Goodwood_ From the early years.

[khyndart in CA]

This starts out about a different type of roaring engines and the Goodwood area.
My uncle Jack Hyndman was a Mosquito fighter bomber pilot based at Hunsdon airfield north of London in 1943 during the height of World War 2. They began training for a secret bombing raid in Northern France known as "Operation Jericho." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Jericho )
Uncle Jack was part of the RNZAF Squadron 487 and they flew under the radar known as "Hedge Hopping". Sadly as he flew in fog on a mission a few days before the big raid he happened to hit the power lines that cross the South Downs near Goodwood and although he tried to make it to the English Channel the plane crashed a mile short of the coast and sadly people on the ground were also killed. We were always told he had crashed in fog in south England but we never had any details until the last few years.
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Hunsdon Airfield present day memorial.

http://www.wartime-airfields.com/raf-hunsdon.html

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Uncle Jack's plane hit the power lines seen the distance on the hill about 5 miles to the right of this photo at Goodwood, which shows John Coundley winning the Whitsun Trophy Race on June 6 1965 in one of the first McLaren Elva Mk 1 Olds. # 71.
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(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Another look at the hill with the cursed power lines. Looking north from Goodwood.
First October 1973 when the chicane was just a slight left curve in the circuit. No grandstands just some blackberries, pit wall was just some wood planks but the track marshal's Land Rover was still the same after many years.
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(Ken Hyndman photo. Compare this to the 1965 photo when the track was in it's heyday )

Another photo of the same area in 1968 with the McLaren Team testing their new Can Am car before the US season began.
Note the pit wall and counter, Land Rover and that HILL.
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(Ken H)

[khyndart in CA]

1948 was an historic year as that was when Prince Charles, my wife and I were born plus it was the year that the Goodwood Circuit opened in September 1948.

September 18 1948.

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(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

Since 1948 to the present day the Goodwood circuit has stayed basically the same.
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Goodwood circuit in 1948. Note that the marshal's post on the Lavant Straight is on the outside of the track. (If only it had been there on June 2nd 1970 instead of being on the inside like this ! )
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Goodwood as it is today.

(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

1948.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDS-99870F8

[khyndart in CA]

The Goodwood circuit is based around the Westhampnett Airfield which was used by Spitfire Squadrons during World War 2 during the Battle of Britain and included famous pilots such as Douglas Bader and Australian born Tony Gaze. Tony would often race on the roads around the airfield and after the war helped develop the present track using the runways and that meant the Lavant Straight has a kink in it due to the fact the wartime runway was laid out to not be in a straight line so the planes on the runway would be a more difficult target from any enemy air attack. Tony Gaze was a decorated fighter ace and he also drove well and came out to NZ in 1954 -1956 where he finished second to Stirling Moss at the NZGP at Ardmore. He later married Lex Davison's widow, Diana, and his 3 stepsons all became race drivers also. Without his input and enthusiasm and convincing landowner Freddie March, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, to develop the property for racing there may never have been a Goodwood Circuit.
Tony Gaze was a talented driver and along with his friends, Lex Davison and Stan Jones even competed in the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally in this FX Holden.
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Stirling Moss's description of driving the Goodwood Circuit.
Drive around Goodwood
with Stirling Moss
"Goodwood - Six main corners, a chicane, a couple of short straights - and every yard of it a challenge to driver and car. That's how I remember it during the twelve seasons I drove on the Sussex circuit. To the spectator it probably looks a simple open circuit with its fast sweeping bends and good visibility. But to the drivers in their low cars it is packed with testing tricks. Adverse cambers, double apexes on several corners, slight undulations in unexpected places, keep drivers busy and throw cars about without a moment's respite. If a car handles well here its road-holding qualities are proved to the hilt.

1. Madgwick
The first corner after the pits, Madgwick is a fast, sweeping nght-handler with a double apex. You are over on the left while braking down for the bend. Turn in fairly late and aim for the middle of the white curb on the first apex, clip it close, letting the car move out again to right-of-centre before coming back for the second apex. The car mustn't be allowed to run out too far after the first apex as there's a little hump (invisible to spectators) in the centre of the road that can flip the back up and set it down in a different place.

2. Fordwater
Full bore down the short straight before Fordwater moving over to left of track. This is such a fast bend that the car must be set up very early and the whole curve taken at around maximum speed. The last part of Fordwater has a slight dip through which the wind can funnel, and in a light car this can be dangerous (it can blow you right across the road) and must be watched carefully.

