Munich/Goodwood. The man in the suit looked
surreptitiously around all the classic cars, then he slowly opened the
left-hand side of his jacket – lots of pocket watches were dangling
inside his jacket. “Special price, special price”, he murmured to the
astonished onlookers. . . Scenes like this are typical for the
Goodwood Revival Meeting: It’s a spectacle from start to finish.
Every guest is part of the drama at the annual rendezvous around the
Goodwood Circuit and on the race track located in southern England.
Genuine performers, professional racing drivers and innumerable
mechanics revive an era of motor sport that has long since passed into
the annals of history. This year once again, more than 150 000
visitors took a trip down memory lane and enjoyed some 360 automobiles
and 30 motorcycles on the race track, along with the numerous heritage
treasures waiting to be admired.
Classic motorcycles from BMW Motorrad were put through their paces on
the race track and demonstrated that they should certainly not be
consigned to the scrap heap. Australian racing legend Troy Corser
achieved some impressive records and a historic triumph. On the BMW R
57 Kompressor, he and Herbert Schwab won the overall placings as they
competed for the traditional Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy. Already in
the first race on the Saturday, the duo crossed the finishing line in
third place after a false start and a subsequent spectacular pursuit.
In the second race on the Sunday, Corser and Schwab even succeeded in
passing the chequered flag as winners. This enabled them to come out
on top in the overall placings when the two results were put together.
This was the first overall win for BMW Group Classic at the Goodwood Revival.
The sensational performance of the BMW R 57 Kompressor was
complemented with a further tour de force by Corser. The two-times
Superbike World Champion rode the fastest lap of the entire weekend
and simultaneously achieved the best lap time ever ridden on the
Goodwood Circuit with a classic motorcycle. The other teams also made
their contribution to the exceptionally successful appearance by BMW
Motorrad Classic in Goodwood. Maria Costello and Claus Clausen riding
the second BMW R 57 Kompressor came tenth when they competed in the
race on the Sunday. In the same race, Klaus Ottillinger and Sebastian
Gutsch rode their BMW R 5 to fourth place.
The races for the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy recall the “BMCRC
1000cc Scratch Race” in which grand prix bikes, slightly modified road
motorcycles and specials battled for victory on “Motor Cycling
Goodwood Saturday” in 1951. At the Goodwood Revival in 2018, historic
automobiles also competed in a trial of strength emulating an old
tradition. The entrants included an Austin Mini Cooper S Competition
and a BMW 1800 TI/SA. They even took part in the same race for the
“St. Marys Trophy”, named after the bend with the most action on the
3.8 kilometre Goodwood circuit. They were competing with lots of other
classic Minis, a veritable horde of Ford Lotus Cortinas, Alfa Romeo
1600 GTA coupés and Jaguar Mark II saloons. The drivers lived up to
their reputation and delighted the public gallery. The races are not
show acts – nobody wants to be overtaken here even if there is only
fame and honour to be gained.
The classic Mini heralded the entry into motor sport for a host of
drivers who subsequently became successful professionals – names like
Lauda, Hunt and Stewart are associated with the car. There again the
“Rally Professor” Rauno Aaltonen – who subsequently went on to become
head of BMW driver training – achieved his biggest successes in the
diminutive British car. The BMW 1800 TI/SA is one of those cars that
allowed the make to prove its potential in touring-car racing during
the 1960s. The1.8 litre four-cylinder engine powering the saloon in
the road-going version generated 110 hp, while two twin carburettors
and higher compression in the motor-sport guise of the “Special” –
“Sonderausführung – (SA) increased the power to 130 hp to allow a top
speed of up to 190 km/h.
Alongside the racing events on the Goodwood Circuit, BMW Group
Classic fascinated the public with the acclaimed BMW 507 once owned by
Elvis Presley, a rare BMW 503 convertible and an open-top Rolls-Royce
Silver Cloud. The vehicles were presented entirely in the style of the
1950s and 1960s. A replica of the traditional London motor-car dealer
Kevill-Davies March was set up not far from the race track.