The St. Mary’s Trophy race at the Goodwood Revival 2016 was held September 9-11 at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex, England.
Former British Touring Car Champions Andrew Jordan and Gordon Shedden vied for honours in the opening installment of the St. Mary’s Trophy, with the former holding on for a brilliant win.The race for identical-spec 1275cc Austin A30/A35s saw 29 racing legends line-up on a sodden track, with Jordan blasting into the lead from the outside of the front row.
Despite being concerned about his car’s staying power, given that the engine had been replaced three times in two days, Jordan drove a defensive race. He had to as pole-sitter Shedden was never more than 0.2 seconds behind him for the entire duration of the 20-minute thrash. Touring car superstar Steve Soper was never far away, but was unable to challenge, while former Le Mans winner Mark Blundell placed fourth.
Jordan admitted subsequently that his car was on the verge of blowing its head gasket, but claimed that the race was “…an absolute hoot.”
Goodwood Revival 2016 – St. Mary’s Trophy Race One Results
1. Andrew Jordan, 1959 Austin A30
2. Gordon Shedden, 1956 Austin A30
3. Steve Soper, 1957 Austin A35
Goodwood Revival 2016 – St. Mary’s Trophy Race Two Report
Paul Dorlin took a toweringly impressive win in the second instalment of the St. Mary’s Trophy two-parter, this year staged exclusively for Austin A30s and A35s. Nevertheless, it was the father and son team of Mike and Andrew Jordan who won outright on aggregate. The race wasn’t without incident, though, with two cars exiting the course before lurching into barrel-roles, fortunately without causing injury.
As the flag dropped, pole-sitter Ben Colburn led the train of cars away from Charles Knill-Jones, the latter being better known for racing vintage Bugattis. Dorlin tucked into their slipstream in third, Knill-Jones briefly assuming the lead on lap six, only to fall back shortly thereafter. The order changed repeatedly in the second half of the 20-minute thriller, and, once in the lead, Dorlin was able to break the tow to his pursuers and hold on to the top spot to the end.
Jordan Sr, who finished third on the road behind Dorlin and Knill-Jones, did enough to keep the top two in check, with the family taking home the overall win by barely a second. Andrew said later: “I would rather be racing. It’s too nerve-wracking watching from the pit lane. It’s great to win the St. Mary’s Trophy, though. We’re both over the moon.” Dorlin, meanwhile, added: “That felt like a very long race, but it was only 18 minutes. What a race, though. I couldn’t be happier.”
Goodwood Revival 2016 – St. Mary’s Trophy Race Two Results
1. Paul Dorlin, 1959 Austin A35
2. Charles Knill-Jones, 1957 Austin A35
3. Mike Jordan, 1959 Austin A30
Goodwood Revival 2016 – St. Mary’s Trophy Overall Race Results
1. Jordan / Jordan, 1959 Austin A30
2. Soper / Knill-Jones, 1957 Austin A35
3. Shedden / Brown, 1956 Austin A30
Goodwood Revival 2016 – St. Mary’s Trophy Video
[Source: Goodwood; photos: Julien Mahiels, Drew Gibson]