3. St. Mary's
St. Mary's is a sharpish left-hander but the term usually includes the nameless bend called "the right hander before St. Mary's". And the right-hander is not one to be ignored; this is the bend before which I ended my own motor racing career! It's a fast bend and the car must be tucked well into the inside and held there without allowing it to break away to the left. The way you take this right-hander governs the line through St. Mary's. Swinging quite late into the left-hander after holding the car in for the last half of the previous bend enter St. Mary's under power clipping the apex on the left then using the whole of the road's width as you leave the corner on another adverse camber.

4. Lavant
Another double apex bend this, and again the car must be positioned to negotiate the first part accurately so that the second apex is taken in such a way that allows the car to accelerate off with the minimum of time lag and wheel spin. You drive through under power close into the first apex moving out again to the middle of the track and taking the second less acute apex in one long smooth sweep. Because the car comes out of this bend at considerable speed you change up into the next gear immediately after the last apex.

5. Lavant Straight
Your car is on the left of the road on exit from Lavant Corner building up speed rapidly. Move over to the right to "iron out" the kink half way down Lavant Straight you pass the kink in top gear. You're approaching your fastest speed. Although the left-handed kink need not be taken razor close it is not wise to leave too much room - or you may find another car nipping through on your left!

6. Woodcote
Another bend with two apexes. Braking hard in the middle of the road the first apex is taken fairly wide and late. As some drivers used to say "You muddle your way through the first part of Woodcote and take the second apex close". As the car is pulled in hard to the white line on the last apex power is applied to get the backend round and the sweep takes you right over to the grass verge on the outside of the track in front of the first chicane stand. The more skillful drivers can save a little time at this corner by late braking but it takes courage and ability to do this!

7. The Chicane
A short burst of power takes the car down to the approach to the chicane still on the outside edge of the track. Brake to a fairly slow speed (it's better to enter the chicane slowly and be in a good position to leave quickly than vice versa) shaving the low wall on the right. Half way through the chicane many drivers turn on the power to swing the car round so that their exit is in more or less a straight line. The slightly sunken kerb on the right is used by others as a "tramline" to hold a back wheel on the right line for the exit. The car catapults out of the chicane under controlled power with the slide compensated by corrective steering, and is taken up through he gears as it passes the pits."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Ken Hyndman )

[khyndart in CA]

Stirling Moss won the first race in his great career at the Goodwood Meeting . Sept. 18 1948. driving a 500 c.c. Cooper.
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Although his driving style of hanging on to the side to stop being thrown out would not have been approved by any driving instructor !
Before the time of seat belts !
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(Ken H)

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, outstanding thread Ken! Great work.

[khyndart in CA]

As you can see from this "Gettys Image" of Stirling at Goodwood in 1948, that he drove like he was in a side car race and leaned heavily into the corners. He was quick right from the beginning. Ken Tyrrell thought that he himself was a pretty decent race driver but when Stirling blew past him in races he decided to be a team manager instead and the rest is history.
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(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

By 1956 Stirling's cockpit habits had improved as he uses up all the track in his Aston Martin at Goodwood.
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(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

In 1958 Jean Behra was fortunate to just get two cracked ribs in this accident at the Goodwood Chicane when his BRM brakes failed and he had to make a quick decision between perhaps veering into the crowded stands on the left or trying to get through the chicane with no brakes. This is the result but sadly a year later Jean died in a sports car race at Avus in Germany.
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plus a brief movie of the event.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQBERlxRNi4





(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

In 1960 Stirling Moss drove a beautiful Rob Walker Ferrari 250 GT SWB # 7 at the Goodwood RAC Trophy Race to victory.
Soon after quickly recovering from injuries from a practice crash at Spa before the F1 race that sadly claimed the lives of talented British drivers Alan Stacey and Chris Bristow.

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(Stirling again using every inch of the track that he can. )


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsEKnNJ9oiw
(This clip has sound )




(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

In 1961 the Goodwood pit area was used for the promotional photos of the new Mini Cooper and Bruce McLaren and John Cooper can be seen with what to me looks like the 1961 Cooper T54 that Jack Brabham drove at Indianapolis that year.
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( A fine car indeed !)


(Ken Hyndman, a proud, 1962, very rare, built for North America, LHD, Austin Mini Cooper, owner )

[khyndart in CA]

Goodwood had some wonderful racing over the time it opened in 1948 until it was closed to race meetings in 1966 when it was thought to be too dangerous for the faster cars and would be too costly to upgrade.
Here are some scenes from over those years.
Racing in the 1950s.
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Those big BRMs putting their power to the track !


