short test drive revealed a very different character to the VW Polo we’d arrived in.
We had the car for the full day and an allowance of 100 miles included. We did the only obvious thing and headed back to Goodwood to pose for some photos at the Motor Circuit. Sooze took the wheel first – after all it was her treat. With vestigial roof off and blaring side-exit exhausts, this was elemental motoring in a sense which made my Exige seem positively civilised. We were well wrapped up against the elements and enjoyed the thrill of the cold air on our faces and being able to virtually reach out and touch the Tarmac beneath us.
As you’d expect, the noise dominates the whole experience. No opportunity was wasted to savour the aural ferocity. It’s a mighty, potent sound which hardens considerably as the revs rise, pricking the hairs on the back of your neck – if the wind hasn’t got there first. Arriving at Goodwood we dropped through the tunnel, with the obligatory engine blipping showering us in V8 thunder. Magic.
There was a track day on at the circuit, with numerous exciting noises signalling rapid lappery. We paused long enough to pose for a few photos before heading off in search of some fine driving roads to savour the Cobra experience. Mercifully this picturesque corner of West Sussex has them in abundance so we headed out past the race course and towards Petworth. With its claustrophobic streets, Petworth seemed the perfect location for some more juvenile, confined, engine revving. Despite the rather childish nature of this enterprise, I defy anybody with petrol in their veins not to laugh at loud at the lunacy of such unbridled aural defiance in the narrow streets of a polite provincial town.
After a lap of Petworth with the sole purpose of making a bloody racket we headed west and out towards Midhurst and one of our favourite pubs in the area – the Halfway Bridge just near Cowdray Park. Having been without a roofless car for several years I’d forgotten quite how chilly an experience it can be, even with thick coats and scarfs. A few minutes by a radiator with a hydrating caffeinated beverage and we were ready to brave the car and the elements.
This time it was my turn and immediately finding reverse was a struggle; not helped by the kitchen staff acting as an impromptu audience. Eventually I found a gear and headed out onto the open road. The view down the bonnet is evocative, with big air intake dead-ahead and the road framed by those high arches atop the front wings. Suddenly I was Phil Hill on the 1964 Targa Florio. In my dreams…
The Cobra driving experience is really quite something. That view is evocative enough, but gripping a three-spoke wooden-rimmed Mono-Lite steering wheel feels special, with every throttle opening feeding greedy carbs and rousing those crazy side exit exhausts. The steering is well weighted but not terribly feelsome so your appreciation of the car is mainly from the traditional seat-of-the-pants. Slung over the back axle, you never feel anything less than totally involved in the driving process.
The pedalbox is narrow and there’s no space for a left foot rest, but that just seems a good excuse for stirring the gearbox more often. The gearchange is pretty good out on the road and blipped downchanges are rewarded with generous burbles and pops on the overrun; especially satisfying when there are adjacent walls or verges to reflect all that malignant noise. The brakes take some getting used to, with little initial bite, and then lots. Still, they’re way more effective than you’d expect from a car produced in the early 1970s and never provide any worry.
I expected to be totally intimidated by the Cobra. With little weight, a hugely torquey engine and a relatively unsophisticated chassis it sounded like a recipe for a fearful driving experience. The truth is far removed. The damping isn’t going to give Lotus engineers sleepless nights and it’s slightly unsettled by mid-corner bumps, but never to the extent of eroding confidence. We both ended up driving it fairly briskly, but obeying the usual principle of exercising extreme caution when braking or accelerating unless in a straight line. I was soon imagining what it must be like piloting a real Cobra in the TT Celebration at Goodwood…hammering down towards Fordwater before a lift to stabilise the rear and drift through, hurtling off towards St Mary’s.
We ended up finding some stunning roads around West Sussex and they were mostly quiet. We briefly passed into Hampshire before returning to Goodwood for lunch. We had a sandwich in the Aero Club and warmed up before spending a few minutes on the roof of the pits to observe the combatants on track. It was your typical mixed track day bag. Making the largest impression was a huge – and hugely dramatic – Lamborghini Aventador; its V12 searing across the paddock. A Bentley Continental GTC looked incongruous, hauling two occupants at considerable speed, despite its apparent lack of suitability for track work.
No track day would be complete without a Porsche 911 GT3 and a red 997.2 looked an absolute weapon. Equally ubiquitous at track days is the BMW M3 and an E46 well represented its ilk. Of course there was also an Exige there, and this particular S2 had blotted its copybook by dumping its gearbox oil all over the pitlane. We felt for the poor owner and hoped he got home under his own steam.
Still, we had a Cobra for the day so decided to worry about our own motoring. I took to the passenger seat once more and Sooze gave another obligatory throttle blip as we ducked through the tunnel and back out onto the open road. We headed out towards Midhurst again, but this time along a different road to enjoy some new surroundings. We then turned back east, through Petworth and on towards Storrington, eventually dropping south and nosing reluctantly in the direction of Vanilla Classics to hand back the car.
