luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Sept 22, 2017 16:06:06 GMT
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I have to say, I didn't massively feel the love this year. All the usual things that make it cool were in place; the dressing up, great cars, period stuff, yada yada. But the weather was, not to put too fine a point on it, curse word, and life in general sucked so that drained some of my mojo. And it's just soooooooo bloody crowded. Plus the stupid prices of everything; needing special paddock passes, stand passes, everything that mitigates the overcrowding you have to pay through the nose for which sours the day rather. It was just kinda... well, hard work. Must be getting old Then there was getting smashed up the fox picture at a roundabout on the way there. By a chief engineer at McLaren, of all people. Who was very nice about it, admitted 100% fault and everything but could have done without it lol. Anyhoo, enough moaning, have some photos Plenty of paddocks you could enter just as Joe Prole, and plenty of awesome cars in there to drool over. The impossible elegance of engineering in Maserati Birdcages Birdcage cockpit by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Leafspring could do with some oil, mind Birdcage wheelarch by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Some sportscars eschewed highly-strung Italianate exotica to propel them and went with good old 'Murican barndoor engineering Sadler Chevrolet Mk3 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I especially like the little silicone rubber sock to waterproof the dizzy Sadler Chevrolet Mk3 cockpit by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Cooper went with a Climax engine... once used to power fire-engine hose pumps. Signature probably adds a few quid to value! Cooper Climax T49 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr TVRs were consistently startling with their pace (and *whispers* reliability) throughout. And so pretty so what is it by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Even pausing for a cup of coffee (which, by the way, came in a china service with coffee pot, milk jug and elegant cup... only at Goodwood!) you can find excellent weirdness just used as set dressing Edsel by Nick Liassides, on Flickr "that" horses' collar in full frontal expose Edsel f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And almost hidden round the back, used as a promo tool to advertise fizzy posh pop for Tarquins, a ludicrously-named and preposterously-finned Ferrari Competizione Berlinetta 250 GT Speziale. As you do Competizione Berlinetta 250 GT Speziale by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I love a Gullwing at the best of times, but even more so when it looks like a total thug. So at odds with their normal elegance and all the better for it 300SL Gullwing by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Guilty evidence... match the paint stripes and dent on the wing to the decoration on the Brick Chicane and you have forensic proof as to why this Cooper was docked a 10-second penalty for course cutting. And subsequently was demoted from first to second place Cooper Jaguar wing by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Nice to see some cars beyond the "usual" Goodwood fare that turn up every year. Little Gordini is ugly-cute, if that's actually a thing Gordini Type 23S by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Disco Volante (that's yer actual Italian for "flying saucer"!) just simply stunning Alfa 3000 Disco Volante by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa 3000 Disco Volante cockpit by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Normally I spend a lot of time when taking photos to try to minimise the background interference.... or to put it another way, unprepossessing fools blundering into shot and screwing it up. The Revival is the one place where I don't mind. In fact, most people add something to any pic with their costumes and sheer .... I dunno... vibeHWM Jaguar & friend by Nick Liassides, on Flickr HWM Jaguar d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I dunno why, but I gravitate towards 50s sportscars every time. I love them. Way before my time, and maybe that's why, but to me they reflect the last truly heroic epoch of racing when men were real men and could cheerfully drive across Europe, give it Larry in some 1000-km race on public donkey tracks and then drink and shag the night away. If they were still alive. Anyway. Have a Maserati Maserati A6GCS by Nick Liassides, on Flickr eBay listing might read "some original features. Plenty of patina" Maserati A6GCS dash by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Of course, there are also plenty of the other Italian maker. Mrs Luckyseven makes me take pics of yellow cars. I can only apologise Ferrari 500 TRC by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Normal service resumes. Cheeky overbite Ferrari 340MM by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Ferrari 500TRC by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Ferrari 500TRC cockpit by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Aston DB3 was not the prettiest of things, though undeniably effective. And presumably was happy to inherit first place from the bruised Cooper Jaguar DB3 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr DB3S a lot better looking but apparently also slower. Looks aren't everything. As I tell Mrs Lucky on numerous occasions. DB3S by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Interesting tyre-warming system in place DB3S d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Always got time for a C-Type or two, too. Wonderful purity and economy; nothing there that doesn't need to be. C Type by Nick Liassides, on Flickr C Types by Nick Liassides, on Flickr So, Mrs L7 having finished her porcelain-themed tea break, we wandered off from the far paddock to take in some of the general vibe. Which is pretty much all we could do since half the place was barred without correct access paperwork and the other half was heaving and I couldn't be arsed! Still, there were the usual amazing displays and period reconstructions, such as the "showrooms" presented as they might have been in 1959 should you have desired a new-fangled Austin Seven or one of those funny *whisper it* German things Austin 7 Mini by Nick Liassides, on Flickr To be fair, you didn't have to have a German 328 or derivative if you still felt rancour after the War; there were plenty of plundered... errrr... war reparation... versions available from Fraser Nash or Bristol or whomever. But the original is generally best BMW 328 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr BMW 328 f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Never seen one of these before, a BMW 3200 Spider, so that was nice. Vignale coachbuilding probably explains the flair over Teutonic efficiency feel. Michelotti's bronze signature on the bonnet was a particularly nice touch BMW3200 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr BMW3200 dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr BMW3200 wing d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr BMW3200 bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Motorrad BMW by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Sept 22, 2017 16:07:27 GMT