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn6BfEyLtxc

[ERC]

I wonder why that Mini Cooper pic (#13) has the car on Bournemouth number plates? Most unusual as most promo pics were of cars registered in the West Midlands.

(Ray, a proud ex original Mini/ Mini Cooper/Cooper S owner and current BMW Cooper S owner and now my wife has just bought a 2014 Mini Cooper auto...)

[khyndart in CA]

Ray,
Thanks for looking out for me, I need all the help I can get !
I found this piece about the KEL 236 number plate.
" Simon Wheatcroft of the Mini Cooper Register has provided an alternative view as to the identity of the prototype Mini Cooper. According to Simon, ‘the development car was not registered as and only bore the registration KEL 236 in the photographic sequence at Goodwood and was actually 126 LWL. 126 LWL was registered on 20 April 1961 as a Morris despite never being seen with a Morris badge, the car was Farina Grey with a Black roof. ‘126 LWL was present at the Mini Cooper launch (badged as an Austin) and was subsequently tested by Sports Car Graphic magazine complete with all its non-standard parts such as Morris Minor style 100 mph speedometer and unique interior trim.’"

( Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

Jim Clark drove in all types of racing at Goodwood throughout his all too brief career.
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Jim Clark in his Lotus leading John Surtees in his Cooper. Goodwood. 1960.

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Jim Clark drifting his Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato through Madgwick Corner during the 1961 Tourist Trophy Race.

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Jim Clark in Lotus Cortina against Nick Brittan's Hillman Imp. Goodwood. 1966.

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Jim Clark about to do battle with Bruce McLaren and Graham Hill at the 1964 Tourist Trophy Race.

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Jim Clark in his Lotus 30 comes into the pits at the 1964 Tourist Trophy Race at Goodwood.

[ERC]

Great stuff Ken. I never visited Goodwood when it was active but having been for the Revival's twice, I urge any real enthusiast to make a pilgrimage. Even if you have to sacrifice other meetings for a year, it is well worth it. Why?

1) You will see so many cars on track that you will never ever see locally.

2) Even without a paddock pass, you can in fact walk around the whole circuit and get a decent view. You can also see some of the paddock, but from the perimeter.

3) There is no chicken wire fencing anywhere to obstruct your view.

4) There are amazing food stalls everywhere. Some more expensive than others.

5) You could spend a day just in the pre 1966 car park.

6) Although there are frustrating delays between races, the last races go on until dusk.

7) The memorabilia stalls and other goodies being sold are well worth a closer look.

8) The atmosphere and dress is just unique.

9) Tickets are limited, so although it is busy, it is not oppressively so.

10) The off track period displays are well worth looking at too.

I'm really hoping I can make it again in 2018...

[khyndart in CA]

Although Graham Hill won the 1964 race in his # 3 Ferrari, it was the battle between Bruce and Jimmy that thrilled the crowd before both of their cars had to retire. It was the last race for Bruce in the Zerex Special.
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Bruce McLaren in his Zerex Traco Olds Special # 2 passing Roger Nathan in his Brabham # 12 on the pit straight at Goodwood. August 28. 1964.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKIhiIFwig0
Another short clip of the race at Goodwood. 1964.


(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

Ray,
That is really interesting information for Goodwood and I know it is on my "Bucket List". I probably would hardly recognize it now compared to how it was in 1973. I remember getting a special offer when at Trojan to take the driving school class offered at that time and I managed to talk my way out of it !
I am also discouraged today to note that in 24 hours a total of 51 have shown any interest in this thread while your "Just a mix of pics" has had over 1300 hits over the same period, so I had better move over and finish this up.
I appreciate all your pics and inputs and hope you get to Goodwood next year.
Cheers,
Ken H

[John McKechnie]

Ken - dont take hit numbers personally...Bathurst is on remember, the world in Aus and NZ comes to a grinding halt.
Also many of us are working long hours for TACCOC next Saturday.

[khyndart in CA]

Thanks John,
I will keep plugging.
I found these two photos from Eoin Young's book "McLaren Memories"
One shows Bruce leading the Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood in August 1964 in the Zerex Special and the other is just about a week or so later in the beautiful unpainted McLaren Elva Mk 1 # BMMR 1/64 Traco Olds V-8.

