The first ever RAC TT race at Goodwood Revival was a legend-laden thriller
Bell, Brabham, Brundle, Cooper, Hill, Moss, Surtees and more
THE YEAR is 1998, and you’re in the Goodwood Motor Circuit grandstands along the pit straight. As the cars line-up on the grid, you catch the Le Mans legend Derek Bell and Formula One champion John Surtees lining up their Ferrari 250 GTOs on the grid, with countless Aston Martins, Jaguars, Shelbys and Lotus Elites hurrying behind to their starting positions.
Through the heat haze generated by their raucous engines, you catch a glimpse of Sir Stirling Moss and Sir Jack Brabham in their cramped cockpits, and you notice Martin Brundle in the pit lane; eagerly awaiting his mid-race stint in a “Low Drag” Jaguar E-Type.
The track clears, leaving a sea of ’60s GT racers idling away, the Union Jack is waved and a bellow of revs fills the air, along with the scent of tortured cross ply tyres.
The inaugural Goodwood Revival’s headline race, the hour-long RAC TT Celebration was a seminal moment for historic racing in the UK. It was the first time any Tourist Trophy-style event had been held at the Goodwood circuit since 1964, and marked one of the high points of an event that has since exploded the interest in fine classic racing machines.
And now you can now relive all 60 minutes of the legend-filled TT showdown in a video released ahead of the 20th Goodwood Revival, on September 7-9.
The annual race is a commemoration of the bygone TT races held at the Goodwood Circuit during the early 1960s, and attracts many a famous racing driver — and excited fan — to the West Sussex venue. Damon Hill made his appearance at the inaugural event just a month after his Belgian Grand Prix win
Complementing the stellar driver line-up was an equally iconic collection of classic racing cars on the grid. In what would eventually become a Goodwood Revival tradition, numerous Ferrari 250 GTOs made race starts, with numerous Jaguar E-Types and an Aston Martin DP214 (who’s successor, the DP215, is heading to auction at Pebble Beach) also being entered into the 1998 Tourist Trophy homage.
This year’s Revival should also be a treat for any classic competition car spotters, as over £500m worth of vintage motor sport machinery will be gathered together at the Duke of Richmond’s race track in a fortnight’s time.
