Video: Bonkers pre-war cars of all sizes battle at Goodwood

08th May 2020

Seán Ward

Some races at Goodwood, like the Members’ Meeting’s Gerry Marshall Trophy, give you the chance to see the David and Goliaths of the motoring world go head to head. But what if you wanted to see the little and large from slightly earlier, to back to before World War II? You must watch the mad and utterly brilliant Brooklands Trophy.

The Brooklands Trophy is a Revival favourite, not just because the drivers drive flat out even with incredibly primitive brakes and tyres that would in many cases be better suited to bicycles, but because the pre-war machines are in some cases very small, like the 1934 Triumph Dolomite 8C 55 Corsica Roadster of Jonathan Turner, and in some cases absolutely huge, like the 1928 4.5-litre Bentley Parkward Saloon of Gareth Graham. So to see 29 of these machines roar – and we really mean roar – away from the start line is utterly surreal. And then there's the wonderful Owlet, which needs no introduction.