Goodwood has a thirst for firsts at 2010 Revival
Later this week the Goodwood Revival will get underway (17-19 September) with a number of significant ‘firsts’ at this popular annual historic motor race meeting.
Amongst these firsts will be a current 2010-season F1 driver racing an unusual 1950s Russian saloon car, an authentic recreation of an early 1960s supermarket selling groceries from the period, the British racing debut of the historic Jaguar E2A, a distinctive 1930s aircraft being seen in Britain for the first time and the return of many ex-Goodwood-based RAF Battle of Britain airmen for the first time in 70 years.
Current Renault Formula One driver Vitaly Petrov will be racing at the Goodwood Motor Circuit for the very first time; appropriately in a Russian-built GAZ Volga M21 from 1958. He will compete against a number of ex-F1 stars battling hard in a variety of 1950 saloon cars in the St Mary’s Trophy race, including Martin Brundle, Jackie Oliver and Desire Wilson – the first and only women to win a Formula One race.
Near the busy Revival Market will be a purpose-built early 1960s-inspired Tesco supermarket, displaying and selling a wide range of groceries from the era, including jars or Marmite especially packaged just for the Revival, as well as period-packaged cans of Barrs Cream Soda and Raspberry, tins of Tate and Lyle Golden Syrup and Fab ice cream lollies.
An important evolution in Jaguar’s successful motor racing history will compete for the very first time in the UK at the Revival. The Jaguar E2A spanned the conquering D-Type of the 1950s and the iconic E-Type of the 1960s. It will race in the Sussex Trophy.
A remarkable Sikorsky S-38 aircraft will be seen for the very first time too in mainland Britain, as part of Goodwood’s Freddie March Spirit of Aviation concours d’elegance for pre-1966 aircraft. The S-38 is a huge American twin-engined eight-seat amphibious aircraft, sometimes called ‘The Explorer’s Air Yacht’. It was Sikorsky’s first widely produced amphibious flying boat used successfully by Pan American Airways and the U.S Army. The Sikorsky at Goodwood is painted to represent the famous film makers Martin and Osa Johnson’s S-38 ‘Osa’s Ark’ in which the husband and wife team explored Africa extensively between the wars, making safari movies and writing books. This aircraft has also been seen in the well known Howard Hughes film, ‘The Aviator’.
Finally, ten ex-RAF World War 2 pilots will return to their Goodwood base (then known as the Battle of Britain base RAF Westhampnett), many for the first time in 70 years as part of a tribute on Revival Sunday to all ex-airmen, including the charismatic Billy Fiske, who flew from Goodwood and was the first American to volunteer to join the RAF during the War, and the first to lose his life.
To order advance Goodwood Revival tickets, visit goodwood.com.