It was a really fun day. We both loved the Cobra and immediately did the obvious thing and started browsing the Pistonheads classifieds at prices of good replicas. Maybe when we’ve got a second garage it’d make a good partner for the Exige. We were blessed with a rare day without rain and the Sussex roads were usefully quiet. Best of all, it’s earned me some awesome birthday brownie points with Sooze.Goodwood.008We stayed locally on Saturday evening and set the alarms early for Sunday morning. Despite my general reticence over road cars and traditional car shows, the Goodwood Breakfast Club is such a great morning out. This represented the first of the year and was themed Tax Free Sunday – ostensibly for pre-1973 classics. An enormous turn-out of evocative old cars made the early morning jaunt, as well as thousands of others not directly applicable to the theme.
The great thing about the Breakfast Club is that you have no idea what might turn up until you arrive. The tax-free theme permits all manner of machinery and the site was bustling was old cars and motorcycles. Mercifully, despite the potentially beardy age of the cars, the crowd comprised folk of all ages, with kids loving the chance to run around on a real race track. As well as people, there are also scores of dogs in attendance, with canine companionship encouraged. For the most part, they seemed as well-behaved as their owners.
The range of cars was bewildering. From early cycle-fendered jalopies to track-ready E-Types it was hard to know where to look. The variety highlights the sheer diversity in automotive interests which abound. There were muscle cars aplenty and at one stage two Ford Mach 1 Mustangs amusingly faced down a trio of Mopar’s finest as they departed the circuit. Hot rods were also out in force, with pin stipes decorating bodies which exposed glistening carburettors. These sat alongside glamorous Astons, Ferraris, Maseratis and Gordon Keebles, while the usual British suspects from Triumph, Austin Healey, Jaguar and Bentley added familiarity.
It’s a heady mix and the perfect way to pass a morning; even if you turn up in a rather ordinary VW Polo.
With the Breakfast Club winding down we started the long drive back up north to our native Yorkshire. In keeping with the Goodwood theme, NYLOC was due to receive Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams to deliver a presentation to members and friends about his remarkable career. Whizzo has become something of a hero to Goodwood crowds with his demonstrative exploits aboard a variety of machinery at the Revival – he’s now competed in 65 races at the Revival.
Whizzo is a natural raconteur and kept the crowd entertained for more than two and a half hours. He’s lived a colourful life, now 74, and having raced for 50 years aboard a huge variety of machinery. He’s competed alongside a bewildering array of racers during a fascinating career. There can barely be a racing driver alive or dead who Whizzo doesn’t have an incriminating story about. It was a great evening and a pleasing way to close out a wonderful weekend. Now it’s back to reality.
I must confess at this stage to a little un-journalistic bias. I love Goodwood. There’s something in the air on that grand old estate which seems to contain a sprinkling of magic. Somehow everything they touch just works. I’ll try not to be too gushing.
We arrived at the Goodwood Hotel on Friday afternoon as privileged guests – rather out of our depth in such salubrious surroundings. The hotel is lovely; thoughtfully designed and with every whim neatly catered for. They even have the Sky Sports F1 channel so we could keep abreast of the F1 testing from Barcelona without resorting to Twitter. They even serve burgers at the bar and have a huge Jaguar E-Type evocation painted on one of the outside walls. It’s personal too; with Lord March’s own arboreal photographs decorating the corridor walls.
We had decided to take advantage of a classic car break, jointly offered by Goodwood and local hire company Vanilla Classics. This affords the opportunity to enjoy a luxurious stay in the Goodwood hotel and rent a classic car. I’d rather rashly promised Mrs Motorcardiaries a day with Vanilla Classics’ AC Cobra replica to indulge her love for muscle cars. If anything is likely to sate an appetite for V8 American muscle, a 5.1l 350bhp Chevy V8 shoehorned into a tiny fibreglass bodyshell is it.
Vanilla Classics is about fifteen minutes to the south east of Goodwood and offers a wide range of classics for hire. For the enthusiast, their Cobra rep and glorious V12 E-Type shout the loudest. The Cobra is a BRA replica produced in 1972, and therefore by some considerable distance, the oldest car either of us had ever driven. A short test drive revealed a very different character to the VW Polo we’d arrived in.
We had the car for the full day and an allowance of 100 miles included. We did the only obvious thing and headed back to Goodwood to pose for some photos at the Motor Circuit. Sooze took the wheel first – after all it was her treat. With vestigial roof off and blaring side-exit exhausts, this was elemental motoring in a sense which made my Exige seem positively civilised. We were well wrapped up against the elements and enjoyed the thrill of the cold air on our faces and being able to virtually reach out and touch the Tarmac beneath us.