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We wandered into the Earl's Court Motor Show (in 1/10th scale, but still an impressive reconstruction considering it's a fascia glued to an old aircraft hangar, you'd never know) where TVR was the theme in residence. Mostly due to the first public launch of the new Griffith. Which is undeniably good-looking, albeit a little bit the curse word child of a MkIV Supra and a 3rd-gen RX-7 Griffith s by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Griffith by Nick Liassides, on Flickr TVR girls 6 plus Griffith by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Griffith r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Very much like the wing vent/exhaust combo Griffith wing by Nick Liassides, on Flickr There were a whole raft of significant TVRs from the company's tangled past, many of which were obscured by 60s-themed laydees who might have started out looking happy but three days of constant smiling at leering punters (like me) had reduced their charming smiles to more like the rictus grin of the vanguard to the zombie apocalypse. And they kept getting in the way of taking pictures of the damned cars *ahem* TVR girls 2 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr TVR girls 1 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr TVR girls 3 plus Tina by Nick Liassides, on Flickr TVR girls 5 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr TVR girls 4 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr When you could get a clear shot it was well worth it, as there were some genuinely spectacular cars there. Such as the mad White Elephant, the world's most exclusive shooting/brake dog carrier White Elephant by Nick Liassides, on Flickr One of only six (and the only non-black one IIRC) Typhon... no, not a miss-spelling, it's named after the Greek Father of Titans from mythology Typhon by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And the steel fist inside a tupperware glove that is the utterly insane Speed Twelve Cerbera Speed 12 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Cerbera Speed 12 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Although, let's be fair...even more "mundane" and "ordinary" TVRs are well worth a second look 3000M by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 420 SEAC by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Sagaris d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Griffith racer by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Blackpool's finest were not the only strange fruit on offer. Maserati had their usual beautifully-presented stand where Mrs L7 did her usual schmooze of blagging a sit in Ghiblis and such while I concentrated on the more heritage end of things. It still upsets me profoundly to see a Chelsea tractor with a Maserati badge, so I prefer to ignore it as much as possible 3500GT Spider by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Aston would tempt you in with a luscious DBR1 ... and to be fair, that's quite a draw DBR1 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr ...and BMW with a double-strike combo of impossibly tidy 507 507 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr and very un-German bonkersness of the crazy Z1 Z1 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr As always, the attention-to-detail that pervades the entire place takes your breath away. Some of the exhibitors and stall-holders commented that it all comes from Lord March. I guess his theatrical background gives him the eye for just what's needed, from the broad canvas right down to the little fake pigeons on the building ledges Outside Broadcast by Nick Liassides, on Flickr You can't get into the main paddocks without paying for a paddock pass, although Mrs Luckyseven blagged us in on the strength of her charm offensive. With hindsight the fact she's a Member of GRRC might have lent more weight, but never mind. Anyway, this gave us a chance to get up close and personal to some of the unobtanium on display 250MM by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I suppose that a 330GTO must be, like, 80 better than "just" a normal 250GTO? 330 GTO by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Sept 22, 2017 16:09:31 GMT
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Arresting though the GTs were, my attention is always distracted nowadays by the pre and 'tween-war racers. I love the difference between them, how many ways there were of answering the same question, and seeing the evolution of car engineering unfold right before your eyes like stop-motion Alta 2 litre d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa 308C by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa 308C d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr sumptuous though the curves are on the Alfa 308C, the very un-Italian blockiness of the Tipo B is probably more of an acme for the old lady of Portello Alfa Tipo B by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Still wearing her Sucderia Ferrari livery from when Enzo's mob were just another team on the grid Alfa Tipo B d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Tipo B by Nick Liassides, on Flickr They may never have really got their day in the sun, but the persistent offerings from Talbot (and Talbot-Lago) made a significant contribution to the evolution of racing car technology, pioneering independent front suspension amongst other revolutionary concepts Talbot-Lago Type 26C by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And MG? well, maybe not pretty but beauty never won races Parnell-MG by Nick Liassides, on Flickr MG Bellevue Special by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Assymetry alert for all those with itchy teeth MG Bellevue Special d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr ERA were one of the mainstays of voiturette racing, and occasionally formula regulation changes meant they overlapped into the top flight. I guess everyone's image of an ERA is the square-fronted upright splay-legged things, but they made some truly startling bodywork treatments as well ERA E-Type GP1 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr It's what Darth Vader would've raced, I reckon ERA E-Type GP1 f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Although there were also plenty of the more archetypal spraddle-legged giraffe things ERA 14B by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Even while trying to concentrate on cars in relative peace (maybe that's why they charge for paddock access, to keep them a bit quieter? Nahhhh, it's the money, innit) it's impossible not to get regularly distracted by people-watching Blue ladies by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Sorry. Right, back to cars then. Like most of the great old marques, Delage had their time at the top. Everything conspired to give them total domination for a couple of glorious years; the formula change fell right into their laps as their Swiss watch-precise little eights were ready when others were playing catch-up. Delage GP1927 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Delage GP1927 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Delage GP1927 cockpit by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Delage GP1927 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Although this poor old one could do with some love. It's kinda immaculate as far as the fetlocks, then looks like an elephant sat on the rest of it Knackedy Delage by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Knackedy Delage d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr The common perception of Bugattis is one of impossible elegance and beauty, but sometimes it's nice to be reminded that underneath the glorious design and beautiful skin they were weapons; tools, and used hard. The Type 59 known as Grand-Mère (grandmother) is just such a tool. Despite having been owned by a genuine King, Leopold in fact, in no way are you left believing