Goodwood will celebrate the racing careers of Stirling Moss and Gerry Marshall at the inaugural 72nd Members’ Meeting, scheduled to be held 29-30 March 2014 at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex, England.
The invitation-only Goodwood Members’ Meeting for the members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club and their guests will honour the sports car career of ‘Mr Goodwood’, Sir Stirling Moss, with a grid of closed cockpit GTs of a type that raced at Goodwood between 1958 and 1962.
The entry list for the inaugural Moss Trophy will be an authentic representation of what a Tourist Trophy grid would have looked like during this grand-touring era; before the prototypes appeared on the scene and dominated proceedings. While the RAC TT Celebration we see at the Revival is full of exquisite cars, it is a somewhat rose-tinted perspective; rather fuller of foreign exotica than the period race ever managed to attract.
The Members’ Meeting will see a realistic early ‘60s grid, where steel bodied E-types will do battle with 250 GTO and SWB Ferraris, Aston Martin DB4 GTs, C1 Corvettes, early 260 cu in Cobras, and of course the nimble little Morgan Plus 4s, Lotus Elites, and Porsche-Abarth Carrera GTLs that made the race such a varied spectacle.
So while the priceless exotica will still be prominent, they will be joined in battle by a variety of cars that will paint a picture almost indistinguishable from an early ‘60s TT grid.
To celebrate racing great Gerry Marshall, Goodwood announced its first ever ‘out-of-period’ race will be named the Gerry Marshall Trophy. Having amassed a staggering 625 race wins, Gerry was undoubtedly the biggest character (and winner) in the world of 1970s saloon car racing; winning in Production, Group 1 and ‘Super Saloon’ machinery – predominantly with Vauxhall and Triumph.
On 19th March 1966 Gerry competed at the 68th Members’ Meeting at Goodwood, and was a long-time supporter — and winner — at the Revival. He died in 2005 and, with the blessing of his family, Goodwood is proud to honour Gerry’s memory with this new event at the 72nd Members’ Meeting.
Expect to see a number of ex-Marshall machines, helping to fill a grid that will be the finest since the Group 1 races were originally staged. Examples expected include: Ford Capri and Escort; Rover SD1; Chevrolet Camaro; BMW 3.0Si; Mazda RX7; VW Golf; Mini 1275 GT; Alfa Romeo GTV; Triumph Dolomite; Vauxhall Firenza; Opel Commodore and more.
All cars will be running un-silenced, offering spectators the now rare aural delight of a wailing Essex V6 or the sonorous bark of a Rover V8 on full song. In another ‘first’ for Goodwood, all too will wear the iconic liveries that made the 1970s and 80s such a colourful era.
To join the Goodwood Road Racing Club waiting list visit www.goodwood.com/membership. For customer enquiries, contact the Goodwood Ticket office on +44 (0)1243 755055.
[Source: Goodwood]
