Driving the wheels off AC Cobras and Jaguar E-Types—literally

The 1999 Goodwood Revival was only the second autumn party since Lord March refurbished his grandfather’s race track, and as usual, the highlight of the weekend was the RAC TT Celebration in front of some 80,000 spectators.

Martin Brandle was supposed to start on pole, but once he set the record, his Aston Martin DP212 got crashed by Gary Pearson during the last leg of the qualification. This left Derek Bell in a Ferrari 330 LMB, Jochen Mass in a Corvette Stingray, and defending Goodwood champion Nigel Corner in his Lightweight E-Type at the front.

One particularly significant car on the grid was the ex-Stirling Moss 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO in pale green, yet while Sir Stirling himself provided great commentary—“you can’t enjoy yourself playing with bricks, you know…”—the drivers out there were more concerned about keeping their wheels on for the entire hour. They’d just witnessed both the ex-Tommy Atkins AC Cobra and the ex-Brian Redman Jaguar E-Type eject their left rears as the field kept chasing the Corvette of Jochen Mass.

While the German could enjoy the relatively clear view ahead of the Daytona Cobra of Jochen Neerpasch, a fierce battle went on for third, as Derek Bell worked hard in his Ferrari 330 LMB to shut the door for Nigel Corner’s E-Type. What a race!