that it's anything other than a car made to go as fast as it possibly could and damn the aesthetics Type 59-57 Grand mere r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 59-57 Grand mere by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 59-57 Grand mere ckpt by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 59-57 Grand mere f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I guess this pristine Type 35C is more what people think of a Bugatti being like Type 35C by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 35C bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Whilst maybe this Type 73 shows why they were better left un-streamlined Type 73C f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 73C by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I do seem to be wittering on a lot about Maseratis in this report, but then again, why not? I've never seen so many 250Fs in one place... come to think of it, I've only ever seen two in the same place before and I thought that was doing pretty well. I doubled that score here! Get a child from pretty much 1970 back to draw a racing car and it'll look like this Maserati 250F blue by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Maserati 250F fettling by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Maserati 250F red by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Other Maserati offerings were perhaps slightly less pleasing to the eye, it can't be denied Maserati 6CM by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Maserati 4CM by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And we're back to the GTs, having managed a circuit of the paddock. There were a veritable phalanx of Fezza GTs in varying strengths of flavour 250 GT SWB-C stripes by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I love their little monocle bonnet-mount auxiliary windscreens 250 GT SWB-C by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Some Ferraris were rather less enclosed, though. One of the earliest actual Ferrari cars as opposed to cars simply run by Ferrari, and still very much showing the Alfa heritage Ferrari 125-166 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Ferrari 125-166 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Anyway, shall we have some good old British meat and potatoes to go with all that carbonara? How about the unfeasibly well-proportioned Aston Project 212? Aston Project 212 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And there were plenty of (marginally) less rare but no less sexy Astons. In fact, an entire battalion of DB4GTs in any colour you fancy. Red, white and errrr.... green, anyway. I sadly couldn't find a blue one for the truly patriotic thing DB4GT red by Nick Liassides, on Flickr DB4 GT white by Nick Liassides, on Flickr DB4GT green by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Still love this Italian/American crossover Fiat/Cobra transporter. Still decidedly upset by the decal spacing on the front Fiat Cobra transporter by Nick Liassides, on Flickr One of my favourite ever racing cars, the Lancia D50 Lancia D50 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr A car that's great not only for it's typically Lancia, typically ingenious, typically insane engineering features (such as the bonkers pontoon fuel tanks) but also because more than any other it probably saved Ferrari. Their own GP effort was mired and directionless and it's not beyond the bounds of hypothesis to suggest the marque might have gone under or become a second-string voiturette firm had Lancia not had the decency to go bust. The Italian government handed everything Lancia-shaped to il Commendatore and he promptly stuck Ferrari Cavalino Rampante badges on them, faired in the fuel tanks, and won at everything like a boss. Never looked back Lancia D50 f by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Funny, innit. Dunno if there's a rule in the Ferrari playbook that says anything with a Dino nameplate has to be adorably pretty. If there is, they want to take a long hard look at the 308GT4 cos that's horrid. However, everything else... 246 Dino by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Mudguards you could shave with. Or at least dig the garden 246 Dino d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Think Wales has never had GP entrants? The Kieft-Climax begs to differ Kieft-Climax GP by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Kieft-Climax GP d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Another pic that archetypally sums up Goodwood for me. Mungo and Rupert woefully discuss tactics and mechanical failure. Jeremy regales Jocasta with tales of derring-do against Gerald whilst dicing at the chicane. Jocasta looks for an escape, or at the very least a liveried flunky to refil her champers flute Connaught conversations by Nick Liassides, on Flickr ... and another Connaught without the commentary Connaught A-Type by Nick Liassides, on Flickr You know you've arrived when you can enter an Austin J40 for little Jemima as well as your Offenhauser-engined Kraft Kurtiss-Kraft Offenhauser &1 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Kurtiss-Kraft Offenhauser by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Another superb transporter before we leave the lower paddocks, then. Seems Cobra owners get all the best trailers Cobra transporter by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Damn, this is hard work doing it using Flickr rather than Photobucket. Talk about laborious I'll be back to finish up later, lol
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simes
Part of things
Posts: 734
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Sept 22, 2017 21:44:54 GMT
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I was there too and the same lack of love. I put it down to the weather.
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Simes
205Mi16 - 262 cams, Jenvey Throttle Bodies, Emerald managment blah blah...... E91 320D MSport Honda NC30 Vespa 300GTS
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Sept 22, 2017 23:45:58 GMT
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Wonderful, just wonderful! As a piece of prose. "I dunno why, but I gravitate towards 50s sportscars every time. I love them. Way before my time, and maybe that's why, but to me they reflect the last truly heroic epoch of racing when men were real men and could cheerfully drive across Europe, give it Larry in some 1000-km race on public donkey tracks and then drink and shag the night away. If they were still alive." this is going to take some beating!
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andy-v
Part of things
i like cookies :D
Posts: 358
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Sept 23, 2017 10:21:03 GMT
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thanks for taking the time to share
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Sept 26, 2017 8:22:00 GMT
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Heh, I was there, and thinking the same thing. I've been to most Revivals since about 2000. I've been in all kinds of weather, and I don't think that's the problem. I've had great Revival experiences in terrible weather in past years.
I think the revival has peaked as a spectacle in its current form. It has completely divided between the people who go to wander the stalls in fancy dress (it is fancy dress, no matter authentic it is), and people who are only interested in the cars and the racing. I am strictly the latter (though for my first few visits I did also enjoy the sideshow stuff) and I can get the track experience without the ticket price and the distractions.
