Le Mans Comes to Sussex, GT1 Cars Racing the Sunset - Goodwood Members Meeting PT5
Words and Images by Mitcham Media
Endurance racing has always been a feat of both teams and cars and seen as one of the ultimate motorsport challenges. Infamous events such as Le Mans have been running for 100 years now providing some of the most iconic moments in racing history and developing some of the most formidable cars.
This year at the 80th Goodwood Members Meeting we were privileged to see the spectacle of some GT1 Endurance icons which spanned from 1998 to 2007. The line up included three Prodrive Ferrari 550 GTS, a plethora of Aston Martin DBR9 including the Gulf liveried 007 car, and some entrants from American manufacturers such as the monstrous Saleen S7-R.
The conclusion to on track action was a high speed demonstration of the GT1 cars which started at golden hour with the sound of thunder from the pit straight as the procession was lead on track for the green flag lap.
Your ears were belted by every car coming past with naturally aspirated engines filling the field from the V12’s in the Ferrari’s and Aston Martins to the big capacity V8s in the American contingent.
For us it was a throwback to childhood as cars from the early to mid 2000s were which introduced us to motorsport.
With the sun setting the flat out Goodwood circuit was bathed in a warm orange glow as the harsh bright headlights of the GT cars were switched on.
As the light faded further giving a proper endurance race vibe of heading into the night you could see the glow of the brake discs and exhausts as the cars came screaming past.
It was certainly the best time to absorb the surroundings as getting to see these cars in action is a rarity, let alone at full chat in both daylight and darkness.
One of the big advantages at Goodwood is getting full access to the paddock during the day and into the evening meaning you can get up close to the phenomenal detail of these thoroughbred.
Some of the engineering which went into development was genius, this included things like moving the steering rack between the timing chain and block on the Ferrari 550 which, while making it a nightmare for maintenance meant the engine could be better placed relative to the axle.
Seeing these cars being prepped in the paddock also highlighted the shear complexity with every car having a full team of people and garage set up just to run them for this short weekend .
Seeing some of the most prestigious GT1 cars of recent history is an opportunity which may never crop up again and certainly did not disappoint.
Thank you to Goodwood Road and Racing Club for organising the 80th Members Meeting. Thank you also to all the teams, owners and drivers for bringing these unicorns out and allowing them to be driven as intended.
Check out more photos of the GT1 cars in the gallery bellow.
