Formula 1 legend Jenson Button starred on his historic racing debut during a thrilling Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy encounter. The one-hour, two-driver race for closed-cockpit GT cars of the kind raced prior to 1963 kicked off the 2021 Goodwood Revival Meeting programme in thrilling style. The 2009 World Champion, who was sharing a Jaguar E-type alongside his friend Alex Buncombe, revelled in what was also his maiden race outing at Goodwood.
Race report: Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy – Revival 2021
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Nevertheless, victory was out of the question. Instead, it was the E-type of Harvey Stanley and James Cottingham that claimed the spoils. Former World Sports-Prototype Champion Martin Brundle started from pole in the Jaguar he shared with his son Alex. However, it was Stanley who led away in. Second place was initially held by fellow Jaguar man John Young only for the veteran to endure a lurid spin. Stanley managed to eke out an advantage after Brundle Sr battled hard with new third place man Jon Minshaw in the E-type he was sharing with Phil Keen.
The lead trio managed to drop the ‘Dragonsnake’ AC Cobra of Mike Whittaker and Mike Jordan, the purple-hued car making its circuit debut at the Revival Meeting having previously been a star of drag racing. The top three stopped together 22 minutes in to swap seats with their respective co-drivers, the Cobra claiming the lead. Keen headed Brundle Jr on venturing trackside with Cottingham leaving the pits 20 seconds in arrears after his wingman had problems with his harness.
After 32 minutes had been run, and with most driver changes having been made, Keen headed the field with Minshaw following in his wheel-tracks, with Cottingham guiding the third-place Jaguar on its lock-stops as he clawed back lost ground. Unfortunately, the Brundle E-type spun on its own oil after the engine blew and connected with the barriers shortly thereafter. The safety car was brought out with 27 minutes left to run, the gap between Keen and Cottingham, which had been reduced to 14 seconds, was annulled at a stroke.
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Racing resumed with ten minutes left to run. Keen blasted into the distance, although Cottingham soon made inroads. He jumped Keen with six minutes left on the clock and held on to take honours. Button, meanwhile, came home seventh.
Jenson enjoyed his stint, the Goodwood rookie saying later: “It was really good. I overtook three cars at the start but then got bogged down and lost the places. I improved on this morning, though. We started nineteenth and were up to sixth by the time the safety car came out. I am very lucky to be sharing a car with Al. He’s competitive in anything he drives. I am looking forward to racing the Cobra in the TT with him later this weekend.”
Photography by Jordan Butters.
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