[Gallery] 1959 Royal Automobile Club TT Tribute
60 years ago the Goodwood Circuit was host to a Battle Royale of Sportscar motor racing, with three manufacturers duking it out for the final round, and ultimate glory of the World Sportscar Championship.
Fast forward to the 2019 Goodwood Revival, and many of the historic cars which competed in that iconic race are here yet again as a tribute to the 1959 RAC Tourist Trophy in front of a sell-out crowd of automotive aficionados.
In ’59, it all came down to the last race, with Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche all in contention to take the big prize. Despite a dramatic pit lane fire for the Aston Martin team, covering the whole circuit in thick black acrid smoke, Sir Stirling Moss managed to jump into a number 2 car once a privateer team had provided pit space and headed straight back into the fray, with precious time to be made back.
What followed was one of Moss’s most celebrated and incredible driving performances of his career, and indeed that of racing history. Despite a near fiery end, Sir Stirling managed to take victory by over a lap in front of his championship rivals, before lifting the World Championship Crown at the end of one of the most hotly contested years of motor racing.
In Sir Stirling’s 90th year, it only seems right to celebrate not only his remarkable victory here 60 years ago, but also all the brave racers who pushed man and machine to the absolute limit in a ferociously dangerous era of Sportscar racing. Not only that, the cars still look as beautiful as ever. Enjoy the sights of the1959 Royal Automobile Club TT tribute lap right here, and spare a moment thinking of one of the greatest stories in racing history. Bravo Aston Martin, and Bravo Sir Stirling Moss.
Photography by Tom Shaxson.