76MM Prize Giving – who came out on top?
Methuen House, led by Anthony Reid, regained the Members’ Meeting House Shield, beating Darnley House by almost 3000 points, after a 76th meeting of superb sporting achievement, both on and off the circuit.
Anthony Reid immediately dedicated his house’s victory to Henry Hope-Frost. He echoed the thoughts of all in the hall by saying how important Henry had been to the Members’ Meeting since its resurgence five years ago.
The Duke of Richmond awarded the prizes and addressed the assembled throng in the Great Hall, following the last race on Sunday evening. He said the fact that the snow-hit 76th meeting had gone ahead so smoothly was “a fitting demonstration of the spirit of Goodwood.
“We had ordered the snow ploughs but we didn’t need them, though we came close.” It is thought this is the first time a Members’ Meeting has endured such wintry weather.
His Grace also had special words for the moment during the weekend that touched everyone: the minute of “fever” in tribute to Henry Hope-Frost, the “voice of Goodwood” who died in a road accident earlier in March. “The moment for Henry was something I will always treasure and remember,” the Duke said.
Methuen House has now won the shield four times out of five, its stranglehold on the coveted trophy only broken last year by Emanuele Pirro’s Torbolton House.
As is customary at the Members’ Meeting, house points are scored not just by drivers in the racing but also by GRRC and Fellowship members who took part in a range of activities over the weekend ranging from car-parts skittle to axe-throwing and crocheting.
At the end of the weekend the scoreboard looked like this:
Methuen (Anthony Reid) 15,279
Darnley (Jochen Mass) 12,385
Torbolton (Emanuele Pirro) 12,198
Aubigny (Nicolas Minassian)
The fastest lap of the 76MM meeting went to Ollie Hart who steered his 1965 Shelby American Cobra Daytona coupe around an often wet and slippery circuit in 1min 25sec.
The Members’ Meeting governors selected their favourite cars from among the demonstration drives. Cars singled out for praise included the 1974 Begg-Chevrolet F5000 car which Scott and Lindsay O’Donnell had brought to 76MM all the way from New Zealand.
Other cars winning governors’ awards were Nick Mason’s Group 5 Ferrari 512 BB Le Mans; Stefano Macaluso’s 1980 Lancia Beta Montecarlo Turbo; and the F5000 Lola T400 of Frank Lyons, as driven by his son Michael.
Podium place-getters from all 12 76MM races were awarded by the Duke of Richmond with trophies, along with the customary commemorative bottle of Goodwood ale, each with its unique silver cap. Members’ Meeting partner IWC Schaffhausen thrilled special winners with the presentation of an exclusive IWC watch.
Photography by Tom Shaxson