Goodwood 2018
It`s a rare sight to see any 'Special Saloons' at the famous Goodwood circuit that the opportunity to get some of the cars there in 2018 was too good to miss. The event was the inaugural 'Retro Rides Gathering' to take place at the famous circuit. The brainchild of David Murphy and his Retro Rides team had previously put on events at the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb. These are events for owners of cool cars to display and in the case of Goodwood enjoy a few laps of the track. The Retro Rides events have a very keen following with many younger car enthusiasts, some younger than their cars in fact and alot of it promoted via social media rather than traditional means. One of the themes for Goodwood were special saloons and when organiser David Murphy approached the CSCC Special Saloons Facebook group asking for cars I was happy to jump straight in to help get the word out.
The result was a perfect day out for cars fans. Beautiful weather, a relaxed atmosphere, everything was affordable ( £15 entry ) which enabled many who wouldnt normally be able to enjoy a day at Goodwood to sample the great circuit and it`s surroundings. The special saloons made for a superb display in the paddock and the likes of Steven Moss ( 'the Green E' Anglia ), David Beatty ( 2 ex-Gerry Marshall Astons ), the Minton family Escort mk.2 , Neil Jessop ( Zakspeed Escort replica ), Neville Powell ( Ian Hall`s Firenza ), Paul Connell ( Sierra RS ) and Ian Stapleton ( Alfa GTV ) all enjoyed 2 sessions of lapping the famous track as headline demos. The static displays backing them up included Jon Mann ( Thundersaloon Calibra ) ,the Marsh family`s ex-Hooker Escort RS and 'barn find' ex-Lynn, Sledmore, Astell Escort mk.1 , Terry Nicholls' Toyota Supra plus a few other interesting cars including a Subaru-powered Escort mk.1.
Helping organiser David Murphy get this gathering together was the inspiration for me to start the special saloon register and it was such a success its hoped the cars will be invited back for another Retro Rides gathering there in the future.
some of the cars :
