Comments on: Happy Easters at Goodwood

By: a.eglington

a.eglington — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:17:54 +0000

1965! Yes I was standing at Lavant corner enjoying my traditional Easter Monday at Goodwood.Thanks for bringing back memories of that incredible hailstorm which proved beyond any doubt that Jim really could walk on water.Great days when races were decided on the track and not in a stewards enquiry

By: robwiddows

robwiddows — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:06:51 +0000

Hello everyone, especially my old mate Walter down there in New Zealand. Great to read all your comments, as ever.
I should explain my absence from Planet Blog, my friends.
Here I am, in a cafe in Corfu, having watched the Chinese GP with Greek commentary (a heady mixture) and on Friday I am off to Bahrain for the GP and for an audience with Mr Ecclestone’s collection of racing cars, 24 of which have been shipped out to the Gulf as part of the spectacle at the circuit in the desert. Meanwhile, of course, I must make my way from Greece to England to facilitate the next part of my travels.
I find myself working in many unusual places, thanks to the invention of the laptop computer and my restless urge to keep abrast of the motor racing that I love.
Today, then, I am tapping away in an “internet cafe” in the little coastal village of Agios Stefanos. Elsewhere in the ‘Three Ws’ cafe (stands for www as in the web, I guess) there is the usual game of darts. An Englishman named Neill is taking on several locals, taking his mind off the fact that he has just crashed his Peugeot on the tortuous roads that criss-cross the island. The excuse he chose from the famous ‘book of driver excuses’ was that he lost it on a mixture of rainwater and olive oil. Right. Anyway, he spun, and hit the bank which was a great deal better than going over a nasty drop into the valley below.
Talking of drivers, what a boy is this Vettel. Pure talent. If, and it’s a very big if, a battle ensues between Brawn and Red Bull, then we are in for a vintage season. But don’t count out McLaren and Ferrari, not yet anyway. Diffusers can be made. And of course we must never forget Mr Alonso, talented and so extremely hungry.
See you after the race in Bahrain, and a long, loving look at some of Mr E’s wonderful cars.
RW

By: Walter R

Walter R — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:56:28 +0000

See you cant get away we find you everywhere. Really enjoy your stories and writing.
Probably not too many realise that you had an illustrious career in New Zealand as motor sport commentator.
Not only that you are not a bad sailor either.
WAL

By: Tony Churly

Tony Churly — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:31:24 +0000

I know everyone gets misty eyed about Goodwood but as someone raised on the less than sun baked expanses of Snetterton in the 50s, I confess I found Goodwood elitist and claustrophobic.
Unless you had the right badge in your blazer buttonhole then it was hard to spectate anywhere really worthwhile. The revival is a spectacular recreation of those days all be it with a better standard of dress than I remember as a kid. Now if the whole crowd wore battered gaberdine raincoats and caps that had seen better days ….. But after all that Archie Scott-Brown held the lap record and as a Snetterton lad he was my hero.

By: Dave Cubbedge

Dave Cubbedge — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:18:52 +0000

You guys have Goodwood, over here in Ohio we have Eldora Speedway! I was there Saturday night to see the USAC Sprint Cars. Racing was excellent, track owner Tony Stewart was there and the cheddarwurst might be the best track food ever! Weather was great, sunshine and temps in the 50s. There were several flips, one hospitalized. Lots of passing on the dirt and the 3rd place guy (Jessie “The Rocket” Hockett) started 16th, which is a pretty good run in 30 half-mile laps. Nice to get this race in, usually it rains here in early April…

By: rob widdows

rob widdows — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:51:34 +0000

I went to Goodwood on Easter Monday! Sat on a grassy bank by the Chicane, soaked up the Spring sunshine and watched members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club compete in a Sprint. That’s one flying lap from a standing start. Not as good as racing, of course, but some nice cars and a lovely atmosphere. And the cars in the car parks were pretty desirable as well. I parked my little Modus next to a Ferrari Dino and oppsoite a Morris Minor which had what looked and sounded like a V8 behind the front seats………Ah, only the English……….
So, Easter at Goodwood lives on, if it is now only a Sprint for those lucky enough to have a suitable motor car.
Off on a short holiday now which means finding a bar with a TV on which to watch the Grand Prix in Shanghai. If only all challenges were as simple and enjoyable……!
RW

By: Rich Ambroson

Rich Ambroson — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:51:59 +0000

Hope you had a lovely Easter Sunday, Rob!

I wish I had been around in times when Easter Monday meant Goodwood. An altogether more civilized time, it seems from what I’ve read, and the pictures I love to see.

Cheers,
Rich