A glorious Goodwood outing

On a perfect autumnal morning 10 bold and brave Liverymen gathered at the Jackie Stewart Centre to ‘sign on’ followed by coffee from the ‘Horse Box’ crafted by the barista Saskia.

Many Liverymen had overcome dramas just getting to the famous circuit. Hugh and his charming wife Judi came in their ‘red rocket ‘, a beautiful Audi Quattro. It had overheated en route the day before but thankfully was mended so we could all see the perfect 1980s’ 4×4 icon in action.

The Master had kindly organised seven 15-minute private sessions. Out onto the circuit went our fellow petrolheads.

Liverymen on track – James Banks, Richard and Liz Pugh & Duncan Wilshire

Richard and Liz Pugh aka ‘Pitlane poppsie’ have years of experience successfully rallying and racing together. Today their 1995 Porsche 993 ‘skin stuck to the edges’. Richard is the President of the ERP (or the Ecurie Rice Pudding Club) – the rallying equivalent of the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC).

Duncan ‘whizzo’ Wiltshire is normally a ‘giver of pleasure through his wonderful Racing Legends’ series, now he was a ‘taker’ with his cute MGB driven surprisingly quick on the circuit. His sophisticated wife Philippa gave instruction.

Our Master put on her racing suit and fearlessly drove onto the track. Driving her MGF, she built up to a respectable speed, clipping all the apexes. She swapped seats with Simon ‘Stirling Moss’ Diffey. He knows the circuit better than his own workshop, squirming the car sideways at every opportunity.

John ‘McRae’ Boyes and Alison demonstrated how powerful their 2018 Subaru Sti is. It shot off the line with the distinctive roar of an Impreza, leaving many colleagues for dust.

Simon Gurney, a ‘grandee’ of the race circuit, and Danny Puttick drove the beautiful 1961 Morgan Plus 4 Supersports round the circuit. An original Le Mans car, it looked gorgeous through St Marys and Lavant. Sadly, with a small bang the cylinder head gave way and the team retired to the pits.

Trevor Conway drove his Caterham Super S, complete with telemetry, at pace. One could tell why he is lying fifth in the championship.

James Banks demonstrated what a McLaren Spider is capable of. He self-deprecatingly described it as ‘new money’ but it was worth every penny as he topped 140mph on the straight.

Jaguar flambe – Roger Woodbridge

Roger and Karen Woodbridge gave a different meaning to the word ‘flaming red’ as he negotiated the chicane. A banjo bolt fell out of the Jaguar’s carburettor, pouring high octane petrol over the piping hot engine, which went up in a ball of flames. He pulled into the pits and five marshals covered the car with five extinguishers of foam. Simon D was heard to say “if you can’t win then get noticed!” Luckily Roger’s only injury was burnt smuts on his helmet .

In the evening Liverymen and guests were treated to a rare dinner with Their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon.

We were also joined by Tim ‘penny farthing man’ Gunn from The Repair Shop television programme and Steve ‘the clock man’ Fletcher. Many suitable hours were spent tasting the delights of the Duke’s farm produce and quaffing claret into the early hours. Glorious Goodwood will in future be moved from July to September!

Dinner with Their Graces the Duke & Duchess of Richmond