The Goodwood Revival 2010 honored John Surtees – the only man ever to be crowned world champion on two and four wheels – with a special tribute over the three days. Additionally, a record gathering of racing BRMs paraded each day as well to celebrate the 60th anniversary of this very British racing marque taking its initial racing victory – which took place at Goodwood – in 1950.
John Surtees – the first and only World Champion on two and four wheels – was honoured 50 years after his very first race in a car, which took place at Goodwood in 1960. A stunning collection of more than 25 vehicles associated with his racing career paraded in his honour, led by the great man driving and riding a variety of cars and motorcycles from his racing past.
Already a multiple World Champion on two wheels, it was 50 years ago this year, in March 1960, that John Surtees began his switch to four wheels, entering a Formula Junior race at Goodwood and finishing a close second to Jim Clark.
Within a matter of months, Surtees had scored his first pole position and podium finish in Formula One, and in 1964 he became F1 World Champion. His achievement in winning World Championships on both two wheels and four remains unmatched to this day. Add victory in the inaugural Can-Am championship in 1966, and a spell as a team owner, and his is a career whose achievements will perhaps forever remain unique.
‘Big John’ was reunited at Goodwood with many of the machines he rode or drove in period, from Triumph Tiger 70 motorcycle to the Surtees-Hart TS10 in which he won the Imola Gold Cup towards the end of his competition career.
The 2010 Goodwood Revival also witnessed a special celebration of 60 years of the BRM marque. More than 30 cars spanning more than three decades of the Bourne squad’s history took to the circuit, ranging from the famous – infamous even – V16 P15 Mk1 to the Collier Collection’s 1962 Formula One World Championship-winning R578 ‘Old Faithful’.
On September 30th 1950, the fledgling British Racing Motors (BRM) scored its very first victory at Goodwood, when Reg Parnell triumphed in the Woodcote Cup. From then until 1977, when its doors closed permanently, BRM enjoyed a career which, perhaps more than any manufacturer before or since, was epitomised by glorious highs (17 Grand Prix victories and both World Championships in 1962) and ignominious lows (the calamitous failure of the much-heralded V16, and the team’s eventual demise), but which never failed to capture the public’s imagination.
Among the many BRM ‘old boys’ in attendance was Richard Attwood, who famously finished a fighting second in the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix on being recalled to the team at very short notice. The Le Mans victor said, “I had a good relationship with BRM during an era when it was doing relatively well. I really admired the effort of the Rubery Owen Group for sticking with it and racing for Great Britain.”
BRM was again successful on the track at Goodwood Revival 2010, as Gary Pearson drove his BRM Type 25 to a deserved win in the Richmond Trophy for front-engined Grand Prix cars made from 1948-60. Further, Richard Attwood drove a brilliantly measured race to win the Glover Trophy aboard his BRM P261.
Similar to our Goodwood Festival of Speed 2010 coverage, photographer Tim Scott of Fluid Images also documented this year’s Goodwood Revival. He offers the following images of John Surtees and his racing vehicles, as well as the BRM contingent. To see more from Tim, visit fluidimages.co.uk.
Goodwood Revival 2010 – John Surtees and BRM Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture)
