GOODWOOD REVIVAL MEETING 2002

It is nigh on impossible to do justice to the Revival with words alone! The aural and visual impacts really are uniquely spectacular and of course this time the Revival Meeting was even more special because of the appearance of the two Le Mans race Tigers and a group of people who are so important to our marque. No matter how inglorious was the original turnout of these cars at Sarthe in 1964, I can assure you they had a breathtaking affect in the Paddock amongst the other “TT” machinery, much of which was far less modest and sporting auction values a dozen times greater than the “Sunbeam Lister Tigers”.   The cars were only part of it though. What made the occasion most particularly important was Peter Procter coming out of retirement and back to Goodwood to drive Number 9; an action that drew many justified plaudits from the media and the motor racing community. Peter was joined by former co-driver – Jimmy Blumer who brought a reminiscing sparkle to the event and whose stamina on social occasions belies his ‘classic’ age! Peter was not the only man to come out of retirement however, since Tony Eckford had encouraged friend and neighbour, Howden Ganley the former BRM Grand Prix F1 driver to join Chris Beighton to co-drive Number 8 in the TT race. Howden was accompanied by wife Judy a leading rally driver in her day as well.

Then there was the ‘constructor’ Brian Lister and builder of the two race cars Ken Hazlewood, neither of whom had seen the cars compete for almost 40 years but willingly joined the STOC set up and survived being grilled endlessly by owners, and amateur historians anxious to pick their memories ahead of several other Lister owners at the Meeting. Rosemary Smith wasn’t far away but this time she was driving in a Sunbeam Rapier in the St Mary’s race. There were also visits by Lord Nick Rootes - who ‘post-dates’ the family’s control of Rootes but was extremely pleased to see the two race cars in such august motorsport company and by Gerry Marshall to see which one he circuit raced in the sixties and many others who had played some part in the history of the cars. And the Tigers performed rather well too!

And what a race it proved to be. The sight of half a dozen thundering Cobras, Tigers and Corvettes ranged against as many screaming straight six lightweight E Types was awesome. The deft handling of the No8 Tiger by Chris and Howden was lovely to see as the British racing green beast was pitched into the corners wagging its tail as the power was fed in and tucking itself down as it blasted along the main straight. Chris had gridded in 12th position and by my reckoning got the Tiger up to the leading pack at 8th before a 360 rotation at the Woodcote chicane dropped the car down the order. Despite more charging by Chris and Howden, No 8 had to settle for a very creditable 13th place. The No9 Tiger was never going to be competitive with its lower powered late replacement motor. Nevertheless Peter looked very impressive controlling its skittish back end not only in the corners but on the straights as well; not helped at all either by an off the pace and unapologetic David Piper running his Ferrari into No 9 at St Mary’s the place where Peter had his life threatening accident 36 years ago. (more about Peter below). Darrell took up the challenge too and must have been relieved to bring his beautiful car to the finish without further mishap. Last maybe but 23rd out of 28 starters and only a couple of seconds a lap slower than a several former F1 entries

Just to emphasise the company on the grid - “And so to the racing and the cast of names which takes this whole meeting to a realm beyond any other. In the RAC TT recreation the winning Shelby Cobra was driven by the French duo of Tambay and Pescarolo who both raced F1 and between them won Grands Prix and Le Mans as well as many other events down the years.The Gallic duo beat former FI driver Emanuele Pirro in a lightweight E Type Jaguar, in third was ex European touring car champion Win Percy with a similar E Type, 5th was BTCC champion Jason Plato in a Corvette, 6th Brian Redman (F1, F5000 and Le Mans ace) in another E, Fellow Porsche 917 factory driver and Can Am ace Jack Oliver, the

Aston behind him had BTCC champ Will Hoy at the wheel and the Corvette on his tail had BTCC ace and Gerry Marshall as its co driver. Two places back at 11th was one of the Sunbeam Le Mans Tigers that had Chris Beighton and BRM GP driver Howden Ganley at the wheel, back in 16th was the inevitable Stirling Moss in (STOC member) Kevin Kivlochan’s a Sebring Cobra, an Alfa chasing him had F1 driver and BTCC champion Gabrielle Tarquini driving. Following was GP and sportscar ace of the 50s and 60s David Piper in his multi million pound GTO-64 then a tiny Lotus Elite was next up, hustled along by the only woman to win an F1 race, Desire Wilson, and a similar car behind her had Mini Cooper hero John Rhodes at the wheel.. other names on the entry list included Peter Procter, Johnny Herbert, Frank Sytner, Derek Bell, Bobby Rahal and Jochen Mass. That’s just in the one race.” - (simon lewis)

Peter Procter - "Hero of the Year"

Another magnificient 'Sunbeam Tiger' first happened in September when Chris Beighton took the 2002 AMOC Anglo American series Championship in fine style; amassing a points total on the way that won't be matched for some time. Having tucked away a couple of class wins in recent years, Chris with race engineer, Jon Finnemore stormed through the season taking 6 wins and one second from the 7 rounds completed. Chris tells me he has put together a new race team for 2003 which will run as "Team Tiger". For more news watch out for the launch of www.teamtiger.co.uk Well done Chris and Jon

(left to right) Tony Eckford, Jimmy Blumer, Jon Finnemore, Chris Beighton, Margaret Blumer, Brian Lister, Peter & Shirley Procter

Lord Nick Rootes with his wife	WW2 aircraft fly past	Jimmy back in his old seat