Goodwood Revival Day 1 Review
In the run up to the Goodwood Revival the predicted probability of rain ranged from 10% to 50% and the severity from light showers to light rain. In reality, the probability was 100% and it ranged from very wet to biblical.
We were due for a quadruple dose of Alfa action – a 1938 308C, a Giulietta Sprint Veloce and a September of Giulia Sprint GTAs. The last on that list we would get to see twice – once in the hands of professional pedalers and once driven by their owners.
The 308C, sadly, didn’t appear for the Goodwood Trophy – a race for Grand Prix cars and voiturettes from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Andrew Lawley’s Giulietta Sprint Veloce did, though, and ended up 8th fastest in qualifying for tomorrow’s Fordwater Trophy – seven and a half seconds off pole but 29 seconds clear of the car in 27th place – how much any of that means for the race we’ll find out – but the conditions may not be very different.
The busiest sessions for Alfisti were the two St Mary’s Trophy sessions. For those unfamiliar with the format, the cars are shared by two drivers – a pro (or ‘celebrity’) driver and, typically, the cars owner. Each qualifies in a separate session – Part 1 and Part 2 – and then there is a two part race. Each individual race has a winner, but the combined result is the aggregate of the two drivers’ times.
Frank Stippler was fastest of the GTAs – and an impressive third overall, bettered only by Alex Buncombe and Steve Soper – both in Mini Cooper Ss – with Stippler just a tenth behind Soper, although bother where three seconds off Buncombe’s pace. Andrew Jordan was 9th, Emmanuele Pirro and Jean-Eric Vergne 15th and 16th, Charlie March (in AROC member Mike Hilton’s ex-Jolly Club car) and Marino Franchitti 25th and 26th with Jochen Mass – who started his international career racing GTAs in 1968 – back in 29th.
The conditions had massively improved for Part 2 Qualifying – but the weather during the rest of the day meant the later qualifying sessions were compressed to make sure that the hour-long race which ended the day could proceed.
Reduced to 15 minutes from 30, another five was lost when one of the GTAs – driven by Francois Rivaz – struck and damaged the wall of the final chicane. At that point, only one car had completed five laps – the rest had managed three or four and were just starting to find their feet. The damp track seemed to suit the Nikolaus Ditting-owned car – which Mass had described as impossible to drive in the extreme wet Part 1 session – rather better. Ditting was fastest of the seven GTAs – although he could only manage 11th and was almost six seconds off the pace of Nick Swift’s pole-sitting Mini Cooper S. Matthew Holme was 12th in the car he shares with Andrew Jordan. Alex FURIANI was 15th in the Stippler car – which probably leaves them best-placed in terms of the combined race result – but a lot will depend on the conditions for Part 1 on Saturday and Part 2 on Sunday.
Roderick Jack was 25th in the ‘Franchitti’ car, Rivaz 26th in the car shared with Vergne, our own Mike Hilton 29th in the car he’s sharing with March and Christiaen Van Lanschot 30th in the Pirro car.
Part 1 will take place at 13.30 on Saturday and Part 2 at 17.10 on Sunday. Watch the livestream at https://www.goodwood.com/grr/event-coverage/goodwood-revival/live-stream/ or highlights on ITV.