I had a such a grim and frustrating experience at the 2015 Revival that I vowed not to go again. So I missed 2016, but then this year I weakened and decided to buy a day ticket. Overall, I regretted it and I think that's probably my last Revival. It's not that it's absolutely terrible, it just isn't as exciting as it used to be. It is a complete rip-off for one thing. The basic ticket price is manageable but given the numbers they get I'm certain it could still be insanely profitable with a lower basic ticket price.
But then anything else on top of that has to be paid for. Roaming Grandstand, paddock passes etc etc. The food and drinks are quite expensive and I sympathise with the vendors because they are rinsed for an absolute fortune to be there on site. I forget what the cost is to be there but I think I remember fairly correctly that a few years ago a casual acquaintance of mine who runs a coffee shop applied to be there vending coffee from his retro mobile coffee van for two days and they wanted £10k - to place him on the dirt track between the GRRC owner's mess and Lavant- where many people would trundle past on tractor carts anyway. Imagine how much coffee you'd have to sell to walk out of there with a few quid profit, especially when you consider all the other coffee vendors you're competing with.
I was also recently chatting to a bloke who for years had delivered his collection of vintage trucks, vans and busses there for use on site in various capacities. He was saying it used to be that they were really grateful to you for supplying them with interesting vehicles, and you could stipulate what your vehicles could be used for, there was some sort of damage/liability agreement on site, and you could get lots of freebies and perks for helping out. He doesn't offer them his vehicles any more because they completely reversed all that and it was deemed a privilege for him to be doing it. He would have no say about what his trucks could be used for, or who drives them, no liability, no perks. He said he reckoned they would eventually decide to charge people like him as exhibitors, rather than being grateful to them as helpers.
I think the balance has tipped at the event in lots of subtle ways, and at its bare bones, what it offers the true petrol head can be enjoyed without the sideshow gimmicks at many tracks - including Goodwood - for little to no money.
I used to drive to Goodwood regularly during the week just to catch the variety of booked track days. I'd drive in free, park infield for free, have burgers and coffee and stand by the track watching all sorts of good stuff hairing around it, and it was absolutely free. That may have been because I was in a liveried 60's racing saloon that probably looked like it was meant to be there, and I've never tried it in my ratty beater Scimitar - I'd probably get stopped and turned away now.
It's well known that Lord March is a bit of a greedy chap and doesn't like to give anything away if he can charge for it, and I think that's where the balance has tipped for me. It no longer feels like a festival... generous, for the people... it feels like a rinsing machine... "look at the pretty things, hand over your money".
Its a shame, but I do think it's on the cusp of decline. I'm sure it's got a few years left though as there are many many people who want to be there for the fancy dress and the vintage market stuff (which was also very disappointing this year as a lot of it didn't seem to be a good fit for the theme at all). Maybe there will be a Revival revival, and they'll decide to do something to put a bit of pep back into it. I hope so, because I have loved it int he past.
One disclaimer: I was only there on the Friday this year, which isn't a great day to be there, but I have been on Fridays in previous years and they have been much better days.
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Last Edit: Sept 26, 2017 8:57:45 GMT by Deleted
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Sept 26, 2017 10:41:19 GMT
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I'm glad it's not just me! Goodwood seems to be in danger of disappearing rapidly up its own backside, sadly. The FoS now features more hospitality and schmoozing areas for nobs than it does paddocks, even the Breakfast Clubs are now pre-registration only and regulated... though you wouldn't think so judging by the number of fools who infest them that seem to know nothing whatsoever about cars. The GRRC Membership is ridiculously expensive for what it is, and the new "Fellowship" queuing system means you need to pay Goodwood for the privilege of waiting in a queue for maybe six or seven years before you're allowed Membership, which seems incredibly money-grabbing of them. The spontaneity and inclusiveness that used to make them all so wonderful is sadly long gone. I guess if this year was your first it might still seem amazing and don't get me wrong, the cars are astonishing. But that's no use if you can't get near any of them. And to be honest, most "themes" at Goodwood events nowadays are rather contrived to fit in with their entry list... and it's the same cars entering every time so year on year I find less to take pics of cos I'm thinking "I've seen and photographed that one five years running now". It's always carried an unpleasant taste of the chosen few looking down on us proles from their ivory tower but increasingly it feels like us proles are an unwelcome intrusion rather than a vital part of what pays for the whole shebang Anyway, so part 2 then... Heading north from the posh paddocks we passed by the staging area, the fence of which was lined six deep and life was genuinely too short to try forcing my way through and get any meaningful photos Falcon by Nick Liassides, on Flickr That Falcon is the only one that was even half-way worth repeating. Dunno, maybe I'm spoiled by the Festival of Speed where the paddocks are all so accessible and kinda expect the Revival to be similar. Of course it can't be because it's a functioning race meeting and safety cuts down the ability of people to blunder about. I also think the race circuit is hopelessly inadequate to contain the vast numbers of people it needs to. The FoS has more room to spread out and less infrastructure impeding flow. Plus it doesn't have a working airfield slap bang in the middle of it... Anyway, round the back of the paddock hedge was a massive array of Ecurie Ecosse vehicles, everyone's favourite underdog story privateers. Although the first one we encountered wasn't what you'd expect J40 Ecosse by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Aha, more C-Types. That more like it! Ecurie Ecosse C-Types by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Or D-Types, if you prefer your Jaguars be-finned Ecurie Ecosse D-Types by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Ecurie Ecosse D-Type 3 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Honestly, such a pure shape makes you wonder why modern cars really need so many strakes and lines and canards and god knows what else. After all, it's not as if D-Types were especially slow... they managed a good 10mph more than the contemporary Ferrari on the Mulsanne (172 vs 160) despite giving away almost a litre in displacement Ecurie Ecosse D-Type 6 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And just to prove Jaguars were not the only Ecurie Ecosse liveried beasties, how about a wonderfully sculpted Tojeiro Buick? Tojeiro-Buick