As you’d expect, the noise dominates the whole experience. No opportunity was wasted to savour the aural ferocity. It’s a mighty, potent sound which hardens considerably as the revs rise, pricking the hairs on the back of your neck – if the wind hasn’t got there first. Arriving at Goodwood we dropped through the tunnel, with the obligatory engine blipping showering us in V8 thunder. Magic.
There was a track day on at the circuit, with numerous exciting noises signalling rapid lappery. We paused long enough to pose for a few photos before heading off in search of some fine driving roads to savour the Cobra experience. Mercifully this picturesque corner of West Sussex has them in abundance so we headed out past the race course and towards Petworth. With its claustrophobic streets, Petworth seemed the perfect location for some more juvenile, confined, engine revving. Despite the rather childish nature of this enterprise, I defy anybody with petrol in their veins not to laugh at loud at the lunacy of such unbridled aural defiance in the narrow streets of a polite provincial town.
After a lap of Petworth with the sole purpose of making a bloody racket we headed west and out towards Midhurst and one of our favourite pubs in the area – the Halfway Bridge just near Cowdray Park. Having been without a roofless car for several years I’d forgotten quite how chilly an experience it can be, even with thick coats and scarfs. A few minutes by a radiator with a hydrating caffeinated beverage and we were ready to brave the car and the elements.
This time it was my turn and immediately finding reverse was a struggle; not helped by the kitchen staff acting as an impromptu audience. Eventually I found a gear and headed out onto the open road. The view down the bonnet is evocative, with big air intake dead-ahead and the road framed by those high arches atop the front wings. Suddenly I was Phil Hill on the 1964 Targa Florio. In my dreams…
The Cobra driving experience is really quite something. That view is evocative enough, but gripping a three-spoke wooden-rimmed Mono-Lite steering wheel feels special, with every throttle opening feeding greedy carbs and rousing those crazy side exit exhausts. The steering is well weighted but not terribly feelsome so your appreciation of the car is mainly from the traditional seat-of-the-pants. Slung over the back axle, you never feel anything less than totally involved in the driving process.
The pedalbox is narrow and there’s no space for a left foot rest, but that just seems a good excuse for stirring the gearbox more often. The gearchange is pretty good out on the road and blipped downchanges are rewarded with generous burbles and pops on the overrun; especially satisfying when there are adjacent walls or verges to reflect all that malignant noise. The brakes take some getting used to, with little initial bite, and then lots. Still, they’re way more effective than you’d expect from a car produced in the early 1970s and never provide any worry.
I expected to be totally intimidated by the Cobra. With little weight, a hugely torquey engine and a relatively unsophisticated chassis it sounded like a recipe for a fearful driving experience. The truth is far removed. The damping isn’t going to give Lotus engineers sleepless nights and it’s slightly unsettled by mid-corner bumps, but never to the extent of eroding confidence. We both ended up driving it fairly briskly, but obeying the usual principle of exercising extreme caution when braking or accelerating unless in a straight line. I was soon imagining what it must be like piloting a real Cobra in the TT Celebration at Goodwood…hammering down towards Fordwater before a lift to stabilise the rear and drift through, hurtling off towards St Mary’s.
We ended up finding some stunning roads around West Sussex and they were mostly quiet. We briefly passed into Hampshire before returning to Goodwood for lunch. We had a sandwich in the Aero Club and warmed up before spending a few minutes on the roof of the pits to observe the combatants on track. It was your typical mixed track day bag. Making the largest impression was a huge – and hugely dramatic – Lamborghini Aventador; its V12 searing across the paddock. A Bentley Continental GTC looked incongruous, hauling two occupants at considerable speed, despite its apparent lack of suitability for track work.
No track day would be complete without a Porsche 911 GT3 and a red 997.2 looked an absolute weapon. Equally ubiquitous at track days is the BMW M3 and an E46 well represented its ilk. Of course there was also an Exige there, and this particular S2 had blotted its copybook by dumping its gearbox oil all over the pitlane. We felt for the poor owner and hoped he got home under his own steam.
Still, we had a Cobra for the day so decided to worry about our own motoring. I took to the passenger seat once more and Sooze gave another obligatory throttle blip as we ducked through the tunnel and back out onto the open road. We headed out towards Midhurst again, but this time along a different road to enjoy some new surroundings. We then turned back east, through Petworth and on towards Storrington, eventually dropping south and nosing reluctantly in the direction of Vanilla Classics to hand back the car.
It was a really fun day. We both loved the Cobra and immediately did the obvious thing and started browsing the Pistonheads classifieds at prices of good replicas. Maybe when we’ve got a second garage it’d make a good partner for the Exige. We were blessed with a rare day without rain and the Sussex roads were usefully quiet. Best of all, it’s earned me some awesome birthday brownie points with Sooze.Goodwood.008We stayed locally on Saturday evening and set the alarms early for Sunday morning. Despite my general reticence over road cars and traditional car shows, the Goodwood Breakfast Club is such a great morning out. This represented the first of the year and was themed Tax Free Sunday – ostensibly for pre-1973 classics. An enormous turn-out of evocative old cars made the early morning jaunt, as well as thousands of others not directly applicable to the theme.
