Goodwood at Easter

A notable F1 victory by Graham Hill (BRM)

Easter seems far away as we look forward to Whitsun but printing schedules precluded any reference to racing that week-end in the last issue and so, for the record, here are a few impressions.

Graham Hill thoroughly deserved his victory in the F1 Glover Trophy Race, in a new V8 BRM. He took the lead on the third lap and drove fast and steadily, never losing it, to win at 102.65 mph, by 43.4 sec from McLaren’s Cooper and Ireland’s Lotus, Salvadori’s Lola fourth. Ginther’s V8 BRM had trouble in starting, Moss’ V8 Rob Walker Lotus, on loan to UDT-Laystall, had a pit-stop with gear selector trouble and, resuming three laps behind, Moss set about breaking the lap record. Surtees in the V8 Lola was doing likewise, he too being far back in the race after an unnecessary spin at Woodcote and two pit-stops. Surtees put it to 82.0 sec (105.37 mph), Moss equalled this, and then, presumably trying to go still faster, crashed at St. Mary’s on coming up behind Hill.

Reports of what happened were very garbled, the car went straight on into the bank and jack-knifed, mercifully without catching fire, it being half-an-hour before the unconscious driver was removed from the wreck. One commentator said the brakes had failed, another that Moss had recovered consciousness, Hill thought the Lotus crashed backwards; all apparently incorrect.

As I write this, on the last day of April, Moss is recovering and perhaps will soon recall what happened, perhaps not. In the past his great skill has been equal to almost any emergency except breakage of his car. If the brakes fail he spins it, if the throttle sticks open he gets out of gear and flicks the switch off. If he loses it, he recovers-remember the Aintree GP spin on a water-logged course ? So this crash remains a mystery, especially as RAC officials could find no mechanical derangements. In wishing Stirling Moss a quick recovery may I express the thought that the importance placed on who establishes fastest lap in a race may make for a dangerous situation ? At Brooklands lap records could be established on a clear track.

Poor Hill lost much of the acclaim due to him on account of the natural anxiety over what had happened to Moss, and why.

In the 10-lap 4-cylinder F2 race Surtees (Lola) led from McLaren until he made a very stupid error of trying to force past Siffert’s Lotus when the latter was close to the chicane on a perfectly legitimate “line.” Surtees bounced against the Lotus, causing its retirement and very hard against the wall, almost tearing off the Lola’s off-side back wheel. So McLaren went on to win at 99.05 mph from Salvadori’s Lola and Shelley driving splendidly for a newcomer-in a Lotus. McLaren lapped at 101.17 mph. The 10-lap FJ race was won by Arundell’s Lotus-Ford at 96.04 mph, from D Taylor’s Lola-Ford and Spence’s Lotus-Ford, but it was Maggs’ Cooper-BRM that set a new FJ lap record of 98.4 mph.

Graham Hill drove a splendid Saloon-Car Race, beating the other 3.8 Jaguars of Salvadori and Sears, Hutcheson’s Riley 1.5 vanquished the works Sunbeam Rapier in its class and, excellent!, Christobel Carlisle took the 1,000-cc division in her Cooper-Austin from Rutt’s Cooper-Mini after all the works Mini-Coopers had retired because their Dunlop SP tyres failed to last this 24-mile race. The Squadra Blez International DKW Junior failed entirely to attain “Press hand-out” performance.

As compensation for the loss of Moss’ Lotus, UDT-Laystall’s Lotus Monte Carlo, so ably driven by Ireland that it looked quite unspectacular, won the GT and Sports-Car finale at 95.55 mph from the Lister-Jaguars of de Selincourt and Coundley, Ireland setting a new sports-car lap record of 98.85 mph, while Parkes (Ferrari Berlinetta) took the GT section at 91.54 mph, also netting a lap record, at 95.15 mph. Goodwood is now very fast. Another attraction was Sky-Diving, watched by the crowd of 70,000 in the cold sunshine, in which one parachutist broke his arm, so it’s not only motor racing that is dangerous.-WB.