GT by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Sticking with ludicrous American-engined oddities, heading further up into the paddocks alongside the airfield yields a bonkers Studebaker Silver Hawk with a distinctly Latin flavour and impossible to ignore livery Silver Hawk by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Silver Hawk d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Silver Hawk wing by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Not even the top of the line Golden Hawk, but it still rocked my world. And featured one of the coolest (literally) steering wheels ever. You know that racing's furnace heat isn't exaggerated when people need to fit ventilated steering wheels! Silver Hawk st wh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr People-watching interlude... Sooooo Goodwood that even the golf buggies look like period artefacts Ladies day by Nick Liassides, on Flickr So the Goodwood Trophy race that we saw some entrants for earlier was for GP cars from 1930 to 1950. The Brooklands Trophy is for endurance racers and sportscars "of the type" that raced the iconic Byfleet track prior to 1939. Hmmm. Spot the differences. No, me neither Maserati 8C 3000 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Maserati 8C 3000 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Some things remain consistent with the time this race is supposed to encapsulate; when Alfas turn up, they win... Alfa 8C 2300 MM d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa 8C 2300 MM by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa 8C 2300 Monza by Nick Liassides, on Flickr ...and that even though later models of Bugatti were essentially papering over the cracks of compromised handling and brakes plus lower power outputs, they were still in anyone's language incomparably elegant and beautifully engineered things Type 50 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Type 50 blower by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Bugatti casque by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Halfway along the paddock, we dropped into the Members enclosure for a spot of lunch. Which, oddly, turned out to be curry. Quite a nice curry, as it turned out. In typical Goodwood style, the Members caff thing might look like a large tent from outside (guarded by gentlemen in pinstripes and bowlers, no less) but inside it's dressed as authentically as anywhere else. As are the nurses Nurse the screens by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Various sections had various national themes... anything you like to set the ambience so long as it was rusty and chod-based. Lovely! Chod of England by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Chod of Italy by Nick Liassides, on Flickr So, duly curried up ... that most English of inventions, chicken tikka masala, lol... I foraged forth into the paddocks while Mrs L sat and drank tea. Honestly, wimmin. Go to a car thing... and not just any car thing but a really busy and hideously expensive car thing... and they want to spend half the time in a tent drinking tea. Still, it gave me some alone "me" time with the cars I suppose. Just me a thousand other punters Talbot AV90 Brooklands &AV10S by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Talbots are a bit baffling with their convoluted family tree. Some were French, some were really French with their Darracq heritage, some were English, some were Sunbeams, many were all three under the STD banner (which didn't mean what it does now) and many were designed by a French dude living in England. And later, many more were Italian/French after Antonio Lago brought the defunct marque. Then they were Rootes and finally American but we don't need to worry about that newfangled stuff. Phew. Talbot AV90 Brooklands radcap by Nick Liassides, on Flickr So, that was British Talbot designed by a Frenchman. These are French Talbot financed by an Italian. As if European cross-breeding is a new thing... Talbot-Lago T150CSS by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Funny to think how anal MOT testers get nowadays about dodgy fonts on M*xed-up Saxos (are they still a thing?). Best numberplate ever! I can see the local MOT biting through his clipboard in unrestrained fury when that thing rocks up. Now wonder classics are looking at exemption Talbot-Lago T150CSS d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Talbot-Lago T150CSS st wh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Talbot-Lago T23 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Talbot-Lago T23 d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Of course, some French things are resolutely French, always were and so always shall be. Delahaye is one of these things. It might have been a more fashion than sports marque for most of it's life but the purchase of Delage and their hard-won GP knowledge and engineering finesse certainly gave Delahayes some clout on the circuits Delahaye 135S by Nick Liassides, on Flickr *people watching interlude!* Hippy families by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Ze Germans have always had the capacity to dominate the racetrack when they put their minds to it. Mercedes especially so. After all, Herr Daimler did kinda invent the motor car after all. Once the German marques had finished piddling around with domestic hillclimbs and waded into the global scene with the Kaiser Preis, there was no real looking back. Mercedes 710 SSKL by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Loving the chassis "drilled for lightness". You still wouldn't want one running over your foot! Mercedes 710 SSKL bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr You can almost hear the supercharger scream from here Mercedes 710 SSKL bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Mercedes 710 SSK msct by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Mercedes 710 SSK by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Mercedes 710 SSK d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Mercedes 710 SSKL dsh by Nick Liassides, on Flickr
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Last Edit: Sept 26, 2017 10:43:43 GMT by luckyseven
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Sept 26, 2017 10:49:33 GMT
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Final part to follow once I've cleared up gallons of unleaded from under my incontinent German. And no, it's nothing like those ^^ Germans, sadly. Nor indeed like the sort of German who smashed us up the aris on the way there, lol