The great thing about the Breakfast Club is that you have no idea what might turn up until you arrive. The tax-free theme permits all manner of machinery and the site was bustling was old cars and motorcycles. Mercifully, despite the potentially beardy age of the cars, the crowd comprised folk of all ages, with kids loving the chance to run around on a real race track. As well as people, there are also scores of dogs in attendance, with canine companionship encouraged. For the most part, they seemed as well-behaved as their owners.
The range of cars was bewildering. From early cycle-fendered jalopies to track-ready E-Types it was hard to know where to look. The variety highlights the sheer diversity in automotive interests which abound. There were muscle cars aplenty and at one stage two Ford Mach 1 Mustangs amusingly faced down a trio of Mopar’s finest as they departed the circuit. Hot rods were also out in force, with pin stipes decorating bodies which exposed glistening carburettors. These sat alongside glamorous Astons, Ferraris, Maseratis and Gordon Keebles, while the usual British suspects from Triumph, Austin Healey, Jaguar and Bentley added familiarity.
It’s a heady mix and the perfect way to pass a morning; even if you turn up in a rather ordinary VW Polo.
With the Breakfast Club winding down we started the long drive back up north to our native Yorkshire. In keeping with the Goodwood theme, NYLOC was due to receive Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams to deliver a presentation to members and friends about his remarkable career. Whizzo has become something of a hero to Goodwood crowds with his demonstrative exploits aboard a variety of machinery at the Revival – he’s now competed in 65 races at the Revival.
Whizzo is a natural raconteur and kept the crowd entertained for more than two and a half hours. He’s lived a colourful life, now 74, and having raced for 50 years aboard a huge variety of machinery. He’s competed alongside a bewildering array of racers during a fascinating career. There can barely be a racing driver alive or dead who Whizzo doesn’t have an incriminating story about. It was a great evening and a pleasing way to close out a wonderful weekend. Now it’s back to reality.
I enjoyed that, thanks for taking the time 
You found some of the finest local roads, and Petworth, well, I swear I made a dog leap entirely off the ground with an almighty pop and bang in the Cerb once
I did check and the elderly lady walking it was still moving as we disappeared around the corner.
Glad you had a good time, it made me realise how lucky we are to have somewhere so special, so close.
You found some of the finest local roads, and Petworth, well, I swear I made a dog leap entirely off the ground with an almighty pop and bang in the Cerb once
I did check and the elderly lady walking it was still moving as we disappeared around the corner.
Glad you had a good time, it made me realise how lucky we are to have somewhere so special, so close.
Hi chaps, really pleased the post was of interest. We had such a great couple of days down there!
I'm really lucky that my grandfather lived about 15 miles from Goodwood so we've been visiting the motorsport events annually since the 1994 FoS. I've grown up with the place, really. It's a lovely place to spend time - and I imagine an even better one to live in!
If you're tempted by a day with one of Vanilla Classics' cars then don't hesitate. I was really impressed - they're nice people and all the cars seem well-presented. Best of all, Mrs Chev had the time of her life, which really was the whole point of it :-)
I'm really lucky that my grandfather lived about 15 miles from Goodwood so we've been visiting the motorsport events annually since the 1994 FoS. I've grown up with the place, really. It's a lovely place to spend time - and I imagine an even better one to live in!
If you're tempted by a day with one of Vanilla Classics' cars then don't hesitate. I was really impressed - they're nice people and all the cars seem well-presented. Best of all, Mrs Chev had the time of her life, which really was the whole point of it :-)
We saw you there! We own the red 911 and our mate owns the red Ferrari 308. We were testing the Team Green MGB race car on the track day following an engine rebuild. I'm quite upset that my red Merc didn't make it into the photo ;-)
I hope you don't mind if we steal the photos.
Rachel
I hope you don't mind if we steal the photos.
Rachel
Edited by RaeB on Tuesday 12th March 17:45
RaeB said:
We saw you there! We own the red 911 and our mate owns the red Ferrari 308. We were testing the Team Green MGB race car on the track day following an engine rebuild. I'm quite upset that my red Merc didn't make it into the photo ;-)
I hope you don't mind if we steal the photos.
Rachel
Hi Rachel, drop me a PM and I'll send you the originals :-) Sorry we didn't get the Merc in there as well. Same time next year, instead? I have a couple of shots of the MGB on track so I'll e-mail over whatever I have for you. Hope the test went well. I hope you don't mind if we steal the photos.
Rachel
Edited by RaeB on Tuesday 12th March 17:45
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