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It certainly was a beautiful design at least compared to the "Zerex Special"


(Ken H )

[ERC]

The hits Ken, on my thread, is as much due to regulars popping in, from here and overseas as anything. Very little to do with the quality of images or information! It has gathered a bit of a rolling mass so if like me, you pop into TRS several times a day, just to see what is new, or to revisit existing sites, obviously the hit rate is high.

As a NZ based site, naturally enough, there are many more items of Kiwi interest than UK or US, but right from the start, I asked Steve if he wanted UK and overseas stuff on here. The rest is history - and no pun intended.

After seeing the film 'Reach For The Sky', then later, reading the book, Douglas Bader was one of my childhood heroes. This statue of him is at Goodwood. By all accounts, not a particularly nice man, but still a hero.


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Although I didn't visit Goodwood in period, very little seems to have changed and what has, has been for the better. Going to a Revival meeting there is a genuine return to an earlier period of life, as it has an atmosphere that no modern track can possibly emulate.

What has enhanced it though, for these big meetings, is the sheer variety and quality of food stands/trucks etc. As someone who is second only to Tony Roberts for a love of food, it ticks my boxes, with everything from champagne and oysters, (not my thing!) to cheese on toast, bacon butties, fish and chips and curries. (Very much my thing.) I could put on more weight at a weekend at Goodwood than a 14 day Princess Cruise - though it could be at a hefty cost. Very little is cheap.

If I go next year, I'll have to get my tickets early (Saturday tickets sell out by April) and see if there is any way I can lean on someone for a mechanic's pass again, to give me paddock access.

[khyndart in CA]

By 1966 the end of an era came with the closing of the Goodwood Circuit to public motor racing. The track held many memories from the terrible crash that ended Stirling Moss's racing career to the display of future champions such as the great Jim Clark.
The track would continue to be available for teams to do private testing with none more so than the Bruce McLaren Racing team..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3KzutF8Gxk




( Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

By 1967 one can see how the Goodwood stands by the chicane were deteriorating in this Tyler Alexander photo of Bruce testing an M 6 A before the days of wind tunnels !
"Bruce McLaren liked to test a new car without the bodywork in order to get a sense of how it performed without any aerodynamic effects. One result seen here is the M6A’s front tire lifting off the surface at Goodwood."
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(Ken H )

[Oldfart]

Brilliant thread Ken. Thanks.
It seems as though Ray might be talking me into getting there 2018. 2017 was a bit difficult, son's wedding, and I think I might have had a wee bit of trouble if I had tried to choose Goodwood :)

[ERC]

I haven't mentioned it seriously to my wife yet, but I'm doing my planning anyway... If I do manage it again, I may just have to have an afternoon nap so that I don't miss the late afternoon races.

I've started a 2018 thread...

I remember some of the old Goodwood stuff was televised, particularly the TT - but obviously in typical BBC style, between sessions of dog meat racing and other stuff we didn't actually watch, on 'Grandstand'. Often in those days, feature races were nearly always on a Saturday, to get TV coverage, limited though it was.

Occasionally, we'd get a GP televised on a Sunday.

[khyndart in CA]

In 1969 the Alan Mann Racing Team with Frank Gardner driving, tested their Open Ford Racer at Goodwood before the Can Am season.
It had high speed stability issues and Goodwood may not have been the ideal testing area. It took a brave driver such as Frank to get behind the wheel of this machine.
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(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

In 1969 Goodwood was also the site for much of the testing of the McLaren M9A which was a F1 car with 4 wheel drive. It was not a successful project and only raced one time at the 1969 British Grand Prix F1 race at Silverstone.
These are shots of Bruce in the car at Goodwood which seems to include a skid pan / wet track experiment.
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(Ken H )

[ERC]

I think the 4WD car is now in the Donington Museum - unless that too has been flogged off! I believe there may have been an attempt to purchase it by a well known Kiwi a year or three ago. I may even have published a pic way back.

[khyndart in CA]

In 1969 and 1970 Bruce McLaren would sometimes drive his personal project car, the M6GT, from his London home down to Goodwood after stopping to do the shopping first !
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Bruce proudly showing his M6GT outside his home.

This car did come to NZ and spent some time at the MOTAT Museum in Auckland before it went to the USA. In 1994 I saw this ad at the Fantasy Junction site. I was hoping I could convince someone to help me buy it as I knew what an historic treasure it was. But it was not to be. It did go the Mathews Collection and I remember it came up again at Fantasy Junction in 2010. I am not sure where it is now.
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1994 information sheet.

