Five amazing things to see in the Easter Monday Stream | GRR
On Easter Monday we’re bringing you an awesome six-hour long stream of classic motorsport action. Inspired by the F1-filled meetings of 1949-1966 this is a Grand Prix stream full of excitement. But what are our highlights? Well, here’s what we think you need to look out for.
Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
This car is magnificent. More suited to drag racing than anything approaching a corner the Thunderbolt appeared at the Revival in 2015 for one glorious summer. An issue in qualifying left it starting from way down the back. But it was in the hands of a certain Tom Kristensen, so it didn’t take long to be back in contention. We won’t spoil the race, but it’s an incredible sight watching TK, no doubt complete with giant cheesy grin, forcing the unwieldy beast around Goodwood’s sweepers before unleashing the power of its mighty 7.0-litre V8 down the straights.
Buzzing 500cc F3 cars
This is where the careers of so many greats began. Tiny little open-cockpit, open-wheel racing cars powered by 500cc motorbike engines buzzing round the Goodwood Motor Circuit. The guys who race these call themselves ‘The 500 Club’ and are some of the bravest guys racing at Goodwood.
These little F3 cars have no kind of seatbelt and the drivers sit almost completely open to the elements. But still they fight on as hard as the drivers of the biggest Shelby Cobras. The 2015 race was a true classic and starts the racing on Easter Monday.
Ferrari vs. Lotus
A theme of the Glover Trophy over the last few years has been the battle between Joe Colasacco in his flat-12-powered Ferrari and Andy Middlehurst racing the ex-Jim Clark Coventry Climax V8-powered Lotus 25. The pair are normally the leading duo in the Glover Trophy, or at least in the mix, and in 2014 this was no exception. Joined by more English machines the sight of the British Racing Green cars surrounding the vivid Ferrari red 1512 is a beauty to behold and worth tuning in on Monday almost alone.
D-Types galore
The Jaguar D-Type is an absolute sportscar icon. A radical departure in aero and monocoque design from anything the Big Cat had developed before it. It’s reckoned that around 70 D-types were made in its day, with 18 of them raced by Jaguar itself. The D-Type would win Le Mans in 1955 on its second outing, then again in 1956, and then finished first, second, third, fourth and sixth in 1957. Powered by a sonorous straight-six one D-Type is enough to get the hairs standing on the back of your neck, but on Monday we bring you an entire grid of them.
Pre-war GP racers dance in the rain
It never rains at Goodwood. But when it does it’s a recipe for some interesting times. Back in 2016 there was some precipitation happening around the start of the Goodwood Trophy for pre-war Grand Prix cars. What that meant is these already muscular-to-control cars became even more wayward than normal, inspiring their drivers to greater feats of car control. The sight of these brutes pitching into lurid slights lap after lap is a truly wonderful experience and one which will accompany your Sunday lunch perfectly.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.