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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One last push over the top then, my lovely lads. Or the last few photos from the Revival, as it's also known Invicta is not something I know a lot about (like most things in fact, some might say). It's just a series of random facts jumbled together in no particular order of significance or passage of time. In fact, it's rather like what I imagine the thought process of a goldfish to be; a series of staccato burps of fact followed by periods of wondering why I even knew that and what the significance of it was... sugar money from Lyles...famous lady driver Violette Cordery...based at Cobham and thus ran at Brooklands a lot... moved to Chelsea when the founder went to Railton...had more resurrections than plaid...oooh, look, a little castle and treasure chest...best enameled badge ever...shame the new plastic supercar one never worked out...have I seen that castle before? Invicta S-Class by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Invicta S-Class bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Invicta Low Chassis by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Looks rather like the badge on this Low Chassis S-Type might have been touched in when the enamel chipped off. Shame it seems to have been done by Humbrol Enamel rather than Faberge Invicta Low Chassis bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And then, Spitfires happened! Spitfire 2 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Now, I know Goodwood was a WWII airfield and played its part in the Battle of Britain and all that malarkey. And I know Lord March is clearly keen on aviation, like his predecessors. And I know lots of toffs arrive at such junkets by private plane or helicopter. Don't get me wrong, I'm just as happy as the next man to listen to Merlin engines clatter by on full honk, but when space is as tight as it now is at the Revival, it seems quite annoying that a massive amount of paddock space is taken up by static displays of planes and "pilots clubs". I didn't come to a car thing to see planes, funnily enough. Clear all that old chod out and let us get near the damned cars, thanks. Anyway, I've spent enough time already ranting about the irritations of the Revival. Have a Curtiss Warhawk Curtiss P40C Warhawk by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Unarguably a damn cool name! Anyway, the plane display was cool in a way because it gave me a chance to take some pics in otherwise crowded paddocks while everyone else was outside gawking into the sky. And then nip out at the last minute to snap some planes. And there's always people watching, of course! Pink Ladies by Nick Liassides, on Flickr nice to see The Kidz getting into the swing of things. Vauxhall isn't really a name one tends to associate with sporting heritage, but of course there was a time... and not just in the early pioneer days when the Prince Henry was a quantum leap in sportscar design. Plenty of big Griffins performed copiously well in competition between the wars before the marque turned beige Vauxhall 30-98 Brooklands by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Vauxhall 30-98 Brooklands d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I only took this next pic because I wanted the Lea Francis hippocampus (that's as in "seahorse" not as in "big chunk of brain" kinda hippocampus) badge for my collection of automotive badges that one day I might even finish. But then I was so enamoured of the vicious bacon-slicer radiator release lever that I had to include it here! Lea-Francis Hyper by Nick Liassides, on Flickr This is a superb looking thing and I was going to say "bet you'll never guess what it is" but of course that doesn't really work now I've had to switch to Flickr and it puts the pic title along the bottom Dolomite 8C SS Corsica by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Errrr.... yeah. Definitely not what we would think of as a Triumph Dolomite, then! Dolomite 8C SS Corsica bdg by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Dolomite 8C SS Corsica bay by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Here, have a Corsair... Goodyear Corsair FG-1D by Nick Liassides, on Flickr ....so it must be time for some more people watching then. Mmmmm, robo-wellies! Très chic… Cyber wellies by Nick Liassides, on Flickr …and a Mustang. No, not that kind. P51D Mustang by Nick Liassides, on Flickr The Chichester Cup is for “rear-engined drum-braked Formula Junior cars of a type that raced between 1958 and 62”. Which on the face of it doesn’t sound all that exciting. But to be fair to the little devils, they have so little power that they have to rely on never slowing down. Ever. For any reason whatsoever. So they actually make quite a spectacle all buzzing around in a swarm. And the quality of the engineering is exactly like any other single-seat race car, only shrunk Cooper-BMC T56 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And amidst the hordes of Lotusses and Coopers and ubiquitous Ford engines, there are some oddities too, such as a Fiat-engined de Tomaso De Tomaso-Fiat by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Have you seen the price of these little Austin J40s? Even tatty rusted ones that even the most ferocious of eBay empire builders would struggle to describe as “barn find” rather than “needs complete restoration” go for thousands! Fortunately, one of my kids is too big and the other too lazy. Reckon I’ve dodged one there J40 No11 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Round about here, I had to dodge out from the shelters to avoid being run over by a Jaaaag… one that had been racing in the highly entertaining St Marys Trophy race that had been keeping us entertained on the screen in the Members Enclosure while we ate our curry… and it’s not something you really want running you over. It’d hurt, although maintain an air of elegance and slightly louche whatever while it happened Jag MkI by Nick Liassides, on Flickr But that was OK cos otherwise I might have missed the Lockheed Lightning flying past Lockheed P38 Lightning by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Which made for a pretty impressive sight as the fading light glimmered off its silvered flight surfaces as it disappeared into the gathering gloom of a lowering sky Lockheed P38 Lightning 2 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Oooh, poetic. But wait; lowering sky? Oh yeah. Then it curse word down. Like, properly deluged us to the point I even abandoned my fag half-smoked and took shelter … along with everyone else… under one of the errrrrmmm… shelters. And that was OK cos it meant more people watching Gilding the lily by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Eventually we had to leave as annoyingly thoughtless drivers kept wanting to park their cars in their own shelters. I mean, honestly. Fortunately, the rain had eased off though the clouds remained ominously dark. Still, it gave us a chance to see the winning flame-spitting Alfa come home Alfa Giulietta Ti by Nick Liassides, on Flickr As well as the irrepressible Justin Law’s Jag, slightly lopsided and toothless from a last-lap nerfing at the chicane Jaguar MkI damage by Nick Liassides, on Flickr By now, Mrs L7 had been wearing my jacket and complaining about the cold for quite some time, so I finally relented and agreed we should go and peruse the stands selling stuff. I always find this slightly a waste of time… I’m at a car event to look at cars, not overpriced apparel for nobs… but she was starting to look a bit blue-tinged so it had to be done. As we were at the furthest-away spot in the circuit, it was quite a walk anyway and gave me plenty of chances to fill in some gaps in my photorecord Triumph flat-tracker by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Alfa 8C 2300 r by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Jag SS transporter by Nick Liassides, on Flickr BMW 700 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr It has to be said, you have to love the British spirit and willingness to race absolutely anything with wheels on it. Who ever looked at a Moggy Minor lowlight and thought “yeah, that’s a race car that is”? Minor 1949 Lowlight by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Or for that matter, an Austin Westminster? A95 