81st Members' Meeting
Motor racing kicked off at Goodwood in 2024 with the 81st Members' Meeting during the second weekend of April. The two-day event carries on the tradition of the original grass-root racing meetings for the members of the British Automobile Racing Club. In period 71 of these members' meeting were held and the event returned with the 72nd edition for the members of the Goodwood Road Racing Club. With visitor numbers capped, the race meeting is effectively a less frenetic version of the Goodwood Revival Meeting that is scheduled in September. Without the strict 1966 cut-off year enforced during the Revival, the Members' Meeting opens up the entry for more modern cars and bikes to participate in the races and demonstrations. Part of the roster this year were the familiar Group 1 touring cars but also a one-make Ford Mustang race, a shoot-out for modern side-cars and a ground-shaking demonstration packed with big-block Can-Am cars.
We were at the track during both days and have captured all the highlights for this 190-shot gallery.

Austrian Formula 1 Icons
A significant amount of time in the schedule was dedicated to high-speed demonstrations. Two were dedicated to two legendary Austrian Formula 1 drivers. To mark the 40th anniversary of the late Niki Lauda winning his third and final World Championship, we were treated to high-speed laps with the very McLaren MP4/2B TAG Porsche that the Austrian had raced during his final Formula 1 season. Prepared by McLaren specialists Garage 56, the flame-spitting Grand Prix car was driven with great verve by former McLaren test-driver Graham Goodwin.
Although there was no particular anniversary to celebrate, another great sight and even better soundtrack was provided by Gerhard Berger, who was reunited with the Ferrari 640 F1 he had raced during the 1989 season. A truly ground-breaking machine, it was powered by a five-valve V12 engine that was mated to the first-ever paddle-actuated sequential gearbox. Sadly, a small oil leak meant that Berger was restricted to just a single, sparks flying outing with the car.
Another F1-related demonstration was provided by Gordon Murray Automotive with the T.33 mule and the T.50S Niki Lauda track-only car lapping at high speed on Saturday and Sunday.

Gordon Spice Trophy
While the Members' Meeting has an alternating roster of races, there is always time on the schedule for Group 1 (or Group 1.5) Touring Cars of a type that competed in the British Touring Car Championship during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The exact format used for the Gordon Spice Trophy does change each year. For the 81st, Members' Meeting a 45-minute, two-driver race was held to conclude the action on Saturday, followed on Sunday by a sprint race on Sunday with a reverse grid for the owner / gentleman driver of the line-up. The colourful field featured a mix of Mk2 Capris, Boss 302 Mustangs, Z28 Camaros, Rovers and smaller displacement machinery like Minis and Escorts. Pole position for the main race was for the Mustang shared by Timo Bernhard and Fred Shepperd. In the race they had to settle for second behind the sister car of Craig Davies and Ash Sutton. With the grid reversed, Shepperd and Davies lined up in 17th and 18th respectively. The two front rows featured a trio of Minis of which only one survived a very messy opening lap, which saw the race red flagged. After the second start, Shepperd showed why his Mustang had started the feature race on pole position, scoring the Sprint victory ahead of James Cottingham in a Camaro and Davies, who had moved up the field from 18th to finish third.

Can-Am Challenge Celebration
Perhaps the most highly anticipated sessions of the weekend were the Can-Am Challenge Celebration demonstration runs. Not in the least due to the presence of no fewer than seven Shadow cars that had been shipped for the occasion by two collectors from the United States. While these were built in England, they had never actually raced on this side of the Atlantic. The full range of Shadows included the DN4, which was reunited with 1974 Can-Am Champion Jackie Oliver. It was the very car, Oliver had driven to four wins during the final year of the original Can-Am championship. Also present were two examples of the utterly mad Mk1, which effectively was a big-block engined go-kart with tiny wheels and horizontally mounted pedals, all in an attempt to reduce drag. In addition to the menacing Shadows, the Can-Am line-up also included a choice of McLarens, Lolas and a pair of twin-turbocharged Porsche 917/30s. Both on Saturday and Sunday, these formidable machines were let loose for 15-minute demonstration runs.

Further Highlights
The rest of the races included other Members' Meeting favourites like the S.F. Edge Trophy for Edwardian racers. The first race was won by Julian Majzub in his Sunbeam Indianapolis, the second race saw a repeat from last year when the slow starting Darracq 200hp of Mark Walker pipped Majzub on the finish line. The Surtees Trophy for mid 1960s sports cars also proved a true spectacle with long-time race leader John Spiers spinning his McLaren M1B out of contention and the victory eventually going to Ben Mitchell in his family's unique left-hand drive Chevron B8. Miles Griffiths scored a surprise win the Graham Hill Trophy, beating Alex Buncombe's Shelby Cobra with a TVR Griffith. A special, single-make race for the weekend was the Ken Miles Trophy, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of the iconic Ford Mustang. The 45-minute, two-driver race featured a large number of well known drivers, which included the current Ford CEO Jim Farley. The victory, however, went to the Mustang shared by Michael Whitaker Jnr and Andrew Jordan. Another great spectacle was provided by the 'Sidecar Shootout', which saw eight current 600cc sidecar equipes chase very first lap times in an elimination format. The fastest time in the final was set by Todd Ellis and Emmanuele Clement, which would have been good enough for a front-row start in the Surtees Trophy race.

Final thoughts
Leave it to Goodwood to provide unique sensory overloads. During the 81st Members' Meeting these included thundering big-block Can-Am cars, a full field of Mustangs, the fire-spitting ex-Niki Lauda McLaren and the glorious howl of the Gerhard Berger Ferrari. The rest of the program also lived up to the 'only at Goodwood' mantra and has left us eager to find out what the other two motoring events scheduled for 2024 will have in store. For now, we are sure that this 190-shot gallery will keep you occupied for a quite a while.