The Great Goodwood Gift Guide: What to buy in March

Don’t forget the exciting range of official Goodwood merchandise, too, much of it event-specific. You’ll find all manner of gear, from pin badges and books to T-shirts and ties, at www.goodwood.com/shop.

'Hobbo' – Motor Racer, Motor Mouth

£50 (www.evropublishing.com)

There’s a possibility you may not have heard of David Hobbs, or at least know little about him. This new book, from the people who’ve proved very good at this type of glossy memoir, recalls the career of one of Briton’s most versatile pedallers. ‘Hobbo’, as he is universally and affectionately known, raced in Formula 1, F5000, Indycar, NASCAR, Can-Am, IMSA, Trans-Am, the British Touring Car Championship and the Goodwood Revival, winning races and titles in a disparate number of series over 40-plus years. He also entertained fans out of the cockpit for a similar number of years as an F1 pundit for NBC in his adopted America, bringing an authoritative and amusing slant to the network’s popular broadcast. Carefully and caringly edited by experience motorsport journalist, broadcaster and PR guru Andrew Marriott, this honest and amusing book is sure to be one of the best racing biogs for many years.

Martini Racing retro jackets

From €98 (www.maxpart-racing.com)

German racewear and accessories firm Maxpart Racing produces superb Martini-branded gear, from T-shirts and holdalls to polo shirts and jackets, all adorned in those famous and fabulous stripes and with a real retro feel. The lightweight, 100 per cent polyester windbreaker (€98) features the stripes and the logo, with Martini Racing on the back, while the 1970s-inspired Team Jacket (€149) harks back to the Brabham Formula 1 team attire of 1975. Now, you too could look like Carlos Pace or Carlos Reutemann, which is guaranteed to make you friends in the paddock.

Brabham BT52 1:20 plastic model kit

£32.99 (www.hiroboy.com)

One of the best-looking F1 cars – and we say that with all the confidence of having seen it in action at the Festival of Speed in recent years – has now been lovingly recreated in 1:20-scale plastic-kit form by Beemax. Brabham’s stunning Parmalat-liveried BT52 comes in high-downforce 1983 Monaco Grand Prix trim with superb detail, including the option to recreate the #5 car of eventual World Champion Nelson Piquet or the #6 version of his team-mate Riccardo Patrese.

Tamiya Lancia 037 Rally R/C kit

£250 (bundle); £149.99 (kit only) (www.hobbyco.net)

There are some super-cool Tamiya radio-controlled racers in the celebrated Japanese firm’s collection, but this one takes the biscuit. Based on the Martini Lancia 037 that won the manufacturers’ World Rally Championship in 1983, it’s a re-release of a classic. Since you’re certain not to be as talented as Markku Alén or Walter Röhrl, you get four-wheel-drive, harnessed via shaft drive and front and rear differentials, coupled with independent, double-wishbone suspension and oil-filled dampers.      

Racing-liveried mugs

From £7.95 (www.legacylegends.co.uk)

Tea and coffee drinking will never be the same again. You’ll almost certainly find yourself over-caffeinating in order to ogle these incredible race- and rally-liveried mugs. Picking a favourite from the growing range lovingly crafted by Legacy Legends is tricky, but among them are the Porsche set – featuring the iconic liveries of the Gulf and Martini 917s, Sunoco 917-30 Can-Am beast and Rothmans 956 world-beaters – and the James Hunt and Niki Lauda McLaren/Ferrari pair. The range of individual retro receptacles, all of which are dishwasher and microwave safe, is superb, too, with the Alitalia Lancia and Audi Quattro rally colours and the Barry Sheene and Kenny Roberts 500cc bike classics standing out.

Alfa Romeo Monza – The Autobiography of a Celebrated 8C-2300

£60 (www.porterpress.co.uk) 

Renowned classic-car journalist Mick Walsh has had a lifelong passion for Alfa Romeo’s exquisite Monza, having been passed by this very car, chassis 2211130, on the road near Silverstone as a 10-year-old. He’s finally been able to chronicle the story of one of the most celebrated of the 8C-2300s. Built in 1933, it was owned by a succession of enthusiastic racers, including Brian Lewis, Peter Hampton and The Hon Patrick Lindsay, as well as pre-war speed-record holder John Cobb and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Luis Fontes. As is now customary with the Porter Press ‘Great Cars’ tomes – this is the 12^th such work – the detail and accompanying photography are remarkable. Walsh has left no stone – factual or visual – unturned in this definitive account of a classic Alfa.