Westminster by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Complete with bonnet ornament/disemboweler A95 Westminster d by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Then again, maybe it isn’t such a uniquely British peculiarity. Especially when you see such behemoths as these in full race livery. And see the improbably velocity that top-notch lunatics like Kristensen can coax out of them Falcon & Tbird by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Normally I’d pretty much argue that Tbirds lost their way even before Ford started putting too many seats into them, but I have to admit this particular beast held my attention! Thunderbird 1959 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And so we found ourselves over the other side of the track, where the Glamcabs girls briefly offered appealing diversion Glamcabs 2 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Well, for males anyway. Mrs L wasn’t quite so diverted Glamcabs by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Anyway, having parted with an eye-watering amount of money for a (admittedly very warm and stylish) coat, she now felt well-disposed enough towards me to actually watch some racing! Finally… It so happened that the RAC TT race was on. Which was handy, because it’s an hour long so that gave us enough time to worm our way to the front of the crowd and actually see some of it before it finished. Did I mention that there are too many people at the Revival? Anyway, it barely mattered because after all that effort, you line up a shot of a lovely lowdrag E-Type and some clown in a honking great Cobra blats rudely right through the middle of your pic E-Type lowdrag lightweight by Nick Liassides, on Flickr It was fortunate that we were right opposite the pitlane entrance actually, because otherwise I’d have failed to get any even half-way decent photos as the cars blurred past at ridiculous velocity and I tried to fake a shot through the tiny aperture afforded me between other people’s elbow, hats and umbrellas. 250 GTO-64 by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I was glad I persisted though, because the Lister Tigers alone were stunning and well worth the wait. Not to mention rarer than a rare thing Lister Tiger by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Oh yeah, and there were some of those common vulgar Italian things, too 250 LM by Nick Liassides, on Flickr 250MM pitting by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And Cobras. Absolute phalanxes of Cobras, noisy brash brutish things that they are! AC Cobra by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Eventually, however, Mrs Ls patience for standing in the thickening drizzle was exhausted and I had to agree even in the best spirit of optimism that the weather looked set to only worsen. We had imposed on a military-grade complicated overlap of babysitters to get away from the kids (I genuinely can’t imagine a worse nightmare than dragging children around somewhere like the Revival and sincerely wish other people would stop doing it too) so had to get away anyway. It seemed a good time. As much as anything, I was simply tired of the constant crush and bustle. We’d been several hours now with scarcely more space to ourselves than if we’d found a nice secluded phone box to spend the day in, and it was just becoming wearisome. So we left. I would have expected more in the way of diversion; there are usually all kinds of things laid on across this bit of the circuit (hotrods, themed bits, dancers, whatever). This year there were just Fiat 500s. A LOT of Fiat 500s 500s by Nick Liassides, on Flickr And whilst they did come in a bewildering array of flavours marques and licenses (this one’s a German one, you can tell by the moustache) Steyr Puch by Nick Liassides, on Flickr I have to confess I’ve never really got them at the best of times. A thousand of the damned things left me rather cold to be honest and it gave the distinct impression someone was trying for a “record for most Fiat 500s on an anniversary parade” rather than maybe using the (considerable) space for something a bit more interesting. No disrespect, but when you’ve seen one 500 you’ve kinda seen them all. Except, to disprove my own Victor Medrewing, it appears that you haven’t… Abarth 1000otr Protipo Bertone by Nick Liassides, on Flickr …until you’ve seen the excellent Bertone-styled Abarth-powered prototype one. Like, how did this never make production? Weird. And I have to confess it was nice to see an example of the original cinquecento, the little Toppolino (“Little Mouse”)… Toppolino by Nick Liassides, on Flickr …but overall I went Over The Road towards the capark with a feeling of disappointment being my overriding memory of the day. By now it was absolutely chucking it down with rain, which didn’t help. And neither did the stalls of companies restoring e-Types from a single aircleaner wingnut. Or selling you barn-find E-Types. Or selling reconstructions of E-Types for a modern age. Or selling furs and leather driving gloves to complement your outfit as you drive you E-Type around. Thank God I managed to find a nice Karmann Ghia to keep me sane Karmann Ghia by Nick Liassides, on Flickr … and as an aside, is there really any justification to be promoting the fur trade in this day and age? I really thought society had moved on a bit from the days when we were living in caves and having to sleep in a scooped-out deer for warmth. It appears High Society still like a bit of inhumane murder round their necks [/rant]. This would have been the time when I prowled around the carparks taking pics of all the astonishing vehicles people had made the trip to Goodwood in. But it was persisting down, I was wet, fed up and the carparks had finally given up what little structural integrity they’d been clinging on to and turned to quagmire. And to greet us was the cruelty smashed in rear end of the Lady’s F*rd, poor thing. The rear end by Nick Liassides, on Flickr Fortunately, the poor thing was parked near to a gateway from the field, and it was mostly downhill and every other car seemed to be heading for the gate we’d come in through, sheeplike, despite that it was miles away across mud and mire and there was a massive queue there of people getting stuck. We sneaked out the nearby gate, mostly sideways, and slithered off home to rescue the babysitter. That was the Revival. Do it again? Hmmmmmm…. Probably not. Ask me again next year, but even now a month on my overwhelming feeling is that if you like the cars you're much better off watching it on the live stream from the comfort of your home. And if you can't see or don't like the cars and the racing, then it's a bloody expensive way to go to a fancy dress party
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Oct 17, 2017 10:31:27 GMT
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Excellent write up again there Mr.Seven
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Oct 17, 2017 12:48:01 GMT
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Why thankyou To be honest, I almost didn't bother, still feeling entirely too meh about the whole shebang. But I felt I'd be failing georgeb if I omitted to post at least one pic of the Lister Tiger so I had to plough on
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Oct 17, 2017 13:17:12 GMT
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Cracking shots - and an excellent write up. Thanks for taking the time to do this post.