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M6GT information in 1994.

When the car was for sale in 2010 this Fantasy Junction site has some great photos and information.

(Note when Bruce drove the car it had no exterior mirrors !)

http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/873-McLaren-M6GT%20Prototype-350%20c.i.%208%20Cylinder


(Ken Hyndman )

[Steve Holmes]

In 1969 the Alan Mann Racing Team with Frank Gardner driving, tested their Open Ford Racer at Goodwood before the Can Am season.
It had high speed stability issues and Goodwood may not have been the ideal testing area. It took a brave driver such as Frank to get behind the wheel of this machine.
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(Ken H )

Amazing pics of one of my all-time favourite race cars. Too bad it only raced twice. It had potential, but Ford were never serious about the Can-Am.

Its fascinating seeing some of the background images after the tracks closure, and how quickly things fell into disrepair. But the Goodwood Revival and Members Meeting just wouldn't be the same had the track continued on in period, and had been constantly upgraded and modernized.

[khyndart in CA]

I remember being in Sydney, working at W.H. Lober Holden dealership and on June 1 1970 we were just glad that the Indy 500 had been completed without anything happening to the McLaren Team after the practice incidents with Hulme getting burnt and Amon not liking the track and now it was on to real racing again. It was shattering news the next morning to hear of Bruce's fatal crash at Goodwood. June 2nd 1970 will always be etched in my memory.
I have some scrapbook photos from the M8D initial testing at Goodwood in May 1970.
I think Cary Taylor was assisting Bruce drive the # 5 M8D at Goodwood before sending it off to the US Can Am Series for Denny Hulme to drive..
Again note the lack of rear wing bracing when Bruce was testing and then the later diagrams showing the rear wing supports.
I don't think a M8D ever lost a rear wing again. Such a sad way to find a design flaw !
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I think that is Bruce under the rear of the car and Cary Taylor at the front. Goodwood pit area. May 1970

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Starting the M8D. Goodwood. May 1970

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Bruce McLaren cornering in the M8D at Goodwood. May 1970. (Note the rear wing !)
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Bruce discussing the test session regarding the new M8D. Goodwood. May 1970.

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Diagrams of the M8D after June 1970.


(Ken H ) June 2nd 1970. Goodwood. "The Day the Music Died "

[Paul B]

Hi Ken
Simply amazing shots! Legendary times with legendary people!

[khyndart in CA]

Paul,
It seemed like all my boyhood heroes had all been affected by Goodwood, from my uncle crashing his plane nearby, Stirling Moss's race career ended here, Bruce McLaren in 1970 and even Jack Brabham had a nasty crash at the 1999 Goodwood Revival ironically driving a 1967 McLaren BRM M5A at the Saint Mary's Corner and I don't think he raced again after that.
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I look back at my times of Trojan testing in late 1973 where you could wander along and listen to Robin Herd talk to J.P. Jarier about how to improve the F1 March for the next season while an unknown Patrick Head pokes his head in to check out the car. Instead of a wind tunnel duct taping was used and Jarier would hurtle the car around and come back in. Note the seat was just a cushion belted in !
It is a fond memory and the old Goodwood was in pretty sad shape although the track was still good but there was talk of it being closed in the near future.
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(Ken Hyndman photo >>Goodwood Oct. 1973. )

[Steve Holmes]

Ken, do you know when the chicane was removed, and why they removed it? Seems it was there when Bruce McLaren was testing his latest Can-Am car in 1967 as in post #25, but was gone by 1969.

[khyndart in CA]

Paul,
I am so pleased that Goodwood has been so well restored and I thought of you and Bruce (Spgeti) when I saw this wonderful race clip from the 2015 Goodwood Revival Meeting. Great stuff.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o25ats_KXRk


So ends my input on Goodwood.
Cheers,
Ken

[Spgeti]

Thanks for the thread Ken. Really enjoyed it. I just love watching the racing from Goodwood and again this year it did not disappoint.

Cheers
Bruce

[Steve Holmes]

I agree Bruce, great thread. In fact I promoted it to the Home page: www.theroaringseason.com

[Paul B]

Agree wholeheartedly with Bruce ^^ awesome thread. Loved the Thunderbolt clip, that big block FE engine is just the bomb for me, love it!
Thanks ever so much.
Cheers
Paul

[Spgeti]

Agree wholeheartedly with Bruce ^^ awesome thread. Loved the Thunderbolt clip, that big block FE engine is just the bomb for me, love it!
Thanks ever so much.
Cheers
Paul

I know you want to build one Paul but.....

