Qui Me Comitat Vincebit
Qui Me Comitat Vincebit
GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED
(or "See and be seen")
Our favourites, Margaret Brabham and Sue Salvadori
This is not an event for those who love to race - it is more of a posers weekend but a place where the very best of historic cars are on show - not behind ropes and fences but there beside you - well, that is if you can get through the thousands of people all clambering to be close to them. Among the general public there are the knowledgeable - people who are a treasure trove of information and ideas. Sadly many of them go unrecognised and don't push through the swarming hordes to talk to the owners - many of whom stay for hours by their cars and many of whom are happy to discuss the history and engineering detail - and sometimes even to listen! There is nowhere in the world where such a fine and often rare collection of cars can be seen and touched.
The greatest crowds this year were around the Formula One cars - more than ever appear on a grid. Some of the drivers including Jensen Button and Ralf Schmacher had to have 'Minders' to get them through the crowds. Minders were also available for Sir Jack Brabham, Tony Brooks, Roy Salvadori, Sir Stirling Moss, etc. Film and pop stars, together with Murray Walker, Phil Hill, Emerson Fitipaldi, Alan Jones, Jacki Ickx, Johnny Herbert, John Surtees, Damon Hill, Clay Regazzoni and Dave Richards, among others, had to fend for themselves but all had an exclusive drivers' enclosure which was an oasis of peace compared with the paddocks swarming with people and acres of garden with trade stands and childrens' entertainment.
Twenty-four major sponsors made sure that the event was able to run with staggering efficiency - there was no litter, plenty of clean loos, generally good sign-posting and masses of cafés serving champagne. Competitors had to be there from Thursday until 8 pm on Sunday evening - a very long time for a few short blasts up the hill, but they all still went so it must be worthwhile! Helicopters, old planes, the Red Arrows all gave demonstrations and for the drivers and sponsors there was a mega fireworks display after an excellent gala dinner on Saturday night.
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Bill Millikan's incredible camber car & Pilkington's 1950 Talbot Lago Le Mans
Fine engineering for the amazing gravity Soapbox race – one of the best sights of the Festival
Each team, which consists of up to five people including the driver, can build and enter just one soapbox. All Goodwood soapboxes have to be made from parts whose total cost does not exceed £1000. Carefully prepared logs have to be submitted to the Gravity Accountant. This is the one aspect of the competition where creativity is most definitely not encouraged. The size of each soapbox is strictly controlled: maximum 1950mm long, maximum 1100mm wide, maximum weight of 135kg, and a minimum driver's eye-line, when seated in the cockpit, of 770mm. These dimensions are scrutineered (amid much histrionics) during the Friday afternoon of the Festival by means of The Absolute Device - a bottomless wooden box of appropriate proportions which is placed over each soapbox. If it doesn't fit the space, it isn't fit to race.
Technical: There are two types of soapbox:
'Roadster’ - an open-topped soapbox designed to allow the driver to be thrown clear in the event of a serious accident. Open-cockpit wide-track soapbox designed to allow the driver a swift exit in the event of an accident. For a distance of one arm length (the driver's) forward of the seat back, the sides of the body tub should be no higher than the hip of the seated driver; likewise the side squabs of any bucket seat. The steering wheel should not unduly impede rapid egress of the driver's legs from the footwell. The driver's seat shall be of low-back kart-style design, and the rear bodywork should not extend upwards beyond the top of the driver's seat. No seatbelts should be worn.
‘Streamliner’ – a closed-cockpit, narrow-track soapbox designed to retain the driver within a protected cockpit in the event of an accident. Bodywork: all-enveloping, designed to open from inside and outside without the use of special tools. A substantial roll-over bar should be sited at least 40mm above the top of the seated driver's helmet in a suitable position to protect his head, neck and spine. A second substantial roll-over bar should be sited at least 25mm beyond the driver's gloved knuckles when placed at 12 o'clock on the steering wheel. A (minimum) four-point seatbelt must be fitted and worn. N.B. 'Streamliner' soapboxes are permitted to use a narrower minimum wheel track of 650mm.
Soapboxes race two abreast on the hill, with their aggregate time from one run each on Saturday and Sunday determining their final position. Failure to complete the course earns the entrant the same time as the day's slowest finisher, plus an additional five-second penalty. No push-starting, 'wheel tweaking' nor unsporting interference with a fellow competitor is allowed. No stored energy nor weapons are permitted. Before being allowed to compete, each soapbox must partake in two compulsory Test and Scrutineering Days at Goodwood. The soapbox and its driver must demonstrate sufficient competence and integrity to compete. A scrutineering panel will assess each design, paying particular attention to stability (checked by the dastardly 'Wiggle Woggle' test), accident protection, braking and the suitability of all load-bearing components, especially wheels. Where the panel finds concern, the machine is suspended from competing until the issue has been addressed to the panel's satisfaction. Crashing is strictly prohibited, unless absolutely necessary.
P.P.