Have to agree with you that having to worm your way through crowds to possibly get a shot of something nice and/or rare rapidly loses its appeal when it happens again & again.
Sorry to see the Focus - hope all's ok since the chap put his hands up like a gent?
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Oct 17, 2017 13:34:20 GMT
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Focus is all fixed, thanks. The guy was indeed a true gent. My advice would be if you're going to get rammed up the fox picture by a massive BMW estate, have it done by a very nice German doctor of engineering at McLaren Even a the time it was funny/surreal, when he gave us his beautifully-crafted (as you'd expect) McLaren business card and I asked where he was from... didn't need to ask where he was going as he was wearing the same stuff as us but with more passes. "Voking" he answered. No, I know where McLaren are, I mean originally... "Ahh, Germany," says he, in an accent that had me suppressing Fawlty Towers-inspired giggles The most annoying thing about it all was the hateful Renault Clio that the insurance foisted on us while the F*rd was being fixed. Makes my teeth itch just thinking about how bad it was
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Oct 17, 2017 16:26:33 GMT
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Top pedantry, and I sit corrected
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simes
Part of things
Posts: 734
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Oct 17, 2017 16:32:14 GMT
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Having been to the revival every year since 2000 I can safely say the members meeting is where it’s at!
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Simes
205Mi16 - 262 cams, Jenvey Throttle Bodies, Emerald managment blah blah...... E91 320D MSport Honda NC30 Vespa 300GTS
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jpr1977
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 656
Club RR Member Number: 18
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Oct 17, 2017 18:53:32 GMT
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Having been to the revival every year since 2000 I can safely say the members meeting is where it’s at! I have to agree with the above (although the price of the weekend ticket for it does seem a bit rich...) I'm also feeling the 'meh' for the Revival now for all of the previously mentioned reasons, but mostly the 14 quid my wallet paid for via Mrs Jp for 2 bacon 'rolls' which appeared in two limp bits of white bread at 10.30 on the Friday morning in the Members tent as they had "run out of rolls..." Despite that Great pictures and write up luckyseven and you captured my two favorites of the show, the BMW 3200 which I have to say I had never seen before and instantly fell for and that gorgeous Maserati 3500GT that is first on the list when I win the euromillions... Looking forward to the 'New' revival in May to revive (excuse the pun) the Goodwood Mojo... Unless of course you going to try and squeeze in 130000 people a day HoTWire
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Last Edit: Oct 17, 2017 18:56:18 GMT by jpr1977
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Oct 17, 2017 20:40:20 GMT
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Why thankyou To be honest, I almost didn't bother, still feeling entirely too meh about the whole shebang. But I felt I'd be failing georgeb if I omitted to post at least one pic of the Lister Tiger so I had to plough on And it is, without doubt, much appreciated. 😊
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Oct 18, 2017 19:22:43 GMT
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Just another 'top write up' for you sir, I really enjoy your style of writing and I am not much of a reader. I'm one of those types that hates busy public places and lots of people so I take my hat off to you for speading all day there and allowing us to experience it through yourself.
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Oct 20, 2017 23:27:54 GMT
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Great write up & great pics & it's most certainly not just you feeling the lack of love from this years revival - I provide one of the cars that forms part of the vintage / classic taxi fleet along with about 45 others - we get pretty well looked after - our cars are fuelled, comp passes that get us just about everywhere, GRRC membership & other benefits but all in kind there is no money involved - we work & work hard on a shift system to ensure that we get time to walk around and enjoy the event & the racing - although poor weather does not help an outdoor event like this I don't think it was the weather that spoilt it - it's over subscribed, over priced & now poorly managed - the behind the scenes things like the traffic management team are a joke, the campsite another joke, over officious officials that treat volunteers with the upmost disrespect and I think the event is on a fine line - a few years ago it was the event to go to - I appreciate that most of us blokes go for the cars & racing but it's nice that the ladies in our lives can divert their attention elsewhere - it's also nice when a race that may not appeal to myself like the bikes that I can find some diversion - Has stated my entry is free along with several other niceties but I have to say that I was very disappointed with this years revival offering - I have yet to come across anyone who attended that had a good word for it - which includes my neighbour who had a 3 day March enclosure pass (well in excess of £1k) and was so disappointed after the Friday didn't bother with the Sat & Sun - maybe the event management has become complacent - possibly arrogant or just lazy!
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