[Bruce302]

Great photos and memories Ken, Thank you very much for taking the time to scan and share them, It is much appreciated by us all.

Bruce.

[khyndart in CA]

Ken, do you know when the chicane was removed, and why they removed it? Seems it was there when Bruce McLaren was testing his latest Can-Am car in 1967 as in post #25, but was gone by 1969.

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(Photo. Bruce McLaren "Racing Car Constructor." by George Begg )

Steve,
This photo shows the McLaren team testing with Denny Hulme in the #5 M8 Can-Am car.
That was May 1968 and there is no chicane or grandstands on the right so it must have been removed in 1967 when the grandstands were also dismantled.
Perhaps the chicane was a liability for the driving schools that operated back then.
I suppose you could put in a temporary chicane for the day just to add to the fun.

Ken.
p.s. I am glad you liked the thread.

[ERC]

The original chicane was quite solid as I remember, (post #11) but the modern Chicane I think is polystyrene.

Funny that a solid chicane was probably deemed dangerous and now we have many tracks surrounded by solid concrete...

[Steve Holmes]

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(Photo. Bruce McLaren "Racing Car Constructor." by George Begg )

Steve,
This photo shows the McLaren team testing with Denny Hulme in the #5 M8 Can-Am car.
That was May 1968 and there is no chicane or grandstands on the right so it must have been removed in 1967 when the grandstands were also dismantled.
Perhaps the chicane was a liability for the driving schools that operated back then.
I suppose you could put in a temporary chicane for the day just to add to the fun.

Ken.
p.s. I am glad you liked the thread.

Thanks Ken, yes you are right, its gone by the time George Begg snapped this image. I'm sure you're right about the reasons it was removed.

[Steve Holmes]

The original chicane was quite solid as I remember, (post #11) but the modern Chicane I think is polystyrene.

Funny that a solid chicane was probably deemed dangerous and now we have many tracks surrounded by solid concrete...

Yes you are right Ray. The original I believe was made from brick, whereas the new chicane is polystyrene. Its not good to have multi-million dollar historic race cars ploughing into an immovable brick chicane. I vaguely recall that when the Goodwood Revival first began, drivers were charged if they hit and damaged the polystyrene chicane. I don't know if thats still the case but certainly they get a 5 sec time penalty now for hitting it. I guess with such emphasis being placed on achieving success at this event, and with teams and car owners being as wealthy as they are, a time penalty works as a better preventative measure than a monetary one.

Of interest also is that Goodwood now has a longer history as a historic racing circuit since the creation of the Goodwood Revival than it did in its original 1948 - 1966 era.

[khyndart in CA]

Back in the 1950s before polystyrene was an option the Goodwood Chicane was not for the timid !
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Note the brick as this Lotus Eleven negotiates the Chicane..

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The chicane in 1953. The bricks are hidden.

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Jean Behra feeling the effects of a brick chicane at Goodwood in 1958.


(Ken H )

[ERC]

Of interest also is that Goodwood now has a longer history as a historic racing circuit since the creation of the Goodwood Revival than it did in its original 1948 - 1966 era.
Good point Steve! Getting old, you tend to overlook these things.

[928]

the chicane that was there in the late 70's and early 80's was substantial,I think faced with railway sleepers. It certainly was not friendly

[ERC]

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The chicane in 1953. The bricks are hidden.


And note the same Connaught in the background of this pic, Goodwood Festival 2004... Full width screen now fitted rather than the aero screen


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Totally off topic (sorry Ken) and from memory, but I think Bernie Ecclestone bought Connaught.

The late Geoff Manning's dog was named Connaught.

Tony Brooks' Sycracuse win in 1955, was the first GP win for a British car and driver combination since about 1923.

[SPman]

I had a good nosy at the M6GT one afternoon in Henderson. It was just parked at the side of the road - Lincoln Rd or Te Atatu Rd... Mid 70's. Across the road from the garage.
Great article Ken - keep it going. Yes 1948 was a good year (me too....)

[khyndart in CA]

I found this article in the Hagerty magazine. It is a wonderful read.
Bruce's name is always be held in the highest esteem even after almost 48 years.
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https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/03/28/holy-trinity-of-mclarens-m6gt-f1-and-720s

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(Ken H)

[Oldfart]

That's a very nice read, brings rumbles to the eyes and heart.