Mark Webber is loving driving flat‑out at the Goodwood Revival

He was racing in the Fordwater Trophy, the one-make race for Porsche 911s that saw 30 of the most original racing 911s around battle it out for supremacy on the Goodwood Motor Circuit. I sat down for a chat with him before he was due to head out on track for his debut race at the Revival.

“There’s no event in the world like it,” he said, “I think that other events try to have a nibble at maybe doing something similar, but they’re probably a two out of ten in my view.

“Everyone you bring here, they’re blown away by the level of detail, the consistency of finding new ways to bring fresh things to the event.”

But what of his first runs out on track? Qualifying took place on Friday afternoon, and before the day started Mark had spent very little time in the 911 he was due to be driving.

“I did one test. I did two 15-minute sessions here, which was actually good just to get over the shock, and then come here and know that that’s normal, instead of coming in and thinking something’s wrong.

“They are very, very challenging to drive because to drive them competitively you can’t drive them straight, and because this track has no straight-line braking, effectively, there’s only one section down at the end of the back straight. It’s going to be quite an interesting race to say the least.”

Mark himself discovered just how much of a challenge it can be to safely navigate a session on the Goodwood Motor Circuit, as he came into contact with slower car in the braking zone into Woodcote, both cars were fortunately OK to continue, but it goes to show that trouble can find anyone of these hugely skilful drivers.

“I had a little bit of contact in my qualifying session, which was a bit of a surprise. Another driver was having some problems with the gearbox, but maybe my enthusiasm could’ve been less in terms of trying to enjoy myself driving flat-out. I was getting into it! It was good.”

We’d expect nothing less from a racing driver who has done it all: Nine victories during a hugely successful twelve-year F1 career and eight World Endurance Championship wins along with a world championship in 2015. And yet I got a sense that he was thoroughly enjoying his time at Goodwood, revelling in the challenge of conquering the combination of car and circuit.

“The depth of the field, the quality of drivers, it’s a big mix as we know, and I think in these cars in particular” he referred to the 911s competing in the Fordwater Trophy, “there’s going to be a lot of action, because these cars to drive on line on their own, you’re busy enough anyway on the ideal line, when you’ve got no-one around you.”

“The other thing I learned today is that you can’t adjust the mirrors in the pitstop. Inside you can, but the outside ones are going to be quite interesting. Little things like that you learn when it’s your first time in historic racing.”

Even a driver as experienced as Mark is still learning each and every day. There’s hope for us mortals yet. But he was keen to underline that his limited time in historic racing meant he was very much the ‘new guy’ at the Revival.

“There’re drivers that race these cars who’re in a better position to talk about these types of cars on this track. But it seems to be quite a lairy circuit in a 2.0-litre.

“I’ve been to Revival before. I drove Jackie Stewart’s Matra, which was amazing. Jackie let me drive that, he was in the Tyrrell, both world championship cars, but this is the first time I’m competing.”

Of his prospects for the upcoming race? He said he was happy to sit back and soak in the atmosphere, but even ten years since he retired as an F1 driver, that steely competitive streak remained as rampant as ever.

“I think there’s going to be a bit of a pack that will disappear, the first five or six drivers. For us to be in the top seven, we’re all competitive, we want to be looking at the data, where can we find some more time. There’s a lot of experts out there, but I’m quite enjoying it. It’s challenging, yet rewarding.”

You could tell by the look on his face that he was genuinely relishing the battle, raring to get going. We seem to have made a good impression on our new favourite Australian. His parting remark?

“I'll be back next year.”

Photography by Jordan Butters.