Race Report: 2021 Gerry Marshall Trophy Final | 78th Members’ Meeting | GRR
Jake Hill won a dramatic Gerry Marshall Trophy Final which brought the curtain down on the 78th Goodwood Members’ Meeting.
The Ford Capri ace Hill waged war with Mustang stalwart Craig Davies at the start, the latter exploiting the superior horsepower of his V8 muscle car while Hill was able to brake later than his rival. They had established a six-second lead over Chevrolet Camaro man Jack Tetley after two laps, with fellow Chevy racer Stuart Graham a further second in arrears.
By half-distance, Hill and Davies were more than seven seconds ahead, with Davies challenging on the Lavant Straight only to be out-braked by BTCC star Hill. He finally got past on the run to Woodcote with nine minutes left to run. A lap later, Hill jumped him at the start of Lavant, but Davies returned the favour moments later. Try as he might, Davies wasn’t able to shake Hill, though, the Mustang’s tail stepping out at ever more lurid angles as he defended.
Hill made a lunge at the inside of St. Mary’s with seven minutes left to run, only to take to the grass. Davies went off in sympathy but re-joined in the lead ahead of Hill. There would be further drama as Davies went off at Fordwater with five minutes left to run and smote the tyre barrier. He was able to return trackside in fifth place, with Hill now leading Tetley by 7.4 seconds from Mustang man Bill Shepherd who had jumped Graham.
Hill drifted his Capri home to claim honours over Tetley by 4.195 seconds with Shepherd a further eight seconds down the road. Davies recovered to fourth from Graham.
Main image by